Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw enormous mainst… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw enormous mainstream success in the 1960s, best-known for hits like "Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian)" (1971), "Steppin' Out", "Kicks", "Let Me" (1969) and "Hungry" (1966).
The band, initially located in Boise, Idaho, started as an instrumental rock outfit led by organist Paul Revere Dick (January 7, 1938 – October 4, 2014) (named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero), who in his early twenties already owned several restaurants in Portland, Oregon. Singer Mark Lindsay (March 9, 1942), joined in 1958. Originally called The Downbeats, their name was changed to Paul Revere & The Raiders in 1960 on the eve of their first record release for Gardena Records. The band scored their first Pacific Northwest regional hit in 1961 with "Like Long Hair", an instrumental. Revere was drafted, became a conscientious objector and worked at a mental institution for a year and half of deferred service. After reforming the band, they attracted national attention again with a cover of "Louie Louie", which was picked up by Columbia Records although beaten in the charts by The Kingsmen's version.
Known for their live high energy rock n' roll performances they consistently toured the Northwest - hitting the no-alcohol teen venues where the testosterone levels were as high as the high school beer buzzes that fueled the rowdy crowds of sweating dancers out for the transcendence of the music, or maybe just to get laid. The highlight of their gigs in the early 60's was the 6 foot high cardboard mock up of a can of Crisco that came on during the song "Crisco Party", which was about the delights of getting naked, smearing yourself and your teenage honey all over in Crisco and doing the diry boogie all night long. Never has an organ (Paul Revere's that is!) wailed so in tune with with the zeitgeist. Mark Lindsay was always out in front, on stage and into the crowds, but it was Paul Revere who lead the crowd involvement, bouncing the big Crisco barrel off the stage and into the dancehalls and dance floors of the teenage wastelands - before the Vietnam war changed the vibes and the audiences began to sit and listen to the lyrics and innocent horniness teenage was replaced by the searching for meaning in the midst of a war that threatened to kill them.
They would maintain a huge level of popularity in the mid-1960s beginning with "Just Like Me" (1965), which marked the beginning of a string of garage rock classics. The Raiders, under the guidance of producer Terry Melcher, increasingly emulated the sounds of British Invasion bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Animals albeit with an American R&B feel.
The band appeared regularly on national television, especially on Dick Clark's Where the Action Is, Happening '68, and It's Happening, the latter two of which were co-hosted by Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay. Here they were presented as the American response to the British Invasion. The group wore American Revolutionary War soldier uniforms and performed slapstick comedy and synchronized dance steps while the ponytailed Lindsay lip synched to their music. This farcical, cartoonish image obscured the proto-hard rock sound that their music often took.
Their hits from the mid-60's included "Kicks" (Billboard Pop Chart #4), "Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" (#7), "Good Thing" (#5), "Hungry" (#5), and "Great Airplane Strike" (#20). Of these, "Kicks" became their best-known song, an anti-drug message written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was especially akin to The Animals.
In mid-1967, with three gold albums to their credit, they were Columbia Records' top-selling rock band; their Greatest Hits album was one of two releases selected by Clive Davis to try out a higher list price for albums expected to be particularly popular, along with Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits.
Changing tastes in the late 1960s rendered the group unfashionable, but they still continued to have hits through the rest of the decade, "I Had A Dream" (1967 - #20), "Too Much Talk" (1968 - #18, and an illustration of their tendency towards Beatles imitations), and "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" (1969 - #18). Tensions between Lindsay and Revere increased during this time; Lindsay wanted to go more in the direction of hard rock acts like Led Zeppelin or the James Gang, while Revere sought a bubblegum pop direction. Lindsay's vision for the Raiders was represented on songs such as "Let Me" (1969 - #20 - Gold Single), "Powder Blue Mercedes Queen" (1972 - #54) and "Just Seventeen" (1970 - #70) and the 1970 album Collage. By the time of the release of Collage the band's name was officially shortened to The Raiders. "Freeborn Man", written by Lindsay and bassist Keith Allison, has since gone on to be a Country Rock standard, covered by The Outlaws, Junior Brown, and Glen Campbell amongst many others.
Ironically, their single release "Indian Reservation" (1971 - #1 - Platinum single) would be their biggest hit of all, after about a year and a half or so of no hits.
In 1972 The Raiders made one last attempt at a pop album with Country Wine but Columbia was sinking money into other acts, such as Mott The Hoople and Aerosmith, and Country Wine and The Raiders sank in the resulting quagmire.
