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Biography

The Amboy Dukes were an American rock music band of the late 1960s and early 1970s from Detroit, Michigan, best remembered for their hit single "Journey to the Center of the Mind", and for launching the career of Ted Nugent. The band's name comes from the title of a novel by Irving Shulman about a Jewish street gang of the same name in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn during the 1940s. In the UK the group's records were released under the name of The American Amboy Dukes owing to the existence of a homonymous British group.

The band went through a number of personnel changes during its active years. Bassist Greg Arama died in 1979. The group contributed to the foundations of heavy metal and progressive rock.

Later careers

Steve Farmer currently teaches in Redford Township, Michigan. He also performs with backing bands at various venues in and around the Detroit area.

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 (Saint Thomas Records, STP0069) 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.

Band line-ups

1964

The Nugent Amboy Dukes began in the Chicago area in 1964, and played such venues as The Cellar in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights. They moved back to Detroit in 1968. The members included the following:

Bob Lehnert (vocalist)
Ted Nugent (lead guitar)
Gary Hicks (guitar, vocals)
Dick Treat (bass, vocals)
Gail Uptadale (drums)

1967

After a band shuffle for signing a deal with Mainstream Records of New York, the band members who released their debut album, The Amboy Dukes, were:

John Drake (vocals) ex-Lourds
Ted Nugent (lead guitar, vocals)
Rick Lober (keyboards)
Gary Hicks (guitar, vocals)
Bill White (bass, vocals)
Dave Palmer (drums) ex-The Galaxy Five, ex-The Citations

1968

Journey to the Center of the Mind saw another member shake-up:

John Drake (vocals)
Ted Nugent (lead guitar, vocals)
Gary Hicks (guitar, vocals)
Andy Solomon (organ, piano, vocals)
Greg Arama (bass)
Dave Palmer (drums)

1969

Migration saw another line-up:

Rusty Day (Russell Edward Davidson) (vocals, harmonica) ex-Rusty Day & The Midnighters
Ted Nugent (lead guitar, vocals)
Gary Hicks (guitar, vocals)
Andy Solomon (keyboards, sax, vocals)
Greg Arama (bass)
Dave Palmer (drums)

1972-1973

The Amboy Dukes saw another line-up:

John Angelos (Lead Vocals) ex-Mighty Quick, Pink Peach Mob
Ted Nugent (Ld. G, V, Percussion)
Rob Grange (B, V)
K.J. Knight (D, V)

2009 Reunion

The original Amboy Dukes performed 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. Followed by "Journey to the Center of the Mind", and ending with Mitch Ryder's "Jenny Take A Ride" (featuring original Ryder drummer Johnny "Bee" Badanjek). In recognition of the band's contribution to rock music history, they received a Distinguished Achievement award.

Discography

Studio albums

Other releases

You Talk Sunshine, I Breathe Fire - buoyed by the success of the "Journey" 45, they released this non LP in 1968 (Mainstream 693). It didn't chart.
The Best of the Original Amboy Dukes - released after The Amboy Dukes left Mainstream Records (Mainstream S/6125) in 1969, failed to chart.
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. (Saint Thomas Records STP 0069) - didn't chart.

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