Ted Nugent Recalled Wild Stage Antics and How He Nearly Died 40 Times: “You Can’t Stand There and Play”

Although performing in bands like The Amboy Dukes and Damn Yankees, Ted Nugent produced a successful solo career that included over a dozen albums. And since stepping on stage during the 1960s, the singer gained the nicknames The Nuge and Motor City Madman. Gaining the title of Motor City Madman, Nugent appeared to live up to the name given his wild antics on stage. Known for putting on a memorable performance, the legendary singer recently admitted he nearly died 30 to 40 times throughout his career. 

Discussing his career with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM, Nugent remembered the massive amount of energy he had when on stage. “I mean, the running, the athleticism, the ramp — we created the whole ramp thing onstage because I was so hyper, so driven by the rhythms that my incredible band provided that you can’t stand there and play.”

While having more than enough memories from his time on the road, Nugent added that more than a few times he went a little too far, almost killing himself. “Coming down out of the ceiling at Cobo Hall in the ‘80s, my hair got caught in the pulley 140 feet up in the air. And I had to literally violently yank out that big shard of hair from the pulley or I’d have plummeted to the ground and died.”

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Ted Nugent And The Wild Buffalo

Another moment that Nugent found himself in trouble happened when he thought of riding a massive buffalo on stage. “Riding the buffalo onstage at the House of Blues in Chicago, where we’re going up the elevator where the buffalo’s horns were up against my ass. And if he would sneeze, I’d have been fixed for life.” Apparently, he didn’t learn as he rode a buffalo more than once.

Looking back on his life in the spotlight, Nugent insisted he felt like a racecar driver when it came to his concerts and often pushed himself to “near-death limits.” “I couldn’t have told you that was my approach back then, but that was my approach back then.”

With Nugent living to tell his story, he concluded, “I should have died, oh, maybe 30, 40 times. But luckily I was really healthy and athletic.”

(Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images)