Paul Revere & the Raiders

One of the most popular and entertaining groups of the 1960s, Paul Revere & the Raiders enjoyed seven years of serious chart action, and during their three biggest years (1966-1969), sold records in numbers second only to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And their hits "Steppin' Out," "Just Like Me," "Hungry," "Him or Me-What's It Gonna Be," and "Kicks," in particular, are now seen by compilers as bold, unpretentious pieces of '60s rock & roll with a defiant, punk edge. Paul Revere was born on January 7, 1938 in Harvard, NE. He learned to play the piano as a boy, and developed a keen appreciation for the work of Spike Jones & His City Slickers. He joined his first real band while in his teens, and was later joined by 16-year-old Mark Lindsay (b. March 9, 1942), a singer/saxman who ended up replacing the group's vocalist. Called the Downbeats, they were popular at local dances, and cut a demo for Gardena Records in Los Angeles, where the company's owner was interested in issuing a record, but only if they changed their name. Revere's given name was such a natural as a gimmick that they became Paul Revere & the Raiders. Their third single, a Jerry Lee Lewis-style instrumental, charted low in the Hot 100, and by the middle of 1963, they were one of the major music attractions in the Pacific Northwest. The song "Louie, Louie," which they'd picked up from their rivals the Kingsmen, got them a local release that was picked up by Columbia Records, which not only released it nationally but signed Paul Revere & the Raiders to a contract. Their next big break came in 1965 when their producer, Terry Melcher, suggested that they update their sound. He got them to create music that was a mix of fast-paced, guitar-and-vocal-dominated Beach Boys-style rock & roll, and also the more...