Lindsay left the band in 1975 to continue his solo career as a country star of sorts, landing a hit single with Kenny Young's "Arizona". Country music was also the choice of short-lived member Freddy Weller, who had more success in this market. Revere continued to put together Raiders lineups with some success, but Lindsay had clearly been the star of the band.
The punk rock and New Wave eras would see a wave of interest in the Raiders' music; "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" was covered by The Sex Pistols and Liverpool band The Farm (although The Monkees' cover version was more well known than the Raiders' original), and later "Just Like Me" would be covered by The Circle Jerks (as well as by more mainstream figures like Joan Jett and Pat Benatar). "Hungry" was also covered by Sammy Hagar. The Paisley Underground, garage rock revival, and grunge movements would all acknowledge the Raiders' influence.
Revere has continued to play shows on the oldies circuit and in Las Vegas with various Raiders. Lindsay is musically semi-retired and lives in Hawaii, but occasionally plays. Other members of the band constantly changed; bassist Keith Allison, who played in the Raiders from 1968 to 1975, is probably the best known of them, and has since gone into acting, and has appeared in the film Gods and Generals.
In 1997 the group's classic Midnight Ride lineup - Mark Lindsay, guitarist Drake Levin, bassist Phil "Fang" Volk, and drummer Mike "Smitty" Smith - reunited in full costume (though without Revere himself) for a one-off 30th anniversary performance in Portland. Smith died four years later.
Mark Lindsay performed as part of the "Happy Together" tour with the Turtles, Mickey Dolenz, the Grass Roots and the Buckinghams in 2010. The tour was well received in the US.
Lindsay was invited on stage by Mitch Ryder at the "Hippiefest" tour in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on July 31, 2010 and performed "Kicks" to a wildly appreciative audience at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
The band, initially located in Boise, Idaho, started as an instrumental rock outfit led by organist Paul Revere Dick (January 7, 1938 – October 4, 2014) (named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero), who in his early twenties already owned several restaurants in Portland, Oregon. Singer Mark Lindsay (March 9, 1942), joined in 1958. Originally called The Downbeats, their name was changed to Paul Revere & The Raiders in 1960 on the eve of their first record release for Gardena Records. The band scored their first Pacific Northwest regional hit in 1961 with "Like Long Hair", an instrumental. Revere was drafted, became a conscientious objector and worked at a mental institution for a year and half of deferred service. After reforming the band, they attracted national attention again with a cover of "Louie Louie", which was picked up by Columbia Records although beaten in the charts by The Kingsmen's version.
Known for their live high energy rock n' roll performances they consistently toured the Northwest - hitting the no-alcohol teen venues where the testosterone levels were as high as the high school beer buzzes that fueled the rowdy crowds of sweating dancers out for the transcendence of the music, or maybe just to get laid. The highlight of their gigs in the early 60's was the 6 foot high cardboard mock up of a can of Crisco that came on during the song "Crisco Party", which was about the delights of getting naked, smearing yourself and your teenage honey all over in Crisco and doing the diry boogie all night long. Never has an organ (Paul Revere's that is!) wailed so in tune with with the zeitgeist. Mark Lindsay was always out in front, on stage and into the crowds, but it was Paul Revere who lead the crowd involvement, bouncing the big Crisco barrel off the stage and into the dancehalls and dance floors of the teenage wastelands - before the Vietnam war changed the vibes and the audiences began to sit and listen to the lyrics and innocent horniness teenage was replaced by the searching for meaning in the midst of a war that threatened to kill them.
They would maintain a huge level of popularity in the mid-1960s beginning with "Just Like Me" (1965), which marked the beginning of a string of garage rock classics. The Raiders, under the guidance of producer Terry Melcher, increasingly emulated the sounds of British Invasion bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Animals albeit with an American R&B feel.
The band appeared regularly on national television, especially on Dick Clark's Where the Action Is, Happening '68, and It's Happening, the latter two of which were co-hosted by Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay. Here they were presented as the American response to the British Invasion. The group wore American Revolutionary War soldier uniforms and performed slapstick comedy and synchronized dance steps while the ponytailed Lindsay lip synched to their music. This farcical, cartoonish image obscured the proto-hard rock sound that their music often took.
Their hits from the mid-60's included "Kicks" (Billboard Pop Chart #4), "Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" (#7), "Good Thing" (#5), "Hungry" (#5), and "Great Airplane Strike" (#20). Of these, "Kicks" became their best-known song, an anti-drug message written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was especially akin to The Animals.
