Jim over at Song Lyric Sunday has challenged us to write about a band that wore uniforms or dressed alike. Iāve chosen a group from here in the U.S.
In Boise, Idaho in 1958 a little instrumental combo called the Downbeats was born; the group saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. Founded by organist Paul Revere Dick and singer Mark Lindsey, the band was known for including Revolutionary War-style clothes during their performances. The group’s name was soon changed to the catchy and more appropriate Paul Revere and the Raiders.
After charting in 1961 with a minor hit and then just missing Billboard’sĀ Hot 100 in late 1963 with a cover ofĀ “Louie, Louie”,Ā the band was signed to Columbia Records. In January 1966, thanks to Dick Clark’s show “Where The Action Is”, the single “Just Like Me”Ā reached #11 on the Hot 100. The consecutive Top Tens hits “Kicks”Ā andĀ “Hungry” soon followed, establishing the band as national stars. Between 1966 and 1969 they reached the top 30 with 12 hits. Their three 1966 albums all were gold-certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).
Songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil composed āKicksā in 1966 and offered it to the Animals but lead singer Eric Burdon turned it down. Instead, Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded and released it as a single which became a #1 hit in Canada and reached #4 in the United States. “Kicks” was included on the band’s fifth album, āMidnight Rideā, released in May 1966. A live version of the song was recorded on the band’s 1996Ā āGreatest Hits Liveā compilation album.
Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, “Kicks” was composed and released during the time when pro-hippie, pro-experimentation, and other counterculture themes were gaining popularity on U.S. FM radio stations. As a result, the song’s message was perceived as outdated by the emerging youth counterculture, as popular artists ranging from the Beatles to Jefferson Airplane had written songs whose themes sharply contrasted that of “Kicksā. However, the song has received generally positive reviews by music critics in the decades since its release.Ā In 2004, “Kicks” was ranked number 400 on Rolling Stoneās Ā list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
This is āKicksā by Paul Revere and the Raiders
Lyrics
Girl, you thought you found the answer
On that magic carpet ride last night
But when you wake up in the mornin’
The world still gets you uptight
Well, there’s nothin’ that you ain’t tried
To fill the emptiness inside
When you come back down, girl
Still ain’t feelin’ right
And don’t it seem like
Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find
And all your kicks ain’t bringin’ you peace of mind
Before you find out it’s too late, girl
You better get straight
No, but not with kicks, you just need help, girl
Well you think you’re gonna find yourself
A little piece of paradise
But it ain’t happened yet, so girl, you better think twice
Don’t you see no matter what you do
You’ll never run away from you
And if you keep on runnin’ you’ll have to pay the price
And don’t it seem like
Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find
And all your kicks ain’t bringin’ you peace of mind
Before you find out it’s too late, girl
You better get straight
No, you don’t need kicks
To help you face the world each day
That road goes nowhere
I’m gonna help you find yourself another way
Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find
And all your kicks ain’t bringin’ you peace of mind
Before you find out it’s too late, girl
You better get straight
Don’t it seem like
Kicks just keep gettin’ harder to find
And all your kicks ain’t bringin’ you peace of mind
Before you find out it’s too late, girl
You better get straight
Source:Ā LyricFind
Songwriters: Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil
Kicks (Original artist re-recording) lyrics Ā© Downtown Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Wixen Music Publishing
NARĀ©2024
This portfolio (includingĀ text, graphics and videos)Ā is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantās TrunkĀ and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR Ā© 2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
Great choice and love the song! I had the same idea, just a different song. Here’s to Paul Revere & the Raiders – silly costumes and all, but their songs were good. š
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Their songs were great and, yes, their costumes were very silly.
And would you believe they were still performing in April of 2022? That’s when the group and the name retired.
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I’ve heard of the band but sadly, they weren’t revered in the UK
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Haha! Good one, Glyn!
Well, I can see one very obvious reason why they weren’t popular in the UK!
