Cat Scratch Fever – Ted Nugent | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#30); 1977
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Today Ted Nugent’s the poster boy for the NRA, however, in the summer of ’68 he and the Amboy Dukes were riding high on their psychedelic classic, Journey To The Center Of The Mind.
“Nuge” navigated the Dukes through various incarnations before striking out on his own in 1975. The solo Ted added a new wild man image to his trademark high-energy guitar-driven rock and ear-shattering vocals.
The formula made for publicity generating live performances which drove Ted Nugent and Free-For-All into the album Top 30. Up next: Cat Scratch Fever and the signature title song. With CSF all the loincloth-and-bare-chest antics paid off.
The album soared to triple platinum status, which drove sales Nugent’s first two LPs into two million plus territory, and the single nudged the Top 30.
Although most of his subsequent long-players sold well enough, in 1990 Ted abandoned the solo life to co-found Damn Yankees, which brought him a Top 10 pop chart appearance when High Enough hit #3.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Lew Futterman
- Tom Werman
- Cliff Davies
Lyrics Written by:
- Ted Nugent
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).