The Ducks

The Ducks was a short-lived rock band formed in June 1977 in Santa Cruz, California. Although they lasted only seven weeks, they are best remembered for being a musical outlet for rock music icon Neil Young. The origins of the group began in the spring of 1977 when former Moby Grape guitarist / vocalist Jerry Miller began playing in Santa Cruz, California with a group of local musicians including guitarist / vocalist Jeff Blackburn. Former Buffalo Springfield / CSNY vocalist/guitarist Neil Young joined the band onstage during a show and then began hanging out with Blackburn. The two musicians brought in two other musicians – former Moby Grape bassist / vocalist Bob Mosley and studio drummer Johnny Craviotto – and began jamming together. Calling themselves The Ducks, the group began to play shows in local clubs in early July and began to draw a crowd because of Neil Young’s involvement. However, the group’s sets were democratic, and each member took the spotlight when it came to providing material and lead vocals. The Ducks played a total of 22 shows in Santa Cruz but were unable to play outside of the city due to Neil Young’s touring contract with Crazy Horse. With word spreading outside of Santa Cruz about the shows, many Neil Young fans began to show up and shout requests for his solo material, which began to draw attention away from the other three members. When Neil Young’s house was burglarized during his stint with The Ducks, he chose to bow out of this short-lived rock and roll experiment. The band continued for a short while without him but eventually called it quits. In April 2023, Neil Young dipped into his archives and released the first official album by The Ducks entitled High Flyin’. This set featured recordings from sone of those classic 1977 live shows as well as some studio recordings that they taped during their short time together.

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