In mid-1967, with three gold albums to their credit, they were Columbia Records' top-selling rock band; their Greatest Hits album was one of two releases selected by Clive Davis to try out a higher list price for albums expected to be particularly popular, along with Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits.
Changing tastes in the late 1960s rendered the group unfashionable, but they still continued to have hits through the rest of the decade, "I Had A Dream" (1967 - #20), "Too Much Talk" (1968 - #18, and an illustration of their tendency towards Beatles imitations), and "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" (1969 - #18). Tensions between Lindsay and Revere increased during this time; Lindsay wanted to go more in the direction of hard rock acts like Led Zeppelin or the James Gang, while Revere sought a bubblegum pop direction. Lindsay's vision for the Raiders was represented on songs such as "Let Me" (1969 - #20 - Gold Single), "Powder Blue Mercedes Queen" (1972 - #54) and "Just Seventeen" (1970 - #70) and the 1970 album Collage. By the time of the release of Collage the band's name was officially shortened to The Raiders. "Freeborn Man", written by Lindsay and bassist Keith Allison, has since gone on to be a Country Rock standard, covered by The Outlaws, Junior Brown, and Glen Campbell amongst many others.
Ironically, their single release "Indian Reservation" (1971 - #1 - Platinum single) would be their biggest hit of all, after about a year and a half or so of no hits.
In 1972 The Raiders made one last attempt at a pop album with Country Wine but Columbia was sinking money into other acts, such as Mott The Hoople and Aerosmith, and Country Wine and The Raiders sank in the resulting quagmire.
Lindsay left the band in 1975 to continue his solo career as a country star of sorts, landing a hit single with Kenny Young's "Arizona". Country music was also the choice of short-lived member Freddy Weller, who had more success in this market. Revere continued to put together Raiders lineups with some success, but Lindsay had clearly been the star of the band.
The punk rock and New Wave eras would see a wave of interest in the Raiders' music; "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" was covered by The Sex Pistols and Liverpool band The Farm (although The Monkees' cover version was more well known than the Raiders' original), and later "Just Like Me" would be covered by The Circle Jerks (as well as by more mainstream figures like Joan Jett and Pat Benatar). "Hungry" was also covered by Sammy Hagar. The Paisley Underground, garage rock revival, and grunge movements would all acknowledge the Raiders' influence.
Revere has continued to play shows on the oldies circuit and in Las Vegas with various Raiders. Lindsay is musically semi-retired and lives in Hawaii, but occasionally plays. Other members of the band constantly changed; bassist Keith Allison, who played in the Raiders from 1968 to 1975, is probably the best known of them, and has since gone into acting, and has appeared in the film Gods and Generals.
In 1997 the group's classic Midnight Ride lineup - Mark Lindsay, guitarist Drake Levin, bassist Phil "Fang" Volk, and drummer Mike "Smitty" Smith - reunited in full costume (though without Revere himself) for a one-off 30th anniversary performance in Portland. Smith died four years later.
Mark Lindsay performed as part of the "Happy Together" tour with the Turtles, Mickey Dolenz, the Grass Roots and the Buckinghams in 2010. The tour was well received in the US.
Lindsay was invited on stage by Mitch Ryder at the "Hippiefest" tour in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on July 31, 2010 and performed "Kicks" to a wildly appreciative audience at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
Him or Me
Paul Revere & The Raiders Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now have you got yourself a brand new baby
Don't tell me maybe
Is it so
I got to know
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
I can still recall when you told me I was all
Everything you looked for in a man
But I know that it's not true
I've seen the way he looks at you
And I thing you're gonna hang me up again
Now have you got yourself a brand new baby
Don't tell me maybe
Is it so
I got to know
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
So if you'd like to be so kind
Would you please make up your mind
I won't share your lovin' with another man
And if you see things my way
Won't you let me know today
But if you decide it's him
I'll change my mind
So have you got yourself a brand new baby
Don't tell me maybe
Is it so
I got to know
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
What's it gonna be
Don't tell me maybe
Is it so
I got to know
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
I can still recall when you told me I was all
Everything you looked for in a man
But I know that it's not true
I've seen the way he looks at you
And I thing you're gonna hang me up again
Now have you got yourself a brand new baby
Don't tell me maybe
Is it so
I got to know
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
So if you'd like to be so kind
Would you please make up your mind
I won't share your lovin' with another man
And if you see things my way
Won't you let me know today
But if you decide it's him
I'll change my mind
So have you got yourself a brand new baby
Don't tell me maybe
Is it so
I got to know
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
What's it gonna be
Him or me
Him or me
Him or me
What's it gonna be
The lyrics to Paul Revere & The Raiders's song Him or Me are about a man who is unsure if his significant other is going to choose him or someone else. The singer is struggling with the possibility that his partner may have found a new love interest and is asking her to make a decision between him or the other man. He is desperate to know where he stands in the relationship and is willing to change his mind if she chooses the other man. He's essentially saying that he will not share his significant other's love with anyone else.
