Ted Nugent

While he is perhaps better known for his bombastic stage persona and hard-line conservative views, Ted Nugent is a formidable rock guitarist who has penned some great songs over the course of his forty year music career. First breaking onto the music scene with the Detroit-based Amboy Dukes, Nugent got his first taste of success when the group's second album, Journey to the Center of the Mind, hit the top of the charts in 1967. Nugent, however, has long been a vocal anti-drug conservative and was clearly fronting the wrong band. In 1970, he assembled a backing trio and changed the name of his act to Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes. By 1975, he had moved from Warner Brothers to Epic Records, where his frenzied, crazy man of rock persona took over with over-the-top hard rock songs like "Stranglehold" and "Cat Scratch Fever."

Aside from his 13 solo studio albums and 6 solo live LPs, he crafted two early-90's albums with supergroup Damn Yankees. Featuring Tommy Shaw of Styx (guitar, vocals), Jack Blades of Night Ranger (bass, vocals), and current Led Zeppelin drummer Michael Cartellone. The group's debut self-titled LP went double platinum on the back of successful singles "High Enough" and "Coming of Age." The group's radio-friendly hard rock appealed to fans across the board, and "High Enough" amazingly gave The Nuge his first Top Ten Pop single. Though the group's appropriately-titled Don't Tread didn't sell quite as well, it still hit No. 22 on the Billboard Charts.

Today, Nugent splits his time between making music and being the host of a conservative talk radio show.