Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolutionary War-style clothes in their attire.
Paul Revere & the Raiders
The Downbeats, The Raiders, Raiders
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
1958–1976, 1978–2014
Paul Revere
Mark Lindsay
Robert White
Richard White
William Hibbard
Dick McGarvin
Red Hughes
Ronnie Robson
David Bell
Jerry Labrum
Andrea Loper
Mike "Smitty" Smith
Ross Allemang
Steve West
Dick Walker
Charlie Coe
Drake "Kid" Levin
Mike "Doc" Holladay
Phil "Fang" Volk
Jim "Harpo" Valley
Freddy Weller
Joe Correro, Jr.
Keith Allison
Omar Martinez
Robert Wooley
Blair Hill
Michael Bradley
Carlo Driggs
Darrin Medley
Doug Heath
Ron Foos
Danny Krause
Jamie Revere
Darren Dowler
Tommy Scheckel
Martin Ross
David Huizenga
Arny Bailey
Originally an instrumental rock combo called the Downbeats, the Raiders were formed in 1958 by organist Paul Revere, and included singer Mark Lindsay. After charting in 1961 with the minor hit "Like, Long Hair" and then in late 1963 just missing Billboard's Hot 100 with a cover of "Louie Louie", the band was signed to Columbia Records, under the tutelage of producer Terry Melcher. In January 1966 the single "Just Like Me"—propelled by exposure on Dick Clark's shows such as Where The Action Is—reached no. 11 on the Hot 100, followed by the consecutive Top Tens "Kicks" and "Hungry", thus establishing the band as national stars. Clark's TV shows showcased Lindsay as a teen idol and Revere as the "madman" of the group, and between 1966 and '69 they reached the top 30 with 12 hits. Bolstered by the success of the singles, the three 1966 albums Just Like Us, Midnight Ride and The Spirit of '67 all were gold-certified by the RIAA.
Mark Lindsay replaced Terry Melcher as the Raiders' producer, and the band scored with the US No. 20 hit "Let Me!" in 1969.[5] In early 1970 the band's name was shortened to "Raiders" and one year later the hugely successful cover of the song "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" reached number one in both the US and Canada and was eventually certified platinum in 1996.[6] But the failure to continue the record's success led to the breakup of the band after being dropped by Columbia in 1975. In 1978, Revere went back to live performances with a show that mixed comedy and rock and roll. He died of cancer in 2014.
The group had many lineup changes, with their most well-known "classic" lineup being: Mark Lindsay (vocals and saxophone), Paul Revere (keyboards), Drake "Kid" Levin (guitar), Phil "Fang" Volk (bass), and Mike "Smitty" Smith (drums). This lineup recorded most of the material on the group's first five Columbia albums from 1965 to 1967.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
Initially based in Boise, Idaho, the Raiders began as an instrumental rock band led by organist and founder Paul Revere (1938–2014).[7] The band relocated to Portland, Oregon, when Revere returned from serving in the armed forces in 1962.[8][9][10][4][11]
In his early 20s, Revere owned several restaurants in Caldwell, Idaho,[12] and first met singer Mark Lindsay (b. 1942)[13] while picking up buns from the bakery where Lindsay worked.[12] The circumstance of their meeting was later referred to in the tongue-in-cheek song "Legend of Paul Revere", recorded by the group. Lindsay joined Revere's band in 1958. Originally called the Downbeats, they changed their name to Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1960 on the eve of their first record release for Gardena Records. The band garnered their first hit in the Pacific Northwest in 1961, with the instrumental "Like, Long Hair". The record had enough national appeal that it peaked at no. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 17, 1961.[14][15] When Revere was drafted for military service, he became a conscientious objector[12] and worked as a cook at a mental institution for a year and a half of deferred service. During the same time period, Lindsay pumped gas in Wilsonville, Oregon. On the strength of their Top 40 single, Lindsay toured the U.S. in the summer of 1961 with a band that featured Leon Russell taking Revere's place on piano.[12]
By summer 1962, Revere and Lindsay were working together again in Oregon with a version of the Raiders that featured Mike "Smitty" Smith (1942–2001),[16] a drummer who would spend two extended periods with the band.[12] Around this time, KISN DJ Roger Hart, who was producing teen dances, was looking for a band to hire. Hart had a casual conversation with a bank teller who told him about a band called "Paul Revere-something". Hart obtained Revere's phone number and they met for lunch. Hart hired the band for one of his teen dances. Soon afterward, Hart became the group's personal manager. It was Hart who suggested they record "Louie Louie", for which Hart paid them about $50, producing the song and placing it on his Sandē label, ultimately attracting the attention of Columbia Records.[17] According to Lindsay, the Raiders were a "bunch of white-bread kids doing their best to sound black. We got signed to Columbia on the strength of sounding like this."[17] Whether the Raiders or the Kingsmen recorded "Louie Louie" first is not certain; however, both groups recorded it in the same studio NorthWestern Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings, Inc. (NWI) in Portland, Oregon, in April 1963.[18] By then, the Raiders included Revere, Lindsay, Smith, guitarist Drake Levin (replacing Steve West), and bassist Mike "Doc" Holliday, who was replaced in early 1965 by Phil Volk.[19]
Musical style and influences[edit]
Paul Revere & the Raiders were classified as a garage rock,[1] proto-punk,[2] rock and roll[4] and pop band.[49] The band's early sound combined fast-paced, guitar-and-vocal-dominated rock with an intimidating R&B flavor.[4] before shifting to a psychedelic pop sound.[3] 1970's Collage saw the band make an effort to distance themselves from their former image as an AM radio singles band, utilizing "fuzzy guitar noodling, time signature changes, groovy horn charts à la Blood, Sweat & Tears, trippy headphone cross-fading, and other hip production techniques of the time," according to AllMusic's Cub Koda.[50] Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the album saw Mark Lindsay "pushing the Raiders toward a harder rock, part way between the fuzz guitars of Grand Funk and horns of Chicago, accentuated by lingering affection for country-rock and soul."[51]
Legacy[edit]
The garage rock revival and grunge movements—and individual acts such as the Paisley Underground—have cited the Raiders as an influence. In 2004 "Kicks" ranked no. 400 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Paul Revere & the Raiders and their manager Roger Hart were inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame on 13 October 2007. In 2010 the band was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, set in 1969, featured three of the band's hit singles—"Hungry" (1966), "Good Thing" (1966) and "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" (1969)—and the 1968 B-side "Theme From It's Happening".