A 1977 Santa Cruz bar band where Neil Young played as an equal alongside Moby Grape veterans, later unearthed on the Neil Young Archives.
MOODS · bar-band energy · country rock · bluesy · folk-rock · loose and communal · rootsy · live and unpolished · nostalgic · laid-back · vintage 1970s
BIOGRAPHY
The Ducks formed in summer 1977 in Santa Cruz, California, bringing together singer-songwriter Jeff Blackburn, Moby Grape alumnus Bob Mosley, drummer Johnny Craviotto, and Neil Young, who joined after sitting in with the group. Rather than a solo vehicle for Young, the band operated as a democratic quartet, with all four members singing lead and contributing original songs across a blend of country rock, blues, and folk-rock.
Bound by Young's touring contract with Crazy Horse, the Ducks could only perform within Santa Cruz city limits, playing 22 shows before disbanding after just seven weeks. No studio recordings were released at the time; the band's legacy rested on bootleg tapes until Young issued the archival live double album High Flyin' in 2023 as part of his Official Bootleg Series.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
The Ducks are a rare glimpse of Neil Young stepping back from the spotlight to play as one voice among four equals in a scrappy local bar band. Confined by contract to a single town, they built a fervent local following in just seven weeks before quietly dissolving. Decades later, the 2023 archival release High Flyin' let critics finally assess the band on its own terms, with some calling it one of the most joyful entries in Young's archives and others noting the group's charm as a genuinely great, unpretentious bar band that never got the chance to make a studio album.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
George has played this artist 14 times.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
