Paul Revere, the longtime leader and organist of Paul Revere & the Raiders, died at his home in Idaho on Saturday (Oct. 4). He was 76.
Paul Revere & the Raiders’ Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits
The popular classic rock band revealed the sad news in a lengthy letter on its website. A cause of death wasn’t given. TMZ reports that Revere, born Paul Revere Dick, had been battling cancer over the past year.
“Sitting in an audience at my first Paul Revere and The Raiders concert introduced me to a larger-than-life dynamo of high-energy slapstick, outrageous and spontaneous humor and a genuine child-like joy. Everyone in attendance just knew that you MUST be a wonderful person offstage too, no doubt about it,” reads a post on the band’s website.
The Raiders started their career in 1963 with a cover of Richard Berry’s “Louie, Louie.” The band went on to release four top 10 singles in the ‘60s with with “Kicks,” “Hungry,” “Good Thing” and “Him or Me, What’s It Gonna Be.” The group’s biggest hit arrived in 1971 with “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian),” which went to No. 1 in the U.S.
Revere, who was known for his Revolutionary War-style clothing that helped earn him the title of “the madman of rock n’ roll,” wrote about his health issues on Facebook in July.
“Even though I’ve had some health issues, nothing can stop the old man. I’m like the Energizer Bunny! I jump on my tour bus and go from city to city, packing a trunk full of great Raider songs, tight pants and bad jokes — all against doctor’s orders, by the way!” Revere wrote.
Paul Revere’s Raiders had live dates booked through January 2015.