The Amboy Dukes | Artist

The Amboy Dukes were and American psychedelic rock band formed 1964 in Chicago by Ted Nugent (bass, guitar, percussion, vocals), Bob Lehnert (vocalists), Gary Hicks (guitar, vocals), Dick Treat (bass, vocals), and Gail Uptadale (drums). This founding lineup was short lived and soon reformed around leader Ted Nugent, along with Steve Farmer (rhythm guitar), Dave Palmer (drums), Bill White (bass), and Rick Lober (keyboards). The band also relocated to Detroit, Michigan. Best known for their only hit single, "Journey to the Center of the Mind", the Amboy Dukes were a psychedelic rock band that pioneered a proto-metal and psychedelic combination, very much driven by Nugent's guiter pyrotechnics. The band eventually transitioned to being Nugent's backing band before he discontinued the name in 1975 and carried on as a soloist. They released six studio albums - the last three credited to Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes. Standout albums include The Amboy Dukes (1968), Journey to the Centre of the Mind (1968), Migration (1968), Call of the Wild (1974), and Tooth Fang & Claw (1974). Also highly recommended is the 1971 live album Survival of the Fittest. Later in life, the fiercely anti-drug Ted Nugent would claim that the Amboy Dukes did not celebrate drug use as other late-1960s and early 1970s bands did. Nonetheless, their music was categorized as "acid rock" and their Steve Farmer-penned drug-fixated lyrics added a psychedelic sensibility to an otherwise proto-metal sound. After the Dukes disbanded, Ted Nugent aka The Motor City Madman enjoyed a successful solo musical career, as well as notoriety as a gun-totin' arch conservative supporter of the NRA and Republican Party, and one of Donald Trump's most outspoken supporters. The band's name comes from the title of a novel by Irving Shulman.

Artist Website: michiganrockandrolllegends/amboy-dukes

Featured Albums: The Amboy Dukes

Related Artists: Ted Nugent, Cactus