Paul Revere & the Raiders
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40 free Paul Revere & the Raiders trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Paul Revere & the Raiders were one of the most visible American bands of the 1960s. They dressed in matching period costumes, clowned their way through daily television appearances, and still found time to cut some of the toughest garage rock singles of the decade. Behind the comedy was a serious hit machine, with a charismatic lead singer and a bandleader who understood show business better than most. This quiz covers the whole story: the band's early days in the Pacific Northwest, the chart singles and the people who wrote them, the television years, the lineup shake-ups, and the chart-topping comeback of the early 1970s. You will also meet the producers, session players and famous admirers who cross the band's path. It is written for fans who grew up with the records as well as newcomers who found the band through a film soundtrack. Every question comes with a short explanation, so you will pick up a story worth retelling even when you miss.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On which 1966 TV series did Paul Revere & the Raiders appear as themselves in a mayoral election story?
Batman
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.
Q 02Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & the Raiders once shared a Los Angeles house later infamous for which crimes?
The Manson Family murders
The Manson Family murders of 1969 happened at 10050 Cielo Drive, where Lindsay had earlier lived and written songs with the band's producer.
Q 03Which Paul Revere & the Raiders top five hit of 1966 is considered one of rock's earliest anti-drug songs?
Kicks
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.
Q 04Which song did both the Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders record in the same studio in April 1963?
Louie Louie
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.
Q 05What kind of outfits did Paul Revere & the Raiders wear on stage, playing on their leader's famous name?
Revolutionary War uniforms
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.
Q 06Which director's 2019 film set in 1969 Los Angeles features several Paul Revere & the Raiders songs?
Quentin Tarantino
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.
Q 07Which 1971 single gave Paul Revere & the Raiders their only number one on the Billboard Hot 100?
Indian Reservation
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.
Q 08Which TV band took (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone into the top 20 after the Raiders had recorded it?
The Monkees
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.
Q 09At what kind of business was teenage Mark Lindsay working when he met future Raiders leader Paul Revere?
A bakery
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.
Q 10In which state, where Paul Revere ran a drive-in restaurant, did Paul Revere & the Raiders form in 1958?
Idaho
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.
Q 11Which hairstyle, grown to match the Raiders' costumes, became singer Mark Lindsay's signature look?
A ponytail
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.
Q 12On which weekday afternoon ABC music show did Paul Revere & the Raiders serve as the house band from 1965?
Where the Action Is
Where the Action Is began as a summer replacement in June 1965 and proved popular enough to stay on weekday afternoons until 1967.
Q 13Which TV producer made Paul Revere & the Raiders regulars on his 1965 afternoon show for teenagers?
Dick Clark
Q 21Which husband-and-wife songwriting team wrote two top ten hits of 1966 for Paul Revere & the Raiders?
Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
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.
Q 22Which songwriter, also behind Tobacco Road and Ebony Eyes, wrote the Raiders' only Billboard number one?
John D. Loudermilk
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.
Q 23Which early Raiders hit features one of rock's first double-tracked guitar solos, played by Drake Levin?
Dick Clark kept faith with them for years, later producing two more music shows that the band's two leaders hosted themselves.
Q 14Which major record label, also home to Bob Dylan and the Byrds, released the Raiders' 1960s hits?
Columbia
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.
Q 15Which instrument did Paul Revere play in the Raiders, often dressed up with a facade shaped as a hot rod?
Organ
Organ and other keyboards were Revere's domain, and he fitted them with fronts that resembled hot rods and motorcycles while clowning between songs.
Q 16Besides singing lead, which instrument did Mark Lindsay play in the classic Raiders lineup?
Saxophone
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.
Q 17Raiders bassist Keith Allison became a TV regular in 1965 thanks to his resemblance to which Beatle?
Paul McCartney
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.
Q 18Which producer, who also made the Byrds' first two albums, guided the Raiders' mid-1960s hits?
Terry Melcher
Terry Melcher was the son of Doris Day, and he co-wrote two of the band's top five singles with their lead singer.
Q 19To which city did Paul Revere & the Raiders relocate in 1962, where a local DJ became their manager?
Portland
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.
Q 20Which British Invasion band turned down the anti-drug song that became a top five hit for the Raiders?
The Animals
The Animals' singer Eric Burdon rejected it, even though its writers had already given that band We Gotta Get Out of This Place.
Just Like Me
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.
Q 24Which Paul Revere & the Raiders top ten hit is built on a Phil Volk bass riff recorded three times over?
Hungry
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.
Q 25Which Raiders top five hit did Mark Lindsay write with the band's producer on a bet to match outside writers?
Good Thing
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.
Q 26Which solo single by Raiders singer Mark Lindsay reached the top ten in early 1970 and earned a gold disc?
Arizona
Arizona was written by Kenny Young and recorded while Lindsay still fronted the band; its title refers to the narrator's idealistic girlfriend.
Q 27Which Paul Revere & the Raiders album carries songwriting credits by all five members of the classic lineup?
Midnight Ride
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.
Q 28Which piano-driven instrumental gave Paul Revere & the Raiders their first national chart hit in 1961?
Like, Long Hair
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.
Q 29Which muscle car did the Raiders promote in 1969 with a specially written song and a TV commercial?
Pontiac GTO Judge
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.
Q 30On which classic variety program did the Raiders make their one and only appearance in April 1967?
The Ed Sullivan Show
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.