Robert de la Grange (born Flint, Michigan), known by his stage name Rob Grange, is an American rock bass guitarist, best known for his work with Ted Nugent.[1]
Around June 1971 Rob (vocals, bass) became a member of legendary hard rock band Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes with Ted Nugent (vocals, lead guitar, percussion), John Angelos (vocals, harmonica) and Joe Vitale (drums), the latter replaced in January 1972 by K.J. Knight (vocals, drums). In March 1972 John Angelos left the band and was replaced by Danny Gore (lead vocals, rhythm guitar). In October 1972 K.J. Knight and Danny Gore left the band and were replaced by Vic Mastrianni (vocals, drums). In 1973 the band recorded an album entitled: "Call of the Wild" with the help of session men: Andy Jesowski (vocals) and Gabriel "Gabe" Magno (organ Hammond B-3, piano, synthesizer, flute), the latter also went on the road with the band, but after a few gigs, they decided to drop having a live keyboard player and went back to a 3 piece lineup[2]. In 1974 the band released the album "Tooth Fang & Claw", and soon after Vic Mastrianni left the band and was replaced by Derek St. Holmes (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Brian Staffield (drums). At this point Ted Nugent dropped The Amboy Dukes name and the band became The Ted Nugent Band. They were definitely a "band" and all of them wanted that and discussed it. None of them considered themselves as "back up players". One of the conditions of Derek St. Holmes joining them, was it was call a "band". So, they toured as The Ted Nugent Band and, in 1975, after replaced Brian Staffield with Cliff Davies on vocals and drums, they went into the studio to do the first album, which at the time was unnamed, for Epic Records. At this point, David Krebs of Leber & Krebs Management, convinced Ted Nugent to drop the "band" and just call it "Ted Nugent". This was a total surprise to the "band" and it was the beginning of the end. In 1978, only three years later and with 4 Platinium albums ("Ted Nugent"(1975), "Free-for-All" (1976), "Cat Scratch Fever" (1977) and "Double Live Gonzo!" (1978)), Rob and Derek St. Holmes moved on to form a new rock band called St. Paradise (with Denny Carmassi on drums and John Corey on keyboards), who released one eponymous album for Warner Bros. in 1979, before splitting up as well.