has also subsequently lent his talents to recordings by other artists and by the dawn of the 21st century, finally launched his own solo career. Hailing from a small city not far from Detroit (Riverview, MI),
became originally interested in music via his mother, who sang regularly in a church choir. Not long after,
picked up guitar and began to sing himself and was influenced by the usual Brit-rock suspects of the '60s (
). By the early '70s,
was fronting a local Michigan rock outfit called Scott, who opened up several shows for
.
's singer at the time left the Motor City Madman high and dry and several auditions were arranged with
, all of which proved unfruitful. Just as
was about to relocate to the West Coast to try his luck there, a final audition was arranged and this time,
decided to unite.
A fine rhythm section of bassist
Rob Grange and drummer
Cliff Davies signed on as well, as the newly assembled
Ted Nugent Band toured the U.S. for a few years, and in the process, became one of tightest and most ferocious hard rock outfits in the U.S. The quartet was signed to Epic shortly thereafter, resulting in
Nugent's self-titled release in 1975. The album (along with continued non-stop touring) helped establish the group even further, but inter-band friction threatened to derail the group (
Nugent wanted to be the sole leader and focus of the attention, while the other members wanted more of a democracy). Just prior to when recording sessions for a sophomore effort were scheduled to get under way,
St. Holmes left the group and was replaced by a then-unknown
Meat Loaf for 1976's
Free-for-All (although
St. Holmes managed to appear on some of the recording). While the album was another success,
Nugent quickly realized that
St. Holmes was better suited for the group and was welcomed back into the band prior to the album's supporting tour.
Nugent's third release, 1977's
Cat Scratch Fever, turned out to be the group's big commercial breakthrough, resulting in the
Nuge's lone solo hit single (the album's anthemic title track) and further sold-out arena tours. But big-time success only seemed to fuel the problems between
St. Holmes and
Nugent, resulting in
St. Holmes leaving the band for good shortly after the 1978 in-concert set
Double Live Gonzo (
Nugent continued to prosper for a period, but
St. Holmes' exit would ultimately prove detrimental to the
Nuge's career).
St. Holmes formed a new outfit,
Saint Paradise (along with his former
Nugent bandmate
Grange), who only managed to issue a lone self-titled release for Warner Bros. in 1979 before splitting up as well. Up next for
St. Holmes was a collaboration with former
Aerosmith guitarist
Brad Whitford, dubbed
Whitford/
St. Holmes. That duo also managed to issue only a lone self-titled release in 1981 for Columbia Records (although another album was completed, it was ultimately shelved) before
Whitford returned back to
Aerosmith and
St. Holmes briefly reunited with
Nugent for a tour.
St. Holmes was then invited to join
Michael Schenker's band in England, but his participation with the former
Scorpions/
UFO guitarist only lasted for a pair of albums,
Built to Destroy and
Live at Hammersmith, as
St. Holmes opted to return back home in the U.S. to be closer to his wife and then-newborn baby.
St. Holmes spent a few years in the mid-'80s putting together a band in Chicago before reuniting once more with
Nugent.
St. Holmes continued to tour and record off and on with the
Nuge (
Nugent's main focus during the late '80s/early '90s was the pop/rock supergroup
Damn Yankees, however), including lending his vocals to
Nugent's 1995 back to basics release
Spirit of the Wild. Soonafter,
St. Holmes formed Big People, which was comprised of former
Cars bassist/vocalist
Ben Orr (who sadly passed away in October of 2000),
Billy Joel drummer
Liberty DeVitto, plus guitarists
Pat Travers and former
.38 Special member
Jeff Carlisi. 2000 saw the release of
St. Holmes' first true solo release, the fine
Then & Now.
–
Greg Prato, Rovi