Goodbye to Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders, who died yesterday, at home in Idaho, at the age of 76. It was only half a century ago that I would come home from school and switch on "Where the Action Is," Dick Clark's afternoon rock 'n' roll show, which had Paul Revere and the Raiders as regulars. Paul Revere founded the group, and his name really was Paul Revere (Paul Revere Dick), but he was not the lead singer. So if you, like me, had a crush on the lead singer when you were 14, Paul Revere was not the one we had our crush on, and you may feel some relief knowing that Mark Lindsay lives on.
Here are Mark and Paul as they appeared on another Dick Clark show "Happening '68," in 1968, when everything was happening:
That's Mark in the Nehru jacket and love beads and Paul, looking slightly dubious.
Posts
35 comments:
I also loved "Him or Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjBBziuOni0
I'd like to hear the hippie folk etymology of "magic carpet ride" which appears in that 1966 song. I'd always thought that Steppenwolf invented the term in their 1968 song of the same name.
I don't think I knew before writing this post that Kicks was written for The Animals, who turned it down.
It's one of the earliest antidrug songs. It seemed perplexing square at the time and kind of a wet blanket, which is the opposite of a magic carpet.
I don't know who first use magic carpet ride to refer to drugs, but it seemed so obvious. One thinks of Persian rugs with patterns like acid hallucinations.
Kix always seemed to be on the lower shelves of the cereal aisles. Somewhat hard to find compared to, say, Captain Crunch.
I don't know who first use magic carpet ride to refer to drugs, but it seemed so obvious. One thinks of Persian rugs with patterns like acid hallucinations.
I wonder if the song's lyricist (Cynthia Weil) made it up from whole cloth and it stuck. Certainly the metaphor of "flying high" was around, but LSD wasn't too far into the public eye in early 1966. It wasn't even illegal until later that year. I 'm not old enough to remember if some Arabian Nights influence was prominent then. I can't remember when and how I learned about Aladinn but it wasn't from Disney.
@betamax: Kix are for Trids.
Maybe William Burroughs imported the phrase.
"Hungry" sounds like the Animals ("We've Gotta Get Out of this PLace" and "It's My Life")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8Ba-WYmppk
The 'carpet' in Magic Carpet Ride was a reference to a woman's pubic hair, back when women used to have pubic hair due to male oppression. Obviously.
Back then sometimes the carpet matched the drapes; sometimes not.
Pubic hair just keeps getting harder to find.
Back then sometimes the carpet matched the drapes; sometimes not.
Sean Connery line, "Diamonds Are Forever."
betamax3000 said...
Pubic hair just keeps getting harder to find.
Firestone Brewery has a new seasonal beer out called "Velvet Merkin." I kid you not.
Ride, Cap'n Crunch, ride, on your mystery ship....
Craft beer makers have taken over the role which upstart bands used to play -- shocking and amusing names.
She wore a Crunchberries beret...
Somewhere, decades after the 1960s, a tear rolls down the cheek of a new, iconic fake Indian, Elizabeth Warren.
My favorite American rock group from the 60s. They had an uncanny knack for mimicking the sound of several different British invasion groups (Beatles, Sones, Animals, etc.) but other American groups as well (check the Beach Boys homage in the chorus of "Good Thing").
What really surprises is that he was still performing... At 76?
How many of these acts from the 60's and younger are still out there, pounding the boards as they say, in anonymity? touring is a tough way to make a living when you're 26, much less 76.
I know artists get residuals on radio airplay, but is there a time limit on things like that? Or does the check come each month for something like $21.76?
sojerofgod:
I am a minor league musician who occasionally plays bars and I can tell you that for certain musicians it means everything to get on stage. I have known several guys who have literally come out of the hospital after surgery, etc, to play a gig within 24 hours of discharge. Me, I would be off for a month. So it is not surprising to hear that Paul Revere was still out there performing. As for royalties, my guess is that he was very wealthy from radio play and writers credits from their songs. He wasn't playing to pay bills, he was playing because that what he loved to do. Not many people can say they died doing what they loved. He was playing up until a few weeks ago.
Never knew he was from Idaho. I figured he was from New England.
Incredible that one of those guys could be 76! Boomer mortality-this time, it's serious.
Paul Revere Dick was born in Nebraska.
My very first record was "Paul Revere & The Raiders Greatest Hits".
I have bought the damn thing in ever iteration...LP record, cassette tape, CD, minidisk, MP3...
Still love "Kicks".
I know someone who played in that band. He's now 67. He went from being a rock musician to working at a successful ad agency, then writing a Michael Crichton-type thriller when he was in his 40s. A novel which was a bestseller. He's going to Mumbai to film a commercial next month.
Some entertainers (and I include athletes here) become addicted to applause.
That go-go dancer at front right could be Cindy Wilson of the B-52s or at least her inspiration with that 'do.
Lou Gehrig's Disease, Tommy John Surgery, Paul Revere Dick.
Paul Revere and The Raiders were a party band playing at college snd fraternity dances in the Northwest when they started out. In law school at Berkeley in the late 60's some of my classmates had enjoyed them in undergrad school.
And Paul Revere (Dick) was honest enough to concede that the Raiders were a party band that got lucky. But Kicks and "I Just Dropped In To See What My Condition Was In" (written by Mickey Newbury and a hit for The First Edition) were valuable anti-drug songs in the days of Haight Ashbury and the 1967 "Summer of Love".
For some folks the 60's were really something--as George Carlin said to Bette Middler in a great movie. For others--well we kept our heads in working order.
They were a group, much like The Grass Roots or The Guess Who, who charted a large number of catchy songs, with a strong lead singer and good production.
A lot of good memories there. RIP.
One of my best friends in high school could have been Mark Lindsey's twin.
Professor, you have melted if you saw him.
I always used to confuse that group with The Rascals. They had the same sound.
"Kicks just keep getting harder to find..."
If you're white.
If you're black, they come to you,...
Another Northwest, specifically Oregon, musical great, Doc Severinsen, is still touring at 87!
Just played the North Dakota Hostfest in Minot, the greatest Scandinavian festival in the land.
http://hostfest.com/entertainment/doc-severinsen-with-the-minot-symphony-orchestra/
Or does the check come each month for something like $21.76?
When I worked in a stereo store (circa 1993 ) my new customer wanted to finance a set of big Klipsch speakers and as I was typing in his form saw his name was Joe South. I asked, "Are you the Joe South?" and he answered in the affirmative.
He was a singer/songwriter with quite a few big hits. One was "Games People Play" which went to #2 on the country charts as recorded by ex-Raider, Freddy Weller.
His biggest hit was the massive "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" as covered by Lynn Anderson.
He told me he had (a thirty year) "writers block". (I suspect cocaine was caused the blockage) but his credit form said he got around $13,000/month in royalties.
Joe South wrote a mess of good songs, including "Down in the Boondocks" and "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home Now".
On the other hand, he also wrote "Yo-Yo", of Osmond Brothers infamy.
Post a Comment