"Journey to the Center of the Mind" is a song released by

the Amboy Dukes The Amboy Dukes were an American rock band formed in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, and later based in Detroit, Michigan. They are best known for their only hit single, " Journey to the Center of the Mind". The band's name comes from the title of ...

in 1968. It reached number 16 on the '' Billboard'' charts in 1968 and number 19 in Canada.

Original recording

"Journey to the Center of the Mind" featured a psychedelic rock, garage rock, hard rock and

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, d ...

sound. The song features lyrics written by the Dukes' second guitarist Steve Farmer, and melody written by

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

. The song was recorded with a higher budget than their past recordings. During the recording of the song there was a lot of tension amongst the band members, and a few of the members quit after the album was released. Released in the summer of 1968, the single helped define the psychedelic era as it peaked at # 16 on the ''Billboard'' charts.

Other versions

The song "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was covered by

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

(as "Ambrose Slade") in 1969 on the album ''

Beginnings Beginnings may refer to: Literature * ''Beginnings'' (collection), a 1988 collection of short stories and poems by Gordon R. Dickson * ''Beginnings'' (Honorverse), a 2013 collection of short stories in the Worlds of Honor series * ''Beginnings ...

'', by

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...

in 1994 on ''

Acid Eaters ''Acid Eaters'' is the thirteenth studio album by American punk rock band Ramones. Released in 1993, towards the end of the Ramones' career, the album is the band's first and only album entirely composed of covers. ''Acid Eaters'' forms a mu ...

'' and by Sun City Girls in 2001 on ''Libyan Dream''. "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was included in the influential compilation album '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'', on the 1998 CD reissue, as a bonus track. Nugent remade the song on his 2007 album '' Love Grenade''. The lyrics of the song are generally thought to have references to drug use.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Journey to the Center of the Mind 1968 singles 1968 songs The Amboy Dukes songs American psychedelic rock songs Songs about drugs Songs written by Ted Nugent