Once upon a time there was a singing pop group called Paul Revere and the Raiders. For years they were on television every single day, doing schtick and wearing uniforms straight out of the revolutionary war. Rather than suffering from acute overexposure, the Raiders appealed to teenyboppers all across America and their 1966 album, "Just Like Us," became the first gold album for a rock group on Columbia Records. Starting out as The Downbeats from Portland, Oregon in 1962, the band achieved local fame for throwing fabulously popular teen dances. Revere it seemed, was a good businessman as well as a bandleader. They released a song called "Louie, Louie" which would have been a bigger hit if not for another local group called the Kingsmen who scored with it first. While Revere was the namesake and bandleader, singer/saxophonist Mark Lindsay was the focal point of the band. His soft good looks (and later his ponytail) captured the attention of countless female fans. In 1965, Dick Clark's TV show "Where The Action Is" featured a performance by the Raiders and that was it, they were on the show constantly and also performed on the music show "Hullabaloo" and another one called "Where The Action Is." Yes, the Raiders somehow became one of the most financially successful rock groups in America for many years. Incidentally, the band's "Greatest Hits" album has just been reissued on CD by Columbia/Legacy and the funny thing is, it rocks. It seems that Paul Revere and the Raiders were quite the savage little garage band and Lindsay voice could really shred things up when called into action. Classic cuts like "Kicks," "Hungry," and "Just Like Me" should be required listening for any fledgling teens intent on pummeling their instruments in some suburban garage. There's even a raucous version of "Not Your Steppin' Stone" which was made a favorite by another TV-based rock group called The Monkees. Now if those guys can still get publicity after all these years then Paul Revere and The Raiders should enjoy at least some type of revival. If you want to know more about the band, just listen to the song, "Legend Of Paul Revere." I'm telling you, it's all true. And like the man says, "Kicks just keep getting harder to find."
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.