40 Fun Facts About Paul Revere & the Raiders

On which 1966 TV series did Paul Revere & the Raiders appear as themselves in a mayoral election story?

Batman featured the band performing a song in Hizzonner the Penguin, the episode in which the Penguin runs against the Caped Crusader for mayor of Gotham City.

Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders once shared a Los Angeles house later infamous for which crimes?

The Manson Family murders of 1969 happened at 10050 Cielo Drive, where Lindsay had earlier lived and written songs with the band's producer.

Which Paul Revere & the Raiders top five hit of 1966 is considered one of rock's earliest anti-drug songs?

Kicks was written as a warning to a friend about the dangers of drug use, and it topped the Canadian chart while reaching number four in the United States.

Which song did both the Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders record in the same studio in April 1963?

Louie Louie was taped by the Kingsmen first, and their single became the national smash while the Raiders' cleaner version narrowly missed the Hot 100.

What kind of outfits did Paul Revere & the Raiders wear on stage, playing on their leader's famous name?

Revolutionary War uniforms were Revere's own idea, a gimmick borrowed from the folk hero whose name he shared, and they made the band easy to spot on television.

Which director's 2019 film set in 1969 Los Angeles features several Paul Revere & the Raiders songs?

Quentin Tarantino put three of the band's top 20 hits in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and one of them also plays over the film's trailer.

Which 1971 single gave Paul Revere & the Raiders their only number one on the Billboard Hot 100?

Indian Reservation had already been a hit for British singer Don Fardon, but the Raiders' cover sold in the millions and was later certified platinum.

Which TV band took (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone into the top 20 after the Raiders had recorded it?

The Monkees released the Boyce and Hart song as a B-side in late 1966 and saw it reach number 20, months after the Raiders' version had come out on an album.

At what kind of business was teenage Mark Lindsay working when he met future Raiders leader Paul Revere?

A bakery was where Lindsay worked, and Revere walked in to buy supplies for his hamburger restaurant the day after Lindsay had sung a few songs with his band.

In which state, where Paul Revere ran a drive-in restaurant, did Paul Revere & the Raiders form in 1958?

Idaho was home: the band started in Boise as an instrumental rock combo, and its first chart single in 1961 had no vocals at all.

Which hairstyle, grown to match the Raiders' costumes, became singer Mark Lindsay's signature look?

A ponytail was Lindsay's way of carrying the band's period theme a step further, and it helped make him one of the top American teen idols of the 1960s.

On which weekday afternoon ABC music show did Paul Revere & the Raiders serve as the house band from 1965?

Where the Action Is began as a summer replacement in June 1965 and proved popular enough to stay on weekday afternoons until 1967.

Which TV producer made Paul Revere & the Raiders regulars on his 1965 afternoon show for teenagers?

Dick Clark kept faith with them for years, later producing two more music shows that the band's two leaders hosted themselves.

Which major record label, also home to Bob Dylan and the Byrds, released the Raiders' 1960s hits?

Columbia counted them as its top-selling rock group by mid-1967, and it tested a higher album price on their Greatest Hits alongside Dylan's.

Which instrument did Paul Revere play in the Raiders, often dressed up with a facade shaped as a hot rod?

Organ and other keyboards were Revere's domain, and he fitted them with fronts that resembled hot rods and motorcycles while clowning between songs.

Besides singing lead, which instrument did Mark Lindsay play in the classic Raiders lineup?

Saxophone was Lindsay's second job in the band, and his sax intro opens the group's 1963 recording of a much-covered garage rock standard.

Raiders bassist Keith Allison became a TV regular in 1965 thanks to his resemblance to which Beatle?

Paul McCartney's look-alike was reportedly caught on camera in the audience of a teen music show, drew a landslide of viewer mail, and joined the Raiders three years later.

Which producer, who also made the Byrds' first two albums, guided the Raiders' mid-1960s hits?

Terry Melcher was the son of Doris Day, and he co-wrote two of the band's top five singles with their lead singer.

To which city did Paul Revere & the Raiders relocate in 1962, where a local DJ became their manager?

Portland is where DJ Roger Hart hired them for his teen dances and then took over as manager; band and manager entered the Oregon Music Hall of Fame together in 2007.

Which British Invasion band turned down the anti-drug song that became a top five hit for the Raiders?

