Ted Nugent recently opened up about his song ‘Fred Bear’ in an interview with Drake And Mike Show. During the interview, Nugent talked about the song’s writing process and admitted he was an emotional wreck while writing the music for his mentor, Fred Bear.
Nugent recalled the time he felt overwhelmed while he was writing the song. He said:
“Yeah, what Michael [Cartellone] and Gunner [Ross] and I did in Canton at Pearl Sound [Studios] was truly mystical because I was an emotional wreck, and I didn’t write the song, I just started playing it. I sang it, I didn’t write anything down, and I called Michael. I was hyperventilating. I said, ‘We got to get in the studio and capture, something’s happening, [something] real powerful. With this piece of music, I’m just unleashing.'”
Though his bandmates didn’t know who Fred Bear was, the two helped the rocker capture the moment he felt that was powerful. He continued:
“Gunner didn’t know who Fred Bear was, and I don’t think Mike knew who Fred Bear was. But they could tell how hurt I was, how emotional I was. Gunner and Michael nailed it. I only recorded it quickly in an afternoon just to capture it. But what we captured is what everybody ended up hearing.”
Apparently, Nugent was sure people would understand his and his bandmates’ emotions in the song. He added:
“I made a couple of cassettes for Fred’s widow Henrietta, and a few of our old hunting buddies, the chief of police Frank Mitchelle in Detroit, who was a great Fred Bear fan, and a bunch of bow hunting buddies; I think I made four or five cassettes. I had no idea what was going to happen. I just knew that those who loved Fred Bear would understand I captured our hurt and our love for the man.”
He then recalled the confusion regarding the song’s title:
“And then [a radio station] got a hold of it, and [the dj] thought it was a song called ‘Fred, The Bear.’ He played it, but because the song is so real, so musical and human that the phones lit up, and it’s been the number one requested song in Michigan since that day in 1989 or whatever it was.”
The rocker opened up about his bow-hunting mate in another interview and revealed how his passing away affected him. He told that the song just flowed, and felt like he was doing God’s work. Nugent also called Bear the world’s greatest bow hunter and claimed that he was the most sincere, lovable guy he has ever met in his life.
See the interview below.
