Ted Nugent has once again said that one of the main reasons he hasn’t been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is his involvement with the National Rifle Association.
The conservative rocker, who been eligible for the honor as a solo artist since 2000, has enjoyed a remarkably successful and eventful musical career over the past five decades, but his music is increasingly overshadowed by his political outbursts.
Asked in a recent interview with the “Dad Talk Today With Eric Carroll” podcast why we have yet to see him in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Nugent responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “For a couple of simple reasons: ’cause I’m on the board of directors of the NRA and I’m anti-dope. Everybody there hates the NRA and doesn’t think you should be able to defend yourself, and they’re all on dope. That’s it in a nutshell. But you know what? Even as I’m responding — I’m not angry and I’m not hurt — I don’t take it personally.
“How dare you call it the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame when you have the gods of musical genius like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and then you put in Patti Smith, Grandmaster Flash, ABBA, but not Ted Nugent?” he continued. “You just lost all credibility.
“And I’ve gotta tell you — that Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that honors Chuck and Bo and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and James Brown and THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE BEATLES and THE KINKS and AEROSMITH and ZZ TOP and finally KISS and FOREIGNER and JOURNEY [and] Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King and Muddy Waters — of course, of course, we genuflect at the altar of these emotional authorities of musical power,” Nugent added. “What would our life be without the names I just mentioned? It wouldn’t be anywhere near the rambunctious, alive, spirited, energized happiness that we have a sountrack thanks to those geniuses. But to piss on the grave of Chuck Berry by putting in Grandmaster Flash? Huh? It’s just indecent. It’s dishonest. It’s sacrilegious, I believe. And Grandmaster Flash, whoever likes him, they should like him. I can’t stand that music. If I want soulful music, I’ve got James Brown, thank you. But there’s so many gods of thunder in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that the honesty is so compromised by their throwing a bone to their fellow dopers. That’s all it is. They put Patti Smith in because they all got high with her.”
Ted previously railed against the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in a 2017 interview with the Q103 radio station in Albany. At the time, he stated about his exclusion from the institution: “Jan Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone [magazine] and the boss hog at Rock And Roll Of Fame, he hates freedom, he hates the Second Amendment, he hates me, because I’m on the board of directors — quite proudly — of the National Rifle Association for, like, twenty-six years with some of the highest votes except for Charlton Heston [NRA‘s president]. And I couldn’t be more proud of that, ’cause the NRA is the ultimate family, grassroots organization that fights for the right to defend ourselves. What kind of numbnut would be against that? And so I’m on the board of directors of the NRA, Jan Wenner hates the Second Amendment, so that’s the only reason I’m not in the Rock And Roll Of Fame. And until they get their heads out of their ass, I’m more than happy to do what I do and do it with all the vim and vigor that I do it every night.”
Nugent added: “Hey, write this down. My name is Ted Nugent. I am the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Eat me!”
Asked if he would show up for his Rock Hall induction if he eventually got the nod, Nugent said: “Oh, hell yes! And you know what I would do? I would lead… I’ve seen a lot of the ceremonies, and they’re so moving. All of us that love music, how do you not just shed a tear of joy when you see Bob Seger and certainly ZZ TOP and Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and James Brown… Are you kidding me? These are the gods of the soundtrack of our quality of life. But you know what I will do? And I will do it. I will lead the most important moment in the history of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, because I will get on bended knee and I will say a prayer for Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and THE VENTURES and James Brown and Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding and the Motown Funk Brothers and THE BEATLES and THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE KINKS and Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy and B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King… you know what I’m saying? Because Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is paying tribute and homage to geniuses who gave us the ultimate soundtrack for our American Dream. I’m all in, man, I’m genuinely moved, and I’m glad there is a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.”
Nugent went on to reiterate his belief that that rappers and non-rock artists like Madonna don’t belong in the Hall Of Fame. “I mean, why don’t you just piss on Chuck Berry‘s grave, you know what I mean?” he said.
According to Ted, the fact that both Patti Smith and Grandmaster Flash have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is the result of “political correctness,” which he calls “a self-inflicted and embarrassing scourge.” He added in a mocking tone: “Yeah, Grandmaster Flash is rock and roll. And I’m a gay pirate.”
