Wilmer & the Dukes

They were also an influence on other rising musicians such as Eric Bloom, the lead singer of Blue Öyster Cult, and they may have been the inspiration for "Otis Day and the Knights", the 1960s fictional band in the 1978 movie Animal House.

[2] The band originated in 1957 in Geneva, New York, formed by Wilmer Alexander Jr. (born c. 1943), Ronnie Alberts, and Ralph Gillotte.

Other music was from Sam and Dave and there were also saxophone based hits such as those originated by Junior Walker & the AllStars.

In 1964 and 1965, they appeared regularly at parties sponsored by the Social Lions, a secret society at Niagara University in Lewiston.

Wilmer & the Dukes would play such cover songs as "Reach Out" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" by the Four Tops, "Shotgun" & "Road Runner" by Junior Walker & the Allstars, and "Baby Let Me Bang Your Box" by Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts.

The lanes would be covered over with a temporary wooden stage, Wilmer and the Dukes would play an opening set, and then a national act such as Tommy James and the Shondells, Freddie and the Dreamers, or The Association would be the headliner.

It was at the "Holiday Bar and Grille" in 1963 that they were first heard by future Blue Öyster Cult vocalist Eric Bloom.

In 1967, his own student band, Lost and Found, opened for the Dukes when they played at his campus, Hobart College, and they also came to perform at his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon.

The band's first single was an original dance track by guitarist Brown called "Give Me One More Chance", and was released in the spring of 1968.

"Give Me One More Chance" was a slightly bigger hit in Canada than in the band's home country, peaking at #63 on the RPM charts in July 1968.

However, the single's B-side, the Jagger/Richards composition "I'm Free", did chart in the top 30 on radio stations in both Syracuse and Rochester.

In the summer of 1969, Wilmer hired a young wind section to match the current sounds of BST, James Brown, and Wilson Pickett; namely Frank Grasso-Trumpet, Steve Weinstein-Trombone, and Peter Kanyuk- Woodwinds.

In 1988, the group reformed for a series of sold-out benefit concerts to help pay some medical bills for the ailing Alexander.

Eric "Mitty" Moore retired as front man and lead singer of the Legendary Dukes on January 1, 2011 after over 20 years with the band.