Paul Revere and the Raiders
If there was ever a rock and roll group that should have had a movie made about them, Paul Revere and the Raiders is a perfect example in my eyes, because the story behind their success is a script that nobody could make up.
Technically founded in 1958 as “The Down Beats,” the band’s early beginnings got them nowhere fast.
Around 1964, a restaurant tycoon living in Boise Idaho named Paul Revere befriended a fellow restaurant industry worker named Mark Lindsey, who could play a mean saxophone. Revere and Lindsey quickly became inseparable, and decided to take their music ideas to Portland, Oregon. After arriving in Portland, they officially joined up with the equally unknown band The Down Beats, and quickly renamed themselves Paul Revere and the Raiders. Though some progress was made toward becoming a group of hit makers, things were slow to happen.
With things looking pretty dim for the newly christened Paul Revere and the Raiders, Capitol Records in Los Angeles came to the rescue by deciding to take a chance on the group. Revere, Lindsey, and guitarists Mike Smith, Jim Valley, and Phil Volk comprised the group (pictured above).
The group decided to lean into the Revolutionary war look, and dressed for performances as though they were fancy British invasion soldiers. Lindsey was a great songwriter, and a fine guitar player, and led the way in creating songs and leading the group members through new chords and riffs, some of which led to some memorable hits.
The group's first big hit came in late 1965, a fast mover called “Just Like Me.” It quickly entered the Top 40, peaking at number 10 because of another hot group that was flat out dominating the charts: The Beatles. Just Like Me was a unique song for the Raiders, as it was the only song where they used two lead guitars in order to get the sound they wanted.
Once the group entered the early 1970’s, they renamed themselves again, this time landing on just “The Raiders.” They also changed their look, and began wearing some pretty funky clothes. Shiny and sparkly outfits that resembled curtains from Holiday Inn hotel rooms. The new looking worked, as the group started getting recognition for their outfits, and they used their newfound resurgence to produce hit after hit.
Those hits include “Kicks,” “Hungy,” “Good Thing,” “Him or me, what’s it gonna be?,” the Great Airplane Strike, and “Indian Reservation.” With 1972’s “Indian Reservation,” the group got quite lucky. At that time, Mark Lindsey was performing on his own, and he reunited with The Raiders in order to help the song. The reunion worked, as “Indian Reservation” was the only song by The Raiders to hit number one on the charts.
With each passing year, The Raiders became more and more popular. Lindsey looked similar to Paul Mccartney, and became an American heartthrob due to the similarity. The Raiders were weekly regulars on ABC televisions show “Where the Action is,” and also produced their own TV show called, simply, “Action.” It was unfortunately canceled after one year.
The Raiders performed on The Ed Sullivan Show only one time, a sad trivia fact but an important one, because that turned out to be one of their final performances, as the band split for good shortly after.
Since that breakup, there have been 36 different musicians come and go to join various “Reunion Tours” beside Mark Lindsey. Paul Revere himself passed away in 2014.
If you ever want a pleasant trip down memory lane to the 60’s and 70’s, hop on Youtube, type in a song mentioned above, and start your trip. Those tunes are from a time when our country had way more freedom, and helped bring about the birth of hard rock and roll.
The answer to last week's trivia question: Michelle Phillips (of the Mamma’s and the Poppa’s) starred in the 1967 movie “Dillinger,” alongside Warren Oats.
This week's trivia question: What was the title of the popular song re-done in 1963 by The Trashmen?
Answer next week!