Derek St. Holmes (born February 24, 1953) is an American rock musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for Ted Nugent's early solo career. After splitting from Nugent in 1978, St. Holmes worked with various artists, most notably the Whitford/St. Holmes project with Brad Whitford, who had then recently parted ways with Aerosmith. He has also reunited with Nugent on several occasions. Career St. Holmes was born and raised in Riverview, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He received his first guitar for his eleventh birthday. He started his own neighborhood band, The Organized Confusion, and also played for high school dances. 1970s St. Holmes started the three-piece band Scott in 1972, for which he was lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. In 1974, Scott opened for an Amboy Dukes show at the Lincoln Park Theater. The Amboy Dukes and their guitar player Ted Nugent had already recorded several albums and were a staple of the Midwest rock scene at the time. When the Amboy Dukes broke up, Nugent's road manager (Phil Nicholson) contacted St. Holmes about auditioning as lead singer for Nugent's new solo project. St. Holmes joined Ted Nugent, former Amboy Dukes bassist Rob Grange and drummer Cliff Davies to release Nugent's self-titled debut album in 1975. He is the lead vocalist on the three most popular recordings from the debut album: "Hey Baby" (also composed by St. Holmes), "Stranglehold" and "Just What the Doctor Ordered". St. Holmes briefly left Nugent in mid-1976, citing personal, financial and musical differences. He returned in time to contribute to several songs on Nugent's sophomore effort Free-for-All, including lead vocals on "Dog Eat Dog", but by that time several of the album's songs had already been recorded with Meat Loaf providing lead vocals. St. Holmes remained in Nugent's band for the 1977 album Cat Scratch Fever and its subsequent tour which produced the 1978 Double Live Gonzo! album. He and Nugent then parted ways, as their differences continued to grow. In 1979, St. Holmes joined up with Ted Nugent's bass player Rob Grange and ex-Montrose drummer Denny Carmassi to form St. Paradise. They released one self-titled album for Warner Brothers in 1979 before moving on to other musical projects. 1980s In 1981, St. Holmes teamed up with Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford for the short-lived Whitford/St. Holmes band. As with St. Paradise, Whitford/St. Holmes released only one self-titled album before splitting.