In a new chat with ClassicRockHistory.com, Ted Nugent said he couldn’t hang out with Lynyrd Skynyrd because he was sober.
The interviewer wanted to learn how it was touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd in the 1970s. To which the singer responded:
“I’ve been blessed to tour with the greatest bands ever, and it is always doubly fascinating as a maniacal musical fan and fellow musician. The Lynyrd Skynyrd guys were 100% the real McCoy on every level. Killer soulful music, killer tight band, killer individual talent, and killer old-school R&B-inspired real rock ‘n’ roll. Because I never drank alcohol or smoked any dope, there was negligible interaction beyond gig time, so we all got along just fine, but not any real hanging out.”
Nugent Honored Gary Rossington After His Passing
After Lynyrd Skynyrd founder Gary Rossington’s death, Nugent paid tribute to him on his show, the Nightly Nuge. He praised Rossington’s musicianship and work ethic. The rocker also talked about supporting the band in the late 1970s:
“In 1977 — I believe that was the year when their plane went down — Lynyrd Skynyrd and I were co-headlining two nights at Madison Square Garden. And after the plane went down, there was a lot of heartbreak, obviously, and a lot of disarray. And the promoters in New York, Ron Delsener — I can’t believe I remember all these guys’ names. But the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane went down. And they lost Ronnie, and they lost members of their band.”
He went on to share how he helped Lynyrd Skynyrd:
“So, everybody goes, ‘Well, we’re gonna have to cancel.’ And then Ron Delsener said, ‘You know, it’s sold out both nights.’ I said, ‘I’ll play double the length, and we’ll donate all the proceeds to the Lynyrd Skynyrd family. Now it’s amazing you never heard that story because if Ted Nugent does something good — which it wasn’t just me; it was my entire team, my band, my crew, my management. But we donated all that money from two nights at Madison Square Garden to the Lynyrd Skynyrd families after that tragic accident.”
Later, in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s The Edge of Forever Tour between 1999 and 2002 in support of their album, ‘Edge of Forever,’ Nugent again joined the band on stage to perform shows.