Amboy Dukes Amboy Dukes

Rightwing guitar god Ted “The Duck” Nugent formed hardrock garage band The Amboy Dukes in Chicago in 1964, after having played in The Royal High Boys and The Lourds in his native Detroit, the latter with singer John Drake. Subsequently returning to that city, the band soon garnered a reputation for Nugent’s searing solos and the unusual positioning of his Gibson Byrdland guitar. By the time they signed to Mainstream Records for this self-titled debut, the group featured former The Gang guitarist Steve Farmer, bassist Bill White, keyboardist Rick Lober and former Galaxy Five drummer TT Palmer, who would later be resident engineer at Electric Ladyland. Although not as well-known as sophomore LP Journey To The Center Of The Mind, the debut album has a fine mix of hardrocking originals and individual cover tunes, including some psychedelic numbers and a wonderful treatment of Big Joe Williams’ blues classic, “Baby Please Don’t Go”, which provided their first taste of chart success.