The song captures the feeling of insecurity and fear of losing someone that many people go through in romantic relationships. The singer is struggling with the uncertainty of where he stands and is asking for honesty from his partner. The line "I won't share your lovin' with another man" sums up the theme of the song, which is the fear of losing the person you love.
Overall, the lyrics to Him or Me are about communication and honesty in relationships. It's about being clear on one's desires and intentions and making a decision, so both parties can move forward. It's a timeless message that still resonates with many people today.
Line by Line Meaning
Now have you got yourself a brand new baby
Have you found a new lover
Don't tell me maybe
Don't be indecisive
Is it so
Did you really find a new lover
I got to know
I need to know the truth
What's it gonna be
Who will you choose?
Him or me
Choose between your new lover or me
So if you'd like to be so kind
I'm pleading with you
Would you please make up your mind
Decide who you want
I won't share your lovin' with another man
I won't accept being in a love triangle
And if you see things my way
If you agree with me
Won't you let me know today
Please tell me now
But if you decide it's him
If you choose your new lover
I'll change my mind
I'll move on
Him or me
Still deciding
What's it gonna be
The question remains unanswered
Contributed by Eva A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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doonbiz
Rest In Peace Paul Revere...all he wanted was a good performance and a happy audience. He seemed to live for being on stage. The original band, with Mark Lindsay, have four gold albums, and one platinum song (Indian Reservation - The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian). Their farcical, cartoon-like image obscured the proto-hard rock sound their music often displayed, perhaps kept the band from higher praise. Like so many other musical acts embraced by music lovers, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame never recognized PR&R for the musical force the band was.
Interestingly, when The Beatles' Let It Be was released in 1970, the Rolling Stone magazine originally gave the album a "poor review", yet in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 86 in the magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The hiring of former FHM editor Ed Needham further enraged critics who allege that Rolling Stone had thoroughly lost all credibility as a magazine, a respected voice of the music industry, or music lovers in the U.S. and Internationally.
NOT in the R&R Hall of Fame: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jethro Tull, John Coltrane, Chicago, Judas Priest, The Cure, T Rex, Yes, Todd Rundgren, The Moody Blues, Nine Inch Nails, Bon Jovi, Lou Reed, The Cars, The Monkees, The Doobie Brothers, Procol Harum, Warren Zevon, Cheap Trick Def Leopard, Duran Duran, Ozzy Ozbourne, Emerson Lake & Palmer, The Spinners, B-52s, Herby Hancock, or Journey...and the list of fine music, seemingly not "in-the-club", goes on and on.
Paul Revere...I think can be proud of what he gave.
Steven Orsinelli
This generation has no clue how much fun we had during these times! The music was amazing!
Ken Velickoff
Two things, FUN, and NO CLUE!
Mitchell Hancock
I don't drink but I'll drink to that
Douglas J. Arcuri
Sorry Steve Our boys were dying in rice patties while others rocked at home.
John Puplic
@Douglas J. Arcuri 3 USMC combat tours. I still had fun and would go back in a heartbeat.
Peter Bullock
Couldn't agree more, incredible music non stop, what a time we had.
Hal Eisenberg
This group rocked, there's no denying it. The writing, the arrangements, the lead singing of Mark - who is without a doubt in my mind one of the finest rock voices ever... They were just a very underrated band probably due to the costumes and on-stage antics, but if you listen to their catalogue, you'll agree that their music ranks right up there with anything that was produced back then - or even now.
Patszer
What can I say? You have good taste in music. Take care!
marciefree
They were a great group. One of my favorites. Do you still remember gettin home from school in time to watch “Where The Action Is”? I always loved it cuz The Raiders were on. 🤩🤩🤩
Hal Eisenberg
@marciefree Yes I do!