The Amboy Dukes
The Amboy Dukes were an American rock band formed in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, and later based in Detroit, Michigan. They are 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.
Origins
, 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:- Ted Nugent
- Bob Lehnert - who released a single "Better Than Today" with the band Acrobat in 1972.
- Gary Hicks
- Dick Treat
- Gail Uptadale
Band line-ups
The following are lists of band member line-ups that received credits on officially released studio albums. Members who may have played with the band at live dates between albums are not included, with the exception of the 1972 band members:1967
After a band shuffle for signing a deal with Mainstream Records of New York City, the band members who released their debut album, The Amboy Dukes, were:- Ted Nugent
- John Drake ex-The Lourds
- Steve Farmer ex-The Gang
- Dave Palmer ex-The Galaxy Five, ex-The Citations
- Rick Lober
- Bill White
1968
- Ted Nugent
- John Drake
- Steve Farmer
- Dave Palmer
- Andy Solomon ex-The Apostles
- Greg Arama ex-The Gang
1969
- Ted Nugent
- Steve Farmer
- Dave Palmer
- Andy Solomon
- Greg Arama
- Rusty Day pre-Cactus
1970
- Ted Nugent
- Dave Palmer
- Andy Solomon
- Greg Arama
1971
- Ted Nugent
- Andy Solomon
- K.J. Knight ex-The Day & Night Dealers Blues Band
- Rob Ruzga ex-The Day & Night Dealers Blues Band
1972
Early summer lineup:
- Ted Nugent
- Dave Gilbert
- Bill White
- Keith Johnstone
- Ted Nugent
- John Angelos
- Rob Grange
- Joe Vitale
1973
Call of the Wild saw another line-up:- Ted Nugent
- Rob Grange
- Vic Mastrianni
- Andy Jezowski
- Gabriel Magno
1974
- Ted Nugent
- Rob Grange
- Vic Mastrianni
- Andy Jezowski
Timeline
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bar:Andy Jezowski from:01/01/1973 till:01/08/1974 color:vocals
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bar:Dave Palmer from:01/01/1967 till:01/01/1971 color:drums
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Later happenings
Nugent went on to have a successful solo career in the 1970s and joined the Damn Yankees supergroup in the late 1980s. Since the 2000s, Nugent has been a prominent activist, both for hunting and for conservative politics.Vocalist Rusty Day joined The Detroit Wheels, replacing Mitch Ryder as lead vocalist. Under Day, that band was renamed "Detroit;" it disbanded in 1974. He then returned to his previous band, Cactus, in 1976, playing with them until 1979. After turning down offers to front AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd after the deaths of those bands' respective lead singers, Day was shot dead in 1982.
Bassist Rob Grange gelled with Nugent on the last two Dukes albums and went forward with him to help create the first four platinum albums of Nugent's solo career.
Bassist Greg Arama died in 1979.
Steve Farmer later taught in Redford Township, Michigan. He also performed with backing bands at various venues in and around the Detroit area. Farmer died on April 7, 2020, aged 71.
Rick Lober is a classically trained composer best known in the greater Detroit metro area for his frenetic style of keyboard playing. Since the early 1990s, he has been in and out of the studio, appearing as performer/songwriter on the Steve Farmer CD Journey to the Darkside of the Mind completed in 2000. He is currently working in the studio and performing live with local Detroit rock legend Jeffrey Faust and his band "The Woodsman", which performs throughout Michigan and Canada.
In 2008, the Amboy Dukes were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
2009 reunion
The original Amboy Dukes performed on April 17, 2009, at the Detroit Music Awards at The Fillmore Detroit. Their performance began with the song "Baby Please Don't Go", from their 1967 debut single. This was followed by "Journey to the Center of the Mind", and ending with Mitch Ryder's "Jenny Take A Ride". In recognition of the band's contribution to rock music history, they received a Distinguished Achievement award. As the band left the stage, Nugent thanked all his fellow band members and told the crowd "And everyone knows that The Amboy Dukes are the ultimate garage band on planet earth".Music
The Amboy Dukes' primary genres were psychedelic rock, acid rock and hard rock. The band is also considered to be proto-punk.Discography
Albums
Singles
Other releases
- The Best of the Original Amboy Dukes - released after The Amboy Dukes left Mainstream Records in 1969, failed to chart.
- Journeys and Migrations - Mainstream compilation double lp with songs of first 3 Amboy Dukes albums on Mainstream Records in 1973.
- Dr. Slingshot - Mainstream compilation with songs of the 1st and 3rd Amboy Dukes albums on Mainstream Records in 1974.
- Journey To The Darkside of The Mind, released in 2000, saw a rebirth of The Amboy Dukes by Steve Farmer and original keyboardist Rick Lober, sans Ted Nugent - didn't chart.
- Two early songs featuring Drake on lead vocals and composition by Farmer/Nugent have been released as bonus tracks on various compact disc releases. They are titled J.B. Special and Sobbin' In My Mug of Beer and show the high energy of the first group that recorded as The Amboy Dukes. There are two different versions of J.B. Special, a shorter version clocking around 2:21 is quicker tempo with additional lyrics and is titled "alternate version". A more polished and slower tempo version clocks in around 2:33. It was recorded as a follow up single to their first album but not released at the time. Sobbin' In My Mug of Beer is a record label audition predating the first album sessions.