The Animals' singer Eric Burdon rejected it, even though its writers had already given that band We Gotta Get Out of This Place.

Which husband-and-wife songwriting team wrote two top ten hits of 1966 for Paul Revere & the Raiders?

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote both as outside writers, which spurred the band's singer and producer to prove they could come up with a hit of their own.

Which songwriter, also behind Tobacco Road and Ebony Eyes, wrote the Raiders' only Billboard number one?

John D. Loudermilk saw the song first recorded in 1959 under another title, and he later spun a made-up tale about a blizzard rescue that had supposedly inspired it.

Which early Raiders hit features one of rock's first double-tracked guitar solos, played by Drake Levin?

Just Like Me climbed to number 11 in January 1966, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists it among the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll.

Which Paul Revere & the Raiders top ten hit is built on a Phil Volk bass riff recorded three times over?

Hungry stacked a normal bass line, one an octave higher and a fuzz bass made by turning an amplifier up full blast, while the lead singer played tambourine.

Which Raiders top five hit did Mark Lindsay write with the band's producer on a bet to match outside writers?

Good Thing was written at the house the two men shared, after they had played an advance copy of the band's previous single over and over.

Which solo single by Raiders singer Mark Lindsay reached the top ten in early 1970 and earned a gold disc?

Arizona was written by Kenny Young and recorded while Lindsay still fronted the band; its title refers to the narrator's idealistic girlfriend.

Which Paul Revere & the Raiders album carries songwriting credits by all five members of the classic lineup?

Midnight Ride is listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and band members wrote all but two of its eleven songs.

Which piano-driven instrumental gave Paul Revere & the Raiders their first national chart hit in 1961?

Like, Long Hair opens and closes with crashing concerto-style chords, the long-hair music of its title, and it peaked at number 38 on the Hot 100.

Which muscle car did the Raiders promote in 1969 with a specially written song and a TV commercial?

The Pontiac GTO Judge took its name from a comedy routine on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and the band sang about the car in its television publicity.

On which classic variety program did the Raiders make their one and only appearance in April 1967?

The Ed Sullivan Show saw a backstage shake-up: Revere barred his returning guitarist and put on a secretly hired newcomer, who learned the chords from the man he replaced.

Which future star pianist filled in for Paul Revere when the Raiders toured the United States in summer 1961?

Leon Russell took the piano stool because Revere, a conscientious objector, was doing a year and a half of alternative service after being drafted.

Which trade did Paul Revere train for and practice in his own shop before Paul Revere & the Raiders took off?

Barber college led Revere to open his own barbershop, and he also ran a drive-in restaurant while he was still in his early twenties.

Which nickname did Paul Revere & the Raiders bassist Phil Volk choose and spell out in tape on his bass?

Fang was Volk's own pick after he rejected Revere's suggestions of Bugs and Bucky Beaver, all of them inspired by the teeth he showed when he grinned.

Under what name did the Raiders perform before renaming themselves for their first record release in 1960?

The Downbeats borrowed their name from a music magazine at the singer's suggestion, but record company executives disliked it.

Which 1969 Tommy Roe smash did Raiders guitarist Freddy Weller co-write while still in the band?

Dizzy was one of two Tommy Roe hits that Weller co-wrote, and that same year he launched a country career with a hit version of Games People Play.

Which famed group of session players backed Mark Lindsay on the Raiders' 1967 hit Him or Me?

The Wrecking Crew were called in because the band's television schedule left little studio time; the players included Hal Blaine, Ry Cooder and Glen Campbell.

With which California band did Paul Revere & the Raiders tour Europe in the summer of 1969?

The Beach Boys tour followed the success of the Raiders' top 20 single Let Me!, and the band also taped two songs for the German music program Beat-Club.

Which band did Drake Levin, Phil Volk and Mike Smith form after leaving Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1967?

Brotherhood teamed the three former Raiders with a keyboard player and recorded for RCA Records.

Which Saturday ABC music show did Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere co-host after the Raiders' weekday series was cancelled?

Happening '68 followed American Bandstand on Saturday afternoons, and it proved popular enough for ABC to add a weekday spin-off that summer.

In which Southern city did Paul Revere & the Raiders record a 1968 soul-flavored album with producer Chips Moman?

Memphis gave the album its title, Goin' to Memphis, and Moman agreed to produce it only if he could use his own studio house band.