Paul Revere and the Raiders

"Classic rock" has come to encompass a wide range of music, from the British bands of the '60s like the Beatles and the Stones, to American bands of the '70s like Aerosmith and Boston, to the stuff of the '80s and '90s like Van Halen, Def Leppard and R.E.M.

But as broad as the term has become, there is a band that never quite makes it under its banner, despite a string of hits that many celebrated rock bands could never touch. From 1965 to 1971, Paul Revere and the Raiders achieved tremendous success, particularly in the earlier years. Perhaps they were destined to become a mere footnote, even a novelty, in the history of rock — unknowns to many forty years later, even to those intimately familiar with '60s rock and roll.

Founded in 1958 in Idaho by Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay, the Raiders were one of America's answers to the British Invasion. They combined the sound of the English rockers with good old American blues. But the events surrounding the release of their first hit, "Louie Louie," were in retrospect a sign of the disrespect that was to come. Revere and Lindsay recorded the song in 1963, only to have the Kingsmen record a version a week later that immediately became the hit version.

The Raiders still managed to hit it really big in 1965 with the songs "Steppin' Out" and "Just Like Me," which showcased Lindsay's hardhitting, Jaggeresque vocals. And they exploded in 1966 with "Hungry" and the anti-drug anthem "Kicks," both Billboard Top 10 hits. But classic rock listeners and experts disregarded and continue to disregard the quintet.

"One word," says Steve Palec, host of the "Legends of Rock" radio show on WKLH in Milwaukee, "Uniforms."

Indeed, the Raiders took their name quite literally, riding it almost as the original Paul Revere did, performing in Revolutionary War regalia and producing albums with titles like "Midnight Ride," "The Spirit of '67," and "Revolution!" The very gimmick that helped them make it big also made fans tire of them faster, and by the end of the '60s they were falling fast.

"I know there were a lot of bands that wore uniforms," Palec added. "In fact, for a while, even the Beatles did. But I am reminded of that scene in That Thing You Do, where Tom Hanks' manager character makes the band do the beach movie. One of the guys instinctually knows it isn't where he wants to take things. And in the case of Paul Revere and the Raiders, it wasn't just that they were dressed uniformly. It was the fact that the uniforms were costumes. It hurt."

The Raiders, however, garnered three gold albums by mid-1967, and kept churning out solid hits like "The Great Airplane Strike," "Good Thing," "Ups and Downs," and "Him or Me." But then the group's power trio — bassist Phil Volk, drummer Mike Smith, and guitarist Jim Valley — left the band, and tensions between Revere and Lindsay escalated. They had different ideas about what direction the band should take. Lindsay wanted to experiment with the more hard rock sound that bands like Cream and Led Zeppelin were producing. But Revere wasn't ready for that.

"Other 'British Invasion' bands evolved," said Mike Thomas, Program Director of classic rock station WZLX in Boston, "and Paul Revere and the Raiders didn't. Revere turned down a performance at Woodstock and continued to push the band in a bubblegum pop direction."

Lindsay and Revere replaced the departed members and continued to release hits through '67 and '68. "I Had a Dream," "Too Much Talk," and "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" each reached the Billboard Top 20, but the band was steadily becoming unfashionable.

"I think the band was put in the same category as the Monkees, instead of the Beatles or the Stones," said Thomas.

But even the Monkees, from the very beginning a thrown-together band, remained somewhat popular, thanks mostly to their comedy television show. The members of the Monkees are still very nameable, and everyone knows "Daydream Believer" and "I'm a Believer." And people who hear "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" still think it's a Monkees song, even though the Raiders recorded the tune first.

Lindsay left the Raiders briefly in 1970 to pursue a solo career. He recorded the song "Indian Reservation" by himself, but Revere marketed the single and it became a number one hit for the Raiders in 1971. This was more of a last hurrah than a comeback, as Lindsay left the band for good soon after. But today, if judged solely on their music, the Raiders hold up surprisingly well.

"Songs like 'Indian Reservation' and 'Kicks' were way ahead of their time," says Michael A. Cimino of Cottage Views Classic Rock News.

"They had some great songs," Palec added. "Have you ever heard John Mellencamp cover 'Kicks?' Not only a classic melody and powerful vocals, but pertinent lyrics."

And then there is my mother, Tanya Frissore, who introduced me to the band's music when I was child: "Paul Revere and The Raiders set the stage for future 'gimmick' and 'glam rock' bands," she said. "Sure, their get-ups were bizarre, unless you were a history buff, and sure, their antics on stage were sometimes slapstick. However, take a look at Ozzy Osborne, Meatloaf, David Lee Roth, Kiss and many more who have adapted those same peculiarities into their stage acts."

Classic rock would later respect those glam rock acts like Alice Cooper, Kiss, David Bowie and Queen.

So why are the Raiders, in the face of their great body of work, all but ignored by enthusiasts of classic rock? Why does Rock-Songs.com's list of the Top 500 classic rock songs include Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly" and Frank Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin," but not a single Raiders song? And why do numerous sites list Carly Simon, Don McLean, Ram Jam and Strawberry Alarm Clock under classic rock, with no mention of the Raiders?

A. Historical uniforms. If Alice Cooper and David Bowie had dressed up like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, would they have ever been as popular as they are?

B. The comedy. The Beatles, particularly John Lennon, could be funny, but there's a fine line between occasional humor and Sha Na Na. Precious few comedies have won the Best Picture Oscar, and you won't hear songs that Dr. Demento played years ago on radio stations today.

C. The subject matter. Their two biggest hits, "Indian Reservation" and "Kicks," were about America slaughtering the Indians and how we shouldn't use drugs. Who needs to hear that in a rock song?

If the Raiders had dropped their gimmicks and actually taken the Woodstock gig, they still most likely wouldn't be the Beatles or the Stones, or even Pink Floyd or the Doors. But costumes or not, Paul Revere and the Raiders were, and are, something. In fact, they're one of the great bands of classic rock.