Stranglehold (Ted Nugent song)

"Stranglehold"
Song by Ted Nugent from the album Ted Nugent
Released November 1975 (US),
March 1976 (UK)[1]
Genre Hard rock, stoner rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock
Length

8:26

3:40 (single edit)
Label Epic Records
Writer Ted Nugent
Composer Rob Grange, Derek St. Holmes and Cliff Davies
Producer Tom Werman and Lew Futterman
Ted Nugent track listing

"Stranglehold"
(1)
"Stormtroopin'"
(2--)

"Stranglehold" is a single and the first track from Ted Nugent's self-titled 1975 album. The vocals are performed not by Nugent, but by Derek St. Holmes. The "Sometimes you wanna get higher" verse is sung by Ted himself. In Martin Popoff's book, "Epic Ted Nugent", Nugent admits that the song "Stranglehold" was co-written by Rob Grange, yet he never received a share for co-writer.[2] "Stranglehold" would set the stage for Nugent's career, a guitar-driven track over eight minutes long - its famous guitar solo having been recorded in a single take.

Reception

Stranglehold has been ranked 31st greatest guitar solo of all time by Guitar World.[3]

Cover versions

The song was covered by Oklahoma band Cross Canadian Ragweed as a hidden track on their 2004 album Soul Gravy. American metal band Tool is known to have covered this song with the guitar accompaniment of Buzz Osborne of Melvins while on tour for their 1996 album Ænima, and the lines "Got you in a stranglehold, baby" features in the album track "Crawl Away" off 1993's Undertow, just before the song's final chorus and outro.

In 2010/2011, the song was covered by Ministry on their compilation album Undercover.

Usage in media

It has been featured in the films Pain & Gain, Dazed and Confused, Rock Star, Invincible, Superbad, and Bad News Bears as well as the television shows Freaks and Geeks, Supernatural, Entourage, Friday Night Lights and House M.D.. It is also featured over the end credits of the Entourage episode Sorry, Ari.

It is featured as the theme song for the popular DFW sports talk radio show the "G-Bag Nation" (host Gavin Dawson) on 105.3 The Fan KRLD-FM.

In video games it appears as a playable track in Guitar Hero World Tour as an encore played after defeating Nugent in a guitar battle. However, the version in World Tour censors the words "bitch" and "higher" whenever they are sung, and the song is a different recording (the uncensored version of this recording can be heard in the movie Beer for my Horses ). In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories it is on the V-ROCK radio station. Also in BURN the Detroit fire dept documentary (at the end of the movie)

It is heard in a 2012 TV commercial for the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta.[4][5]

It has been used as at-bat music by several Major League Baseball Players, including Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee, New York Mets outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon. It is also played during the 1st period entrance for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The song was also included in Battlefield: Hardline

UFC fighter Joseph Benavidez uses the song as his walkout music.[6]

See also

References

  1. Strong, M. C. (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books Ltd. p. 594. ISBN 0-86241-385-0.
  2. Martin Popoff (2012). "Epic Ted Nugent". Toronto, Canada: Power Chord Press. pp. 64 – 65.
  3. "50 Greatest Guitar Solos". guitarworld.com. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
  4. "Ted Nugent's 'Strangehold' Featured In Volkswagen Commercial". RTTNews. 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  5. "Ted Nugent Classic Featured In New Volkswagen Jetta Commercial". bravewords.com. 2012-01-22. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  6. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/The-Walkmen-UFC-on-Fox-9-Walkout-Songs-60799

External links