Originally an instrumental rock combo called the Downbeats, the Raiders were formed in 1958 by organist Paul Revere, and included singer Mark Lindsay.

Initially based in Boise, Idaho, the Raiders began as an instrumental rock band led by organist and founder Paul Revere (1938–2014).

On the strength of their Top 40 single, Lindsay toured the U.S. in the summer of 1961 with a band that featured Leon Russell taking Revere's place on piano.

[12] By summer 1962, Revere and Lindsay were working together again in Oregon with a version of the Raiders that featured Mike "Smitty" Smith (1942–2001),[16] a drummer who would spend two extended periods with the band.

Under the guidance of producer Terry Melcher, the group relocated to Los Angeles and increasingly emulated the sounds of British Invasion bands such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark Five, and the Animals, while adding an American, R&B feel.

Of these, "Kicks" emerged as their best-known hit – a hip-sounding record with an anti-drug message, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and originally earmarked for the Animals.

(Mann later revealed in interviews that the song was written about their friend, fellow 1960s songwriter Gerry Goffin, whose ongoing drug problems were interfering with his career and his relationship with then wife Carole King.

[21] When Levin left the group in 1966 to join the National Guard he was replaced by Jim Valley, another Northwest musician the Raiders had met during their days playing the Portland and Seattle music circuits.

The split happened for a number of reasons, among them being the feeling that the group was prevented from evolving into a more egalitarian creative team, upset at being replaced by studio musicians on recordings (Volk denied this and said that the Wrecking Crew were hired by Melcher and Lindsay only to augment the band)[23][24][25] and unhappy with a continued teen-oriented direction while a more serious rock 'n' roll style was emerging.

The following month, Volk and Smith left, subsequently rejoining Levin to form the band Brotherhood which would release two albums on RCA Records.

By 1968, changing musical tastes rendered the group and its matching revolutionary war costumes unfashionable,[28] but they still continued to have modest hits through the rest of the decade, including "Peace of Mind", "I Had a Dream", "Too Much Talk", "Don't Take It So Hard", "Cinderella Sunshine", "Mr. Sun, Mr.

[29] Terry Melcher ended his association with the group to focus on other artists and Mark Lindsay produced and arranged all records beginning with the psychedelic album Something Happening.

The band moved further away from its garage rock roots and adopted a more layered, complex sound on Something Happening and the follow-up albums Hard 'N' Heavy (with Marshmallow) and Alias Pink Puzz.

allowed Paul Revere and the Raiders to tour Europe with the Beach Boys in the summer of 1969 (they also recorded two songs for the long running German music program Beat-Club).

[citation needed] Later in 1969, Happening ended its run on television and Lindsay released a hit single as a solo artist, "Arizona", written by Kenny Young, which peaked at No.

[30] It drew a glowing review from Rolling Stone magazine, with critic Lenny Kaye singling out Lindsay for praise: "[He] never fails to give the impression that he knows what he's doing.

[12] The Raiders achieved their greatest success with their cover of John D. Loudermilk's "Indian Reservation", which was brought to the band by Columbia A&R man Jack Gold.

The intended title track was released as a promotion for the project, but it reached only #97, marking the Raiders' final chart appearance[34] and the album being shelved by Columbia.

Without a chart presence, the band was relegated to playing lounges and state fairs as an "oldies" act, a situation Revere found pleasing, but not Lindsay.

The "classic" lineup of Revere, Lindsay, Levin, Volk, and Smith reunited for a final time with Dick Clark on national television in 1979 and performed a medley of their biggest hits.

On September 19, 1997, four of the group's classic lineup (Lindsay, Levin, Volk and Smith) reunited in full costume (without Revere) for a 30th anniversary performance in Portland.

In 2000 Sundazed Records released a two-CD package entitled Mojo Workout that focused on the R&B and soul sounds from early in the Raiders' Columbia career.

He subsequently moved back to his native Northwest, playing with several rock acts including Sweet Talking Jones and the Shoestring Orchestra & Choir.

Bassist Mike "Doc" Holiday and guitarist/bassist Charlie Coe made a special guest appearance with Mark Lindsay at a show in Boise, Idaho in 1996.

Coincidentally, Darren Dowler also sang with Darrin Medley's father's group, the Righteous Brothers Band singing the parts formerly sung by tenor, recording great Bobby Hatfield.

Dowler, the current vocalist, has also performed with the Lettermen, the Jordanaires, the Fifth Dimension, Gary Puckett, Mitch Ryder and was the first guitarist for the Backstreet Boys in 1991 before they hit mega stardom.

[41][42] After ending his second stint with the Raiders in 1972, drummer Mike "Smitty" Smith moved to Kona, Hawaii and continued performing for several groups in that region.

[44] The group's founder, vocalist and keyboard player Paul Revere died of cancer at his home in Garden Valley, Idaho on October 4, 2014, aged 76.

[51] Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the album saw Mark Lindsay "pushing the Raiders toward a harder rock, part way between the fuzz guitars of Grand Funk and horns of Chicago, accentuated by lingering affection for country-rock and soul.

[53][54] Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, set in 1969, featured three of the band's top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 —"Hungry" (1966), "Good Thing" (1966) and "Mr. Sun, Mr.