Paul Revere/Raiders should be in Rock 'n' Roll HOF

When the Raiders "was fab."

Music professionals today make their money touring, it is said. Museums should preserve what the old record album shops or departments were like. Music was a precious and limited commodity then, certainly compared to today. You could listen to "Top 40" radio and get certain tunes in your head like "ear worms." "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney.
Well, we certainly congratulate all those souls who found ways to reach us through the old systems. They reached us with songs of about three minutes in length and with a catchy melody. There's a problem with trying to write a catchy melody today. If you think you've written one, there's a good chance it has similarity to a pre-existing one. The problem deters people from even entering the field, which is sad.
 
Spinning the vinyl records
Paul Revere and the Raiders had an incredible run in the pre-digital era when we sifted through vinyl records, finding something for our taste to put on the turntable. A neighborhood boy got the "greatest hits" collection of the Raiders. We listened together until I had great familiarity with all of the tunes. The Raiders should be in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. There is quite a wave of old admirers issuing this plea.
Artistically there is no basis to deny the group any and all accolades. I'm speaking of course of the Raiders when they had Mark Lindsay. They went with the shortened name "Raiders" toward the end of their heyday. Some questioning has been voiced about this. "Raiders" seemed to confuse some fans. The group built its wave of much-deserved fame as "Paul Revere and the Raiders" with the obvious gimmick of Revere's name being the same as the Revolutionary War guy.
The group was derided by some serious critics for employing the gimmick, never mind that this was commercial music entertainment just like all rock 'n' roll music. It was like climbing a mountain to try to get "big" in the music industry then. The gimmick greased the skis. It was puffery that didn't really mean anything anyway. It was cute. So what? Our society of today would care not at all about this. You have to step into a time machine to realize the pressures the group navigated.
In my view, the Raiders were at their wonderful apex in about 1967 when the gimmick was unabashedly used. Jack Benny played on it in a TV segment. He "joined the group" in authentic costume. The Raiders were an offshoot of the Beatles and the overall British invasion. But they were not copycats. Their music, manner of presentation and Lindsay's vocal interpretations were distinct. The Raiders definitely seemed "hip" in their incarnation of about 1967. They exuded simple joy and fun. The songs were terrific to just listen to.

Classic Raiders of TV with Dick Clark: precious

Some critics might resent how television was a big catalyst in getting the group to the top. It was Dick Clark-flavored television in the age of the Big 3 networks. Regular exposure on TV was such a ticket to stardom, it was almost scary. And I'll assert that many recipients of the fame were shocked at the extent to which this was true. Maybe to the extent of needing psychological counseling. "The masses" were mesmerized by celebrity.
Today we have endless media and niche programming, so the nature of celebrity is different. These creatures still exist but I'm sure they can circulate in public with much greater ease. So the Raiders were a beneficiary of the old system. Congratulations, this does not besmirch their art. They were genuine as artists and they took to the TV medium as well. Did you know that Carl Perkins would have been a much bigger name if he had not had car trouble on the way to an Ed Sullivan appearance?
 
A more sober mood takes over
As time wore on, the Raiders sensed that in order to stay in the mainstream with their generation, they had to stop exuding so much simple joy. You might feel incredulous about this. But I was there as a youth in my teens. In 1970 we were at the threshold of a decade that would be highly cynical. The Vietnam war weighed on us like you wouldn't believe. It was like we felt guilty simply being happy about the entertainment of Paul Revere and the Raiders.
While their hair was already on the long side, they had to push this a little further. Lindsay grew facial hair. The group was not as likely to smile in their photos. It was essential that Revere himself smile. The smile didn't mean anything, it just looked nice. It was part of what we expected when we bought an album. When a successful artist jettisons a proven part of a successful formula, it's risky. The Raiders felt they had to mature, get more serious and somehow get more "relevant."
Problem is, they were entertainers who filled that need in our life, a need that always exists even when there are pressing issues like the war, civil rights etc. We pushed our entertainers of that troubled era to make statements even with sacrifice to their appeal. Remember the biopic about Bobby Darin? An exasperated fan pleaded with him to do "Splish Splash." I won't mention the actor because he has fallen into ignominy.
 
The two guys with guitars
The young people who were attracted to the 1967 Raiders hated to see them go, I'm sure. But we shrugged and realized "this is just how it has to be." I suppose "Indian Reservation" was a commendable effort because it was socially relevant. There's a buzzword. I'm not sure the cause or objective of sensitivity really called upon the Raiders. How wonderful if those five guys could just continue their shtick, two guys with guitars dancing off to the side, joyfully smiling with their modest choreography.
Lindsay was one of those "naturals" handling the vocals and with his stage presence. I hate to even mention here the post-Mark Lindsay Raiders when Paul kept it all going but with not nearly the visibility of before. I liked Paul when he was with the original Raiders, his blond hair being a symbol with his smile. Don't underestimate the hair. Or smile.
From what I've seen of the Revere-led Raiders sans Lindsay, it's not captivating. If you were in the audience at a showroom - Branson? - it was probably quite fun. I felt Paul had become rather a caricature of himself. The singers hit the right notes but none were like Lindsay, not even close.
It's spooky but it's like the late '60s incarnation of the Raiders became frozen in time and in our memories, and did it have to be this way? To end as it did? Is it true Lindsay had a financial dispute with Revere? That Revere was allegedly skimming some extra money that might have been part of Mark's share?
A major irony of the group is that their only No. 1 hit, "Indian Reservation," was at the end of their run. So far at the end, the time really represented the start of Lindsay's solo career.
The Raiders had an excellent "run" by the standards of their era. It is painful to notice how "archival" so much of their video material is now. They came out of the Pacific Northwest and were a most powerful answer to the British invasion.
Young people of today would have a hard time believing me, when I say the Raiders felt such a strong pull away from simply being fun. But that's how it was. I remember the group's TV shows of the late '60s, and I think they came across as totally hip. Lindsay exchanged banter with Jack Benny where he used the expression "taking a trip" (reference to acid or LSD of course). How "edgy" did they have to be, to win the admiration of the more serious rock aficionados? Hindsight suggests they should not have catered to that crowd.
Thing is, hindsight is so incredibly easy to apply today. Like the hindsight of how the U.S. should not have been in Vietnam. The young generation picked up such terrible scars from that. Too bad we couldn't have kept a space open in our mind for the "bubblegum" music that merely makes us feel good. It took pretty good musicians, BTW, to conceive and perform "bubblegum."
 
The ubiquitous "Wrecking Crew"
Yes, I know the "Wrecking Crew" had a hand in some of the recording. I think the assertion or accusation gets too much credence today. No one questions that the Raiders held their own 100 percent as musicians. Many "name" groups like the Beach Boys were known to bring in some outside professionals who specialized in laying down commercially viable stuff. The Monkees may have taken this too far, at least borderline. They were "outed" and then there was some pushback from the recording industry, people insisting that the product be judged on its own merits.
Another consideration: a group could keep its tour schedule going better if the "Wrecking Crew" could cover some in the studio.
Paul Revere and the Raiders were American as apple pie in the mid and late '60s. The time seems preserved in amber now. It could never be replicated. The Raiders epitomized the joyful aspect of the time. Problem is, we all got dragged down by the dark elements, war at the top of the list. I try to emphasize the joy in my own thoughts. But it's not easy.
It would help if Paul Revere and the Raiders were in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. It would give my generation a little more sense of closure. It would reinforce that our happy and innocent thoughts were justified. BTW I believe Mark Lindsay is not the son of Soupy Sales!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com