Late Amboy Dukes singer John Drake shared spotlight with Ted Nugent

Before he retired, John Drake had been selling automobile parts to repair shops for years.

But he never stopped singing, not since the 1960s, when he had a hit with the Amboy Dukes and bandmate Ted Nugent on the acid-flavored, psychedelic rock classic "Journey to the Center of the Mind."

Mr. Drake, who joined the Amboy Dukes when they were based in Chicago and moved with the band to Detroit, died Aug. 29 in hospice care of complications from cancer, according to his wife Mary Ann Fosco. He was 74 and lived in Downers Grove.

His voice was in perfect sync with the band's sound, which, fueled by Nugent's lead guitar, was as propulsive as a Detroit muscle car.

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