Paul Revere Dick (January 7, 1938 – October 4, 2014) was an American musician, best known for being the leader, keyboardist and (by dropping his last name to create the stage name) namesake of

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

. The band became notable for a string of hits (they claim 23 straight) from the early 1960s to the early 1970s and thrust Revere into the position of a celebrity.

Career

Dick was born in

Harvard, Nebraska Harvard is a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,013. It is part of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Harvard was founded in 1871 when the railroad was exten ...

. He was the "idea man" behind the group. Even before the group, he was convinced there was a place for a combination of music and humor after seeing Spike Jones & His City Slickers. After taking piano lessons, he emulated the style of

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

. Dick grew up on a farm near

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

. After attending barber college, he had opened a barbershop and a drive-in restaurant in

Caldwell, Idaho Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho. The population was 59,996 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Caldwell is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area. Caldwell is the location of ...

. While picking up hamburger buns from a local bakery he met teenaged

Mark Lindsay Mark Lindsay (born March 9, 1942) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders. Early life Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon, and was the second of eight children of George and Esther Ellis Lindsay. The ...

. The two became the foundation of the band in 1959. The band originally started calling themselves the Downbeats. When they started recording, record company executives disliked the name and they took their name as an embellishment from his name. He had the band dress in Revolutionary War uniforms, giving the band a distinctive look. Revere was the energetic comic relief, the madman of rock and roll, in contrast to the

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...

look of Lindsay. He pushed for elements of showmanship including having the band's guitarist, originally

Drake Levin Drake Maxwell Levin (August 17, 1946 – July 4, 2009) was an American musician best known as the guitarist for the pop-rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders. Levin was born in Chicago, and his family's name, Levinshefski, was shortened to Levin a ...

, and bassist, originally

Phil Volk Phillip Edward Volk (born October 25, 1945) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, band leader, record producer and arranger. As the bassist of Paul Revere & the Raiders from 1965 to 1967, Volk appeared in over 750 telev ...

, perform synchronized dance moves. Starting in 1965, the band became the house band for the

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

weekday afternoon variety show ''

Where the Action Is ''Where the Action Is'' is a music-based television variety show that aired in the United States from 1965 to 1967. It was carried by the ABC network and aired each weekday afternoon. Created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of '' American Bandstan ...

'', the first active, charting band to take on such status. After the show was canceled in 1967, the band continued its house band position on the ABC Saturday afternoon shows ''

Happening '68 ''Happening '68'' was a rock-and-roll variety show produced by Dick Clark Productions, which aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network. The show followed '' American Bandstand'' on Saturday afternoons. ''Happening '68'' premiered o ...

'', and later ''

It's Happening ''Happening '68'' was a rock-and-roll variety show produced by Dick Clark Productions, which aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network. The show followed '' American Bandstand'' on Saturday afternoons. ''Happening '68'' premiered o ...

''. Lead singer

and Revere became the hosts of the shows while the rest of the band added slapstick comedy to the show.

Death

Revere continued with the band until mid-2014, when cancer forced his retirement. He left his son Jamie to continue the band's legacy. He died in

Garden Valley, Idaho Garden Valley is an unincorporated census-designated place in Boise County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 394. The mountain setting and recreation opportunities attract visitors from the Boise area. Life there du ...

, on October 4, 2014, at age 76.

References

External links

Paul Revere and the Raiders official website
1938 births 2014 deaths Musicians from Boise, Idaho American keyboardists American bandleaders American television hosts American Mennonites {{Paul Revere & the Raiders Deaths from cancer in Idaho Paul Revere & the Raiders members