Paul Revere, founder of Paul Revere & The Raiders, passed away yesterday at the age of 76. His death was announced on the band's official website. He was 76.
The cause of death has not been released, but he had been in poor health for the past year or so. In July, Revere reluctantly announced his retirement after 56 years in the music business.
Believe it or not, Paul Revere was actually his real name. Before going into the music business, Revere owned some restaurants in his native Idaho and became friendly with a young singer named Mark Lindsay who worked between gigs at a bakery that supplied Revere with his hamburger buns. Revere and Lindsay would soon collaborate musically. One of their first recordings was "Louie Louie". But around the same time another group from the Pacific Northwest would record the song. They were known as The Kingsmen and they would have a number one hit with it.
But success would eventually come Revere's way. Between 1965 and 1971, with Revere on keyboard, Lindsay on lead vocals, Drake Levin on lead guitar and Phil Volk on bass, Paul Revere and The Raiders had nearly a dozen Top 20 hits. Among their more notable hits were "Kicks", "Good Thing", "Him or Me (What's It Gonna Be?"). Their final hit "Indian Reservation (Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" would prove to be their only number one hit. Aside from their musicianship, Paul Revere & The Raiders also stood out because they wore uniforms from the Revolutionary War. Well, with a name like Paul Revere what else could they have worn?
While Lindsay would leave the group in the mid-1970's to pursue a solo career, Revere kept touring with the Raiders until he could tour no more. Now Paul Revere has a permanent gig in rock 'n roll heaven.
Until this moment, I didn't know that they had a member named Paul Revere, despite the group's name. I only new about Mark Lindsey. When I read this, I watched a recent video of him singing their song, "Kicks," and also listened to their rendition of "Stepping Stone."
R.I.P. Paul Revere (died of cancer). You gave us '60s teens quite a few kicks!
Paul Revere's birth name was Paul Revere Dick. Here's an excerpt from a bio of their formation and the group's early years:
Early years
"Initially based in Boise, Idaho, the Raiders began as an instrumental rock band led by organist and founder Paul Revere Dick (January 7, 1938 in Harvard, Nebraska – October 4, 2014 in Caldwell, Idaho).
In his early 20s, Revere owned several restaurants in Caldwell, Idaho and first met singer Mark Lindsay (born March 9, 1942, Eugene, Oregon), while picking up hamburger buns from the bakery where Lindsay worked.
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 chart on April 17, 1961.
When Revere was drafted for military service, he became a conscientious objector 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."
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Ragman
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Mon 6 Oct, 2014 05:26 am
@Brandon9000,
Here's their version of Steppin' Stone, recorded before The Monkees. I have a preference for this one, though the Monkees version was a bigger hit:
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