Triumph’s Rik Emmett recently opened up about his complex relationship with Ted Nugent. He discussed both the positive musical influence and negative political aspects of the Detroit rocker in an interview with Rock History Music.
The guitarist reflected on how Nugent’s early work with the Amboy Dukes shaped his own musical preferences, particularly regarding guitar choice and sound.
“These are kind of my favorite types of guitars. You know a semi acoustic electric. And one of the reasons is because early on in my life, the madman from Detroit, Ted Nugent was in the Amboy Dukes and he used a Gibson Byrdland,” Emmett said. “And it was such a great looking sexy guitar almost very very similar to this kind of guitar, hollow, you know, so that he could stand in front of the amp and the thing would be howling with feedback. And I like it.”
Emmett explained his appreciation for the physical connection he feels with hollow-body guitars. He acknowledged Nugent’s lasting musical impact despite personal disagreements.
“I like when the body I can feel it against me physically. I pick notes and I can feel it vibrating, you know, that matters to me. And I have no respect for Nugent as a political entity, you know, but he was there in the at the beginning of my roots as a guitar player and I still respect that,” he continued. “I respect the fact and when Nugent talks about ‘Cat Scratch Fever’ and like I’m gonna crank it up and I totally I understand that.”
The Triumph frontman noted how his musical tastes evolved beyond Nugent’s influence as he discovered other artists.
“Now as a teenager I got from Nugent, I was very quickly to sort of Ritchie Blackmore was more my kind of guy you know the sophisticated nature of Deep Purple was more my thing than you know,” Emmett said. “But he was there and he was a rock star, you know, at a time when I was looking at rock stars and going, ‘Yeah, I want to be one of those guys.'”
Emmett’s reflections on early influences come from a musician who built one of Canada’s most successful rock careers during the arena rock era of the 1970s and 1980s.
Canada’s Walk of Fame documented that Triumph achieved remarkable commercial success with 25 Gold and Platinum Awards in Canada and the United States across their 16 albums and DVDs. The band’s success was built on relentless touring and innovative live performances that epitomized the arena rock experience of their era.
Emmett served as Triumph’s creative driving force from 1975 to 1988. He functioned as the band’s lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter during their most successful period. YouTube documentation revealed that while Emmett was with the band, Triumph released 7 Platinum and 10 Gold LPs in Canada. This established them as one of the premier touring rock acts in North America with generous FM radio airplay and heavy MTV rotation.
The guitarist’s departure from Triumph in 1988 marked the end of an era for the Canadian rock trio. Emmett chose to pursue a solo career that would span decades. Wikipedia noted that his first solo album “Absolutely” was released in 1990 and became a moderate hit. It achieved gold status and launched a prolific solo career that has since produced 20 studio and live albums.
Triumph’s legacy was later cemented with multiple hall of fame inductions, including the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007. Emmett reunited with former bandmates Gil Moore and Mike Levine to accept the honor.
