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Derek St. Holmes has always been one of our favorite classic rock singers. While most classic rock fans are very much aware of his name, some may not realize that he has sung some of the classic rock’s finest songs. During his career, he has found the greatest success as the lead vocalist on multiple Ted Nugent albums. During the 1970s, before the MTV era, many fans assumed it was Ted Nugent singing lead vocals on all his tracks. While good old Ted sang many lead vocals, singers like Derek St. Holmes and Meat Loaf handled the lead vocals on many tracks. However, Derek St Holmes’ career has found success beyond just working with Ted. He has also worked with the Michael Schenker Group while forming his own bands, such as the short-lived Whitford/St. Holmes project and the great St. Paradise.
10 Memorable Derek St. Holmes Vocal Performances
# 10 – I’m Gonna Make You Mine – Michael Schenker Group
We open up our 10 Derek St. Holmes Classic Recordings list with this furious live version of the Michael Schenker Group’s “I’m Gonna Make You Mine.” The song was released on the album entitled Rock Will Never Die. The album was released in June of 1984. The live performance was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England.
# 9 – Workin’ Hard, Playin’ Hard – Ted Nugent
Continuing with our 10 Derek St. Holmes Classic Recordings list we take a listen to the first of multiple Ted Nugent tracks called “Workin’ Hard, Playin’ Hard.” The song was released on the album Cat Scratch Fever. The album was released in 1977. Do you remember how big this album was? “Workin’ Hard, Playin’ Hard” opened side two of the album. Record companies always loved to open the second side of a record with a killer cut. There was no denying how important Derek St. Holmes was to taking this one into the troposphere.
# 8 – Snakeskin Cowboys – Ted Nugent
There will be a lot of Ted Nugent on this list because Derek St. Holmes played such an essential role in so many of Ted Nugent’s great recordings. The song was released on Ted Nugent’s debut album, entitled Ted Nugent. The album was released in 1975. Once again, another fantastic Derek St. Holmes vocal performance opened up the album’s second side.
# 7 – Light My Way – Ted Nugent
In the number seven position on our 10 Derek St. Holmes Classic Recordings list is a truly great one. The song entitled “Light My Way” was released on the Free For All album. The album was released in 1976. This was Ted Nugent’s breakthrough album. It also got people talking about Derek St. Holmes. “Light My Way” was one of the album’s standout cuts.
# 6 – Straight to You – St. Paradise
And speaking of St.Paradise. After Derek St. Holmes left the Ted Nugent group at the end of the 1970s, he formed a band with drummer Denny Carmassi, best known for his work as a member of Montrose and Sammy Hagar’s band. Also in St. Paradise was Ted Nugent’s bass player, Rob Grange. This was a fantastic album. Sadly, the trio released one album. It’s one of those forgotten gems in classic rock history. The album was filled with great cuts, but this one was our favorite.
# 5 – Sheila – Derek St. Holmes
This may be the most genuine heartbreak song I have ever heard. You can really feel the pain in Derek St. Holmes’ voice. The song “Sheila” was released on Derek St. Holmes’ solo album entitled Then and Now. The album was released in 2000. Sheila was the album’s closing track. When Derek sings, “She said she needed more,” it hits you so hard in the heart because we all have heard that before in some form. Ouch!
# 4 – Live It Up – Ted Nugent
Cat Scratch Fever was one of the most played albums on my turntable in the 1970s. Derek St. Holmes sang seven of the album’s ten tracks. One of the best songs on the album was the smoking cut “Live it Up.” It was also the only song on the album that Ted Nugent did not take sole writing credit for, as the songwriting credit for this one was given to both Ted Nugent and Derek St. Holmes. The song would later be recorded again by Derek St. Holmes for his St. Paradise album, which was released a few years later.
# 3 – Dog Eat Dog – Ted Nugent
I can still remember seeing the ads for this album posted all over the place. All the rock magazines advertised Ted Nugent’s Free For All album. Magazines like Creem, Circus, Rolling Stone, and Hit Parade featured full-page ads. Columbia Records got behind promoting this album, and it worked. This was Ted Nugent’s breakthrough album. Many vocalists are on this album, including Ted Nugent and Meat Loaf. However, Derek was also involved and sang one of our album’s favorite cuts called “Dog Eat Dog.” It’s not a barn-burning screamer. It’s just really cool the way he did it. It was also released as the album’s only single.
# 2 – Sharpshooter – Whitford/St. Holmes
We couldn’t put together a Derek St. Holmes classic recording list without including a cut from the Whitford/St. Holmes project. This cool album was put together by Aerosmith’s Brad Whitford and Derek St. Holmes. The time was right for both musicians to do something like this as there were problems with their main gigs. The project lasted only for one album at the time before Brad went back with Aerosmith, and Derek moved on. It’s a killer record that every rock fan should own. The duo of Whitford/St. Holmes did get back together in 2015 and released one more album called Reunion.
# 1 – Stranglehold – Ted Nugent
We close out our 10 Derek St. Holmes Classic Recordings list with the classic song “Stranglehold.” The song was released on Ted Nugent’s debut album. The album was released in 1975. Ted Nugent’s debut album featured musicians Derek St. Holmes on lead vocals, obviously Ted Nugent on guitars, Rob Grange on bass, and Cliff Davis on drums. Derek St. Holmes sang the majority of the songs on the album. “Stranglehold,” was the album’s opening cut. There is no denying the impact this song had in classic rock history as the one that introduced the talents of guitarist Ted Nugent and the phenomenal vocal ability of our man Derek St. Holmes
10 Essential Derek St. Holmes Classic Recordings article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
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