Paul Revere Dies At Age 76; Founded Paul Revere and The Raiders [Videos]

Paul Revere, who gained fame by heading a campy rock and roll band that shared his name, lost his battle with cancer over the weekend.

The band announced his death with a statement on their web site which reads in part:

On October 4th, 2014 an incredible ride came to the end, As Rock and Roll Band Leader Paul Revere died peacefully at his home in Idaho, a small estate overlooking a tranquil river canyon. He was 76.

 

The web site now includes several memorials to Revere.

Revere (whose given name was Paul Revere Dick) was a keyboard player who formed the Raiders with saxophonist and vocalist Mark Lindsay in his hometown of Boise, Idaho back in 1959. Originally called The Downbeats, the band quickly took advantage of Revere's name and became Paul Revere and the Raiders in 1960.

Their initial foray onto the national scene was with the song "Just Like Me" which soared to number 11 in 1965. The song has been called one of the most influential rock songs of all time. A string of hits followed, including "Kicks" which hit # 4 in 1966 and "Hungry" which hit # 6. This led to a series of TV appearances on shows like Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is" and the hottest show at the time "Batman" where they sang on an episode entitled "Hizzoner the Penguin".

Eventually, they hosted their own show, "Happening '68" and "It's Happening", where Lindsay emerged as the main personality of the group, with Revere shifting to comic sidekick.

"From day one, we've always been a party band that accidentally had some hit records and accidentally got on a hit television series," Revere said in a 2000 interview with the Associated Press.

"We were visual and fun and crazy. We just happened to be at the right time and had the right name and had the right gimmick."

The group's penchant for wearing Revolutionary War uniforms was in response to the so called "British Invasion" of British pop music led by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones which was dominating the American charts at the time. The group also did slapstick choreography to their songs, and had a sense of humor about their place in pop culture.

After several band lineup changes, the group shortened their name to just The Raiders, and hit number one with the song "Indian Reservation" in 1971, with Revere traveling across the country to promote the record in person at radio stations. The record sold over six million copies.

The group had an odd revival in the early '80s when punk rock bands like the Sex Pistols, the Circle Jerks and even Pat Benatar and Joan Jett covered their songs in concert. Revere continued to tour in this era with a new band, and in 1997 the original line up reunited for a tour to mark the 30th Anniversary of their "Midnight Ride" album.

In 2010 Paul Revere & the Raiders were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. Revere announced his retirement from the band in August 2014; the group plans to tour without him as "Paul Revere's Raiders".