Monday, October 6, 2014

RIP Paul Revere

RIP Paul Revere. (Actually, "Revere" was his middle name. His last name was actually Dick. In the mid-1960s, 16 Magazine editor Gloria Stavers told him, "If your band doesn't play this charity concert, I'll tell all my readers what your real last name is.") I think most bio data is fairly accurate - getting expelled from HS for tossing a typewriter out the window, the string of barber shops. He could pick talent, too. Most folks think of Mark L as a singer, but listen to him tear it up on tenor sax here.
Equal parts rowdy Pacific northwest bar band and LA studio creation. Pure 1960s.











A big part of their original marketing ploy was that they served as a Stateside foil to the British Invasion. It had its moment of appeal, but within a couple of years, uniforms with any kind of military connotation were a hard sell in the rock world, what with the intense public opinion struggle over US involvement in Vietnam.   But theirs was quintessentially American music. and their rise and subsequent Midnight Ride was a quintessentially American story, much like the plots of Jersey Boys, Ray, Walk the Line, Bird or The W.C. Handy Story.



More clips from this great ensemble may follow.  They provided the soundtrack during some formative years for your present blogger.

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