Biography of Paul Revere & the Raiders

With their Revolutionary War costumes and upbeat attitude, Paul Revere & the Raiders were one of the more entertaining rock & roll bands of the mid-'60s. They began in the late '50s as a more hard-edged outfit, and after the mid-'70s, they evolved into a musical-comedy lounge act. The group was put together by keyboard player Paul Revere (b. Paul Revere Dick, Jan. 7, 1938, Harvard, NE) in Caldwell, ID and later featured singer/saxophonist Mark Lindsay (b. Mar. 9, 1942, Eugene, OR), scoring a Top 40 hit with the instrumental "Like, Long Hair" in 1961. They eventually based themselves in Portland, OR, where they competed on the lively Northwest circuit with acts like the Wailers and the Kingsmen and earned a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1963 on the strength of their recording of "Louie, Louie." (The Kingsmen, however, beat them out for a hit with the song.) But it wasn't until the summer of 1965, when they were chosen as the house band on the afternoon TV show "Where the Action Is," that Paul Revere & the Raiders really took off, with Lindsay becoming a teenage heartthrob. ("Featuring Mark Lindsay" was added to their name.) In 1966 and 1967, they enjoyed four Top Ten hits -- "Kicks," "Hungry," "Good Thing," and "Him or Me -- What's It Gonna Be?" -- and four Top Ten, gold-selling albums -- Just Like Us!, Midnight Ride, The Spirit of '67, and Greatest Hits. Their good-time style became less fashionable in the late '60s, though they continued to reach the Top 40. After a temporary name change to simply "Raiders" in 1970, they scored their sole number one hit with the gold single "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" in 1971. But in the early '70s, they made a transition to more of a Las Vegas-style live show and Revere's gags began to dominate the act. Though Lindsay left in early 1975, the group continued touring throughout the 1990s. ~ William Ruhlmann