The Rugbys

The Rugbys is a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. They are best known for their U.S. Top 40 hit "You, I".

Band history

The band was formed in 1965 in Louisville, doing mostly covers. But as competition among Louisville groups to write and record original music increased, The Rugbys released two singles in 1968, "Walking the Streets Tonight" which was written by Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet, and "Stay with Me" witten by Steve McNicol. Both songs were released locally, and played on Louisville radio stations. But it was not until the band decided to release the B-side of "Stay with Me", "You, I", also written by McNicol (which then went to #1 on local stations), that they were signed to Shelby Singleton's Nashville. Tennessee record label, Amazon Records. Amazon re-released the single "You, I" in 1969, and the song became a national hit, climbing to # 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and # 21 in the Cashbox chart. The latter part of 1969 and all of 1970 were spent touring the mid-west and north east, playing on the same bill with artists like Bob Seger, Grand Funk Railroad, the James Gang and many others. Later that year, the band released their only album, "Hot Cargo" which received only mild success. "Wendegahl the Warlock" was the follow-up single to "You, I", but it did not chart, "Hot Cargo" would later be released on CD along with an album by a group named Lazarus on the same disc, called "The Rugbys meet Lazarus".

The Rugbys rarely perform live anymore, however there are rumors about the release of a new CD featuring some previously unreleased material that was written about the same time as "You, I".

Band membership

*Steve McNicol (guitar)
*Mike Hoerni (bass guitar)
*Eddy Vernon (keyboards)
*Glen Howerton (drums)