“Beck, Clapton and Page are okay. But they’re no better than Jim McCarty from Cactus and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels”: Ted Nugent weighs in on top guitarist lists and the unsung heroes who deserve more recognition

Ted Nugent (L) and Jason Hartless perform during his Adios Mofo 2023 Tour at Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre on August 11, 2023 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Ted Nugent has given his take on Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck, and why he thinks they may be slightly overrated.

“Beck, Clapton, and Page are okay. The Yardbirds were intensely influential to any guitarist who's ever lived. But they're no Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen,” he told Forbes in a new interview, before shedding light on who he thinks deserves more recognition.

“They're no better than Jim McCarty from Cactus and Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels. Listen to Parchman Farm - you've never heard or felt anything like it. Even as subtle as Billy Gibbons [ZZ Top] is, he does Beck, Clapton, and Page better than Beck, Clapton, and Page, as far as I'm concerned.”

However, he admits that the songwriting prowess of Clapton, Page, and Beck has led them to be widely recognized as three of the greatest guitarists of all time. He says, “[Their] songs have a vastly more powerful impact on music lovers than individual instrumentalists do.

“The songs from The Yardbirds, and Clapton with Cream, are propelled almost solely by guitar lines. In three-piece groups like Cream, each member delivers equal impact, but the guitar is the theme of the song.”

Jeff Back (L), Eric Clapton (C), Jimmy Page (R) (Image credit: Venla Shalin; Kevin Winter; Kevin Mazur /Getty Images)

Nugent continues, “Think of Paperback Writer by The Beatles. The guitar lick is the song. With Smoke On the Water [Deep Purple], it’s the song, too. Even with what Page did in [Led] Zeppelin and The Yardbirds, and with what Beck and Clapton did with their individual performances in The Yardbirds [Clapton also in Cream], the songs were mostly propelled by the guitar line, which [as a guitarist] happens to be my favorite thing in life.”

In a 2019 Guitar World interview, Nugent also points out who he thinks should receive more credit for their work. “I mean, you’ll never get the world to accept you. And I’m not interested in the world accepting me.

“I’m interested in honest, sincere music lovers, gung-ho music lovers that really understand the essence of what Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis brought to us from Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker and B.B. and Albert and Freddie King and Lightnin’ Hopkins and all the originators, I’m interested in what they feel.”