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Great choice Nancy I rememberāthese guys š
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They’re kind of hard to forget with those ridiculous outfits! š
Thanks, Willow!
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I can see why Barry Mann and Cynthia offered this song to the Animals as I think it would have fit them. I think they should have offered it to Steppenwolf because of that line, “On that magic carpet ride last night”, but I think they were more associated with drugs.
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I’m inclined to agree on both points, Jim.
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I almost picked Paul Revere & The Raiders, but then I figured someone else would.
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap wore uniforms, too.
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It’s incredible how many groups wore a uniform of some type. I went for the obvious! š
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I was never a big PR&TR fan and I think it might have been the uniforms threw me off. I was more of a Dave Clark Five guy. But they were good and I bought their 45s. It was fun to listen to this again!
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Truth be told, Michael, I was never a big fan either but I zeroed in on the magic word uniforms and closed everything else out. Who could forget those get-ups? Now that I’ve had time to digest the subject a bit more, I easily could have gone with the Temptations or the Turtles and yes, even the DC5 who I did like a lot.
The obscure we see eventually.Ā The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. ā Edward R. Murrow
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I’d heard of the band but as they did absolutely nothing in our charts I don’t think they ever got much airplay here, even on the pirate radio stations. This is a new one for me, and I can see why it was a hit at the time.
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This doesn’t surprise me at all, Clive, but being a Yank, I’m trying to devote my posts to US groups whenever possible. This was a no-brainer for me after I read Jim’s suggestion; I totally forgot about all the Motown groups and their gorgeous matching suits or the girl acts with their glittery dresses! It’s difficult to forget guys dressed in Revolutionary War outfits! They had a good sound but I’m sure they never made it across the pond. They probably would have been shot!
I’m glad you enjoyed their song; they had a few others worth listening to.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with that – itās good to have some broadening of our knowledge! I knew their name so it is possible that the pirate stations played them, but my memory isnāt up to that. I donāt think weād have shot them, though that would have livened up Top Of The Pops if we had!
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I don’t remember hearing this before – I loved it!
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I’m assuming you’re in the UK so I’m not surprised you don’t remember them. It’s really a good song but I don’t think they got much air time outside the US. They had a few other good songs worth checking out.
I’m glad you enjoyed this one.
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Nancy, I remember the song but never really paid attention to the lyrics. So cool it is an anti-drug song. I remember PR&TR and had a bad crush on Mark Lindsay. Remember the TV show they had? All I remember about it was that it was kind of cheesy but had cutie pie on it š Looking at the pics I remember that blond guy was pretty cute too but only had eyes for Mark. Great choice for the prompt!
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Haha! Cutie Pie! The priorities we had back then! I have to admit I remember seeing them on Dick Clark’s show several times and maybe once on Ed Sullivan’s show but I don’t remember them having their own show. The mind is a terrible thing to waste! LOL!
As soon as I read Jim’s suggestion, all I could think about was their Revolutionary War clothes and that was it. No other group that I can recall went to such lengths to dress the same and I wasn’t going to write about the Beatles again. It will be interesting to see which groups other people write about and how many times I say “Oh yeah! I remember them!” How many do you think will hail from the US?
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š
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Check it out tomorrow; I’m featuring your suggestion.
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Cool, Nancy!
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You beat me by about six hours, Nancy. My SLS post featuring the Paul Revere & the Raidersā song āKicks,ā is scheduled to be published on my blog at 3 am PT. All I can say is (1) great choice and (2) great minds think alike.
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Morning Fan! I’d like to think if was “great minds” but I could only remember 2 groups that wore “uniforms” …. The Raiders and the Beatles and I wasn’t going with the latter for obvious reasons! I was shocked when I saw all the groups suggested in Jim’s post; of course the Motown groups all make sense now but when I was planning this post, no one else came into my mind. I’ll be checking yours out soon.
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