Ted Nugent recently reckoned that his political views are one of the main reasons he hasn’t been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
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.
After host Adam Carolla on The Adam Carolla Show opined that “someone like Joan Jett is only in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame because she’s a female and because she’s a lesbian, Ted Nugent responded:
“I know you like shocks in life. I’m gonna shock you, because I think Joan Jettshould be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame just because of her music. But not yet, because you have to get STYX in first, you have to get Night Ranger in first, you have to get Triumph. Triumph should be [in there]. I can name a hundred [deserving] bands [that aren’t in there].”
Ted Nugent said he likes Joan Jett and praised her raw garage-rock style, calling her a great rhythm guitarist, but argued she doesn’t belong on a top 100 guitarists list because he believes many other players are more technically skilled and adventurous.
Nugent continued: “I’ll never forget — somebody brought up during an interview, they said we saw the Rolling Stone list of top 100 guitar players, Ted, and what do you think that Joan Jett is in there? And I go — it’s on tape — I said, ‘I love Joan Jett.’ She’s a garage-band, dirty, nasty, uppity… She’s my favorite lesbian. And some of my greatest memories include lesbians. The point is, is that she’s not in the top 100 guitar player list because I’ve got a hundred guitar players that are really virtuosos and adventurous… [Joan] plays a great rhythm guitar.”
