The Amboy Dukes
| The Amboy Dukes | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1964–1975 |
| Labels | |
| Past members |
Ted Nugent Dave Palmer Steve Farmer John Drake Rick Lober Bill White Greg Arama Andy Solomon Rusty Day K.J. Knight Rob Ruzga Rob Grange Andy Jezowski Vic Mastrianni Gabriel Magno |
The Amboy Dukes were an American rock band formed in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan, best known for their one hit single "Journey to the Center of the Mind". The band's name comes from the title of a novel by Irving Shulman. In the UK the group's records were released under the name of The American Amboy Dukes because of the existence of a British group with the same name.
The band went through a number of personnel changes during its active years, the only constant being lead guitarist and composer Ted Nugent. The band transitioned to being Nugent's backing band before he discontinued the name in 1975. The group contributed to the foundations of heavy metal and progressive rock. The group's primary genres were psychedelic rock,acid rock and hard rock.
Ted Nugent, the nucleus of The Amboy Dukes, was born and raised in Detroit and started performing in 1958 at age 10. He played in a group called The Royal High Boys from 1960 to 1962 and later in group named The Lourds, where he first met future Amboy Dukes lead vocalist John Drake. Nugent played with The Lourds until his family moved to Illinois, where he founded The Amboy Dukes in the Chicago area in 1964, playing at The Cellar, in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, among other venues. They later relocated to Nugent's hometown of Detroit. The members included the following:
The above lineup did not release any recordings. Nugent's early guitar playing style with his signature Gibson Byrdland positioned high on his chest became an iconic playing style that visually differentiated him from other players. He combined this with his natural virtuosity and frenzied playing style on lead, adding a sonic differentiation to his unusual visual approach. This gave him an edge as a performance artist. Nugent's appreciation for his guitar inspired him to compose the song "Flight of the Byrd," which was released as a single and as part of their most popular album, Journey to the Center of the Mind.
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