History
The band originated in 1957 in Geneva, New York, formed by Wilmer Alexander Jr. (born c. 1943), Ronnie Alberts, and Ralph Gillotte. Except for Alexander, all of the members were white, which made the band stand out even more in some of the all-black clubs that they first played in. The Alexanders lived on 90 Wadsworth Street in Geneva, and the band used to practice at one of the garages owned by the Felice Trucking Company on Kirkwood Ave.
Alexander sang and played saxophone, and the band was managed by Ebo (Owl) Alberts, the father of the drummer, Ronnie Alberts, and the bassist, Bob Egan. The guitarist, Doug Brown, was from the South and played Stevie Cropper-style. Doug Brown wrote their big hit "Give Me One More Chance". Ralph "Duke" Gillotte was the keyboardist and additional vocalist.
They were primarily a cover band, playing other people's material, such as by Steve Miller and The Rolling Stones. Other music was from Sam and Dave and there were also saxophone based hits such as those originated by Junior Walker & the AllStars. One of their most popular covers was Lee Dorsey's "Get Out of My Life Woman".
Read more about this topic: Wilmer & The Dukes
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