It’s no secret that Hulk Hogan was the purveyor of many tall tales throughout his life. The wrestling icon would often weave his own kayfabe cinematic universe, but there’s one thing we can ultimately confirm about Terry Gene Bollea — the man could play bass.

According to Hogan, he began playing guitar in junior high school. The future wrestler would eventually join a band, but after he was replaced by a more talented guitarist, Hulk switched over to bass and learned his chops.

Eventually, Hogan would end up playing bass in a Tampa band called Ruckus. “When I was in high school there were like five or six good bands,” Hogan told Noisey, “and I got all the good people out of these bands and into one band called Ruckus … All of a sudden, before I knew it, there was a bunch of wrestlers at our gigs.”

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Music was an integral part of Hulk Hogan’s wrestling career from the very beginning. Story goes that Hogan broke into the business through the connections he made while playing Ruckus gigs.

No recordings of Ruckus have been unearthed, but photos do exist of the elusive band:

https://x.com/NecroButcher187/status/1773116637001945368

As Hogan became one of the biggest names in New Japan Pro Wrestling, he continued his musical pursuits with a group called Itch-Band. Hulk Hogan & Itch-Ban released an objectively horrible album in 1983, on which Hogan is credited on vocals and bass, though musician Masayoshi Kabe is also credited on bass.

The record was only issued in Japan, and it’s packed to the brim with nonsensical Japanese pop mixed with rock ’n’ roll and spoken-word lyrics. It’s honestly tough to recognize Hogan’s voice throughout the three-song EP.

Despite a lackluster music career thus far, Hulkamania would soon run wild in the WWE, turning Hulk Hogan into the biggest star in the history of pro wrestling.

WWE would eventually allude to Hogan’s rock ’n’ roll chops. At the 1987 Slammy Awards, Vince McMahon gave a truly cursed live performance of the original song “Stand Back.” Hogan brandished a yellow bass guitar during the performance, standing behind McMahon and his backup dancers while miming a slap style instead of actually playing live.

“Stand Back” saw an official release on Epic Records in 1987, acting as the b-side to Koko B. Ware’s “Piledriver.” WWE entrance music legend Jim Johnston has the only credit for “Stand Back,” so don’t expect to hear Hogan on the recorded version.

Fast-forward to 1993, Hogan tag-teamed with Green Jellÿ to record a cover of Gary Glitter’s “I’m the Leader of the Gang.” The track was actually a hit in the UK, reaching No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart.

It wouldn’t be until Hogan defected to WCW that we’d get another record from the Hulkster. In 1995, Hogan joined forces with Jimmy Hart, Hulk’s then-wife Linda Bollea and musician J.J. Maguire to form The Wrestling Boot Band. The group would unleash Hulk Rules upon the world — a 10-track, full-length album.

“Hulk played bass on it,” Hart recalled to Noisey. “Hulk and everybody else there just chipped in, sat around for a few weeks, and wrote ten songs. All of a sudden, we got a major record deal on Select Records.”

Breaking down Hulk Rules would take another article entirely, but one standout track that still resonates to this day is “Hulkster in Heaven,” apparently written about a Make-a-Wish kid who Hogan invited to sit ringside at a 1992 UK wrestling show.

As the legend goes, Hulk went out to the ring that night, and when he looked over to see his terminally ill fan, the seat reserved for him was empty. Hogan was later informed that the young fan had died before the match had begun.

Hogan never actually wrestled in the UK in 1992, but the song itself 100-percent does exist.

https://youtu.be/b9JfhANM9B0?si=xQ_uIz3ZTMY7ij3Y

Finally, Hogan attempted to resurrect his career in music by playing bass in both the Rolling Stones and Metallica.

“I was in the UK for some award show, and Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger’s old lady, was walking out with me to present this award,” Hogan recalled. “I heard her talking on the phone to Mick about, ‘Oh, you got to find a bass player and you’ve only got two different choices.’ I was like ‘Look, I used to play bass. I know all the Rolling Stones songs. Tell Mick if you guys need a bass player for the Rolling Stones, I swear to god I could show up. I could rehearse one day and play everything they play. Please tell Mick, please tell Mick.’ Never heard a word back.”

Despite never getting that audition for the Stones, the wrestling legend did put it into the press that he’d auditioned for Metallica after Jason Newsted left the band. The claim was laughed off by multiple members of Metallica, and Hogan did eventually admit to fabricating the story.

“I was hoping for a call from them but never got one,” Hogan claimed. “All the haters were like ‘You never auditioned for Metallica!’ Of course I didn’t—but I tried!”

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The Rolling Stones and Metallica may not have called Hogan, but the ‘Real American’ did step onstage on a number of occasions to jam with real bands. Watch the Hulkster legitimately play bass at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with a band called Diamondback.

Despite never quite making it in the music world, Hogan still left his indelible mark on American pop culture. He’ll forever be known as the man who launched WWE into the stratosphere, and he’ll forever be one of wrestling’s all-time great performers.

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