THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

The passing of Paul Revere of Paul Revere and The Raiders on October 4^th is another in a long line of rock and roll deaths that really do mark the end of an era.  If you’re a baby boomer, many of our musical heroes, or at least our musical favourites, have gone to that great recording studio in the sky.  This week, we’re honouring Paul Revere (his real name was Paul Revere Dick), who was born January 7, 1938 in Harvard, Nebraska. 

Paul Revere and The Raiders first hit Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in 1961 with the instrumental “Like Long Hair”.  In 1963, two groups from the Pacific North West United States released the song “Louie Louie”.  The Kingsmen had the hit, but Paul Revere and The Raiders had a much longer and more successful career.  They were signed to Columbia Records in 1965 around the same time as The Byrds.  Paul Revere had been in ill health for the past few years and officially retired from the band that carried his name this past July.  Paul Revere was 76 when he passed on.

      

QUESTIONS

1.  Although Paul Revere and The Raiders charted 24 songs on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart, they only ever had one # 1 hit.  Was it:  a. “Kicks”  b. “Indian Reservation”             c. “Good Thing”                                

      

2.  The duo who wrote several of Paul Revere and The Raiders hits, including “Kicks” and “Hungry” also wrote many successful songs for other artists, including The Crystals, The Animals, Jay & The Americans and The Vogues.  Who was this songwriting team?  Was it:    a. Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil  b. Carole King & Gerry Goffin  c.  Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich                 

                

3.  Mark Lindsay was the lead singer for Paul Revere and The Raiders.  He also had a successful solo career for a time.  What was the name of his only Top Ten hit?  Was it:                 a. “Manitoba”  b.  “Colorado”  c. “Arizona”       

4.  Dick Clark produced a daily weekday afternoon ABC network TV show that featured Paul Revere and The Raiders as the house band.  What was the name of this TV series?  Was it: a. Shindig  b. Where The Action Is  c. It’s Happening  

    

5.  One former member of Paul Revere and The Raiders went on to have a very successful career in country music.  Who was he?  Was it:  a. Mark Lindsay  b. Phil Volk  c. Freddy Weller                                               

ANSWERS

1.  The correct answer is b. “Indian Reservation” which was # 1 for the week of July 24, 1971.  Interestingly, “Indian Reservation” toppled Carole King’s double sided hit, “It’s Too Late”/”I Feel The Earth Move” from the top spot and “Indian Reservation” was then replaced the following week (July 31, 1971) by James Taylor’s # 1 “You’ve Got A Friend”, written by Carole King.  Both “Kicks” in 1966 and “Good Thing” in ’67 climbed to # 4 on the Hot 100.  The only other two Paul Revere and The Raiders Top Ten hits were “Hungry” (# 6 in 1966) and “Him or Me – What’s It Gonna Be?” (# 5 in 1967). 

2.  Both “Kicks” and “Hungry” were written by a. Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil.   Their other hits include “Uptown”, recorded by The Crystals, “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”, recorded by The Animals, “Magic Town”, recorded by The Vogues and “Only In America” (recorded by Jay and The Americans)”.  Barry Mann had previously had a Top Ten hit of his own in 1961 with “Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)”.  With Larry Kolber, Barry Mann co-wrote “I Love How You Love Me”, a # 5 hit for The Paris Sisters in 1961, which was revived by Bobby Vinton in 1968 where it again climbed into the Top Ten, reaching # 9.          

    

3.  Mark Lindsay’s only solo Top Ten hit was c. “Arizona” in 1970.   

                  

4.  OK, that’s a bit of a trick question.  The correct answers are b. Where The Action Is as well as c. It’s Happening, so either one is accepted.  Both TV shows were produced by Dick Clark Productions and both featured Paul Revere and The Raiders as the house band.  “Where The Action Is” was originally planned as a summer series, but proved so successful that it continued into the fall TV season, where it followed the vampire soap opera “Dark Shadows”.  Ironically, Paul Revere and The Raiders did NOT have a hit with the theme song to “Where The Action Is”.  That distinction went to Freddy Cannon, who took “Action” to # 13 on Billboards’ Hot 100 chart in September of 1965.  Besides “Where The Action Is” and “It’s Happening”, Paul Revere and The Raiders also starred in Dick Clark’s “Happening ‘68” TV series as well.

5.  c. Freddy Weller is the correct answer.  Weller joined Paul Revere and The Raiders in 1969 replacing Drake Levin.  Freddy’s biggest country hits are: “Games People Play” (the Joe South song).  It climbed to # 2 in 1969.  “The Promised Land” and “Indian Lake” both reached # 3 on the country charts in 1971.  Another hit for Weller in ’71 was “Another Night of Love”, which got to # 5.  Weller’s last Top Ten hit on the country singles chart was his 1973 cover of the Chuck Berry rocker “Too Much Monkey Business”.  That one got to # 8.  Freddy continued to have minor hits well into the 1980’s.  Freddy also co-wrote (with Tommy Roe), Roe’s 1970 Top Ten hit “Jam Up And Jelly Tight”.