Paul Revere and the Raiders

Greatly Appreciated

PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS
 
 
In late 1974, Greg Shaw’s first release on his Bomp! Records record label were two tracks from 1972 album sessions by the Flamin’ Groovies that the band could not get anyone to release.  The “A” side was “You Tore Me Down”, backed with a fine treatment of the old Paul Revere and the Raiders song “Him or Me”.  As Shaw put it:  “All I knew was that music this good had to come out. . . . And that’s as good a foot to start on as any, I reckon.” 
 
(April 2010)
 
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The name of the Greg Shaw magazine called Who Put the Bomp is taken from “Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)”, a Top-40 hit by Barry Mann.  This was basically a one-hit wonder, but Mann always concentrated mostly on his songwriting, and he is well known for numerous songs that were co-written with his wife Cynthia Weil – “Blame it on the Bossa Nova” by Eydie Gorme, “Hungry” and “Kicks” by Paul Revere and the Raiders, “Here You Come Again” by Dolly Parton, “Looking through the Eyes of Love” by Gene Pitney originally, etc.  

 

(May 2013)

 
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Van Dyke Parks is a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and was a musical prodigy.  He studied the clarinet and also did some work as a child actor; while in his teens, Parks appeared in Grace Kelly’s final film, The Swan (1958).  After graduating from college, he made some recordings for MGM Records in 1964 that included “Come to the Sunshine”; the touring band that he put together included a young Stephen Stills.  Primarily though, he worked behind the scenes, playing as a session musician with Sonny and Cher (before they even took that name) and Paul Revere and the Raiders under producer Terry Melcher.  His other early credits include playing Hammond Organ on the Byrds Fifth Dimension album and also keyboards for Judy Collins, plus arranging songs for Tim Buckley

 

(June 2013/2)

 

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In 1961, the two men who put together the Alley Oop Number One hit helped craft the first song by Paul Revere and the Raiders to make the Top 40, the instrumental “Like, Long Hair”, with Kim Fowley as co-producer and Gary S. Paxton as arranger. 

 

(January 2015/1)

 

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The Sonics are often cited as being among the earliest garage rock bands, having formed in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington with a raw, energetic sound from the get-go. They were a key part of the Pacific Northwest scene that also included the Wailers (not Bob Marley’s band) and Paul Revere and the Raiders; in later years, this part of the country was renowned for the grunge scene of Nirvana and others and the riot grrrl scene of Sleater-Kinney and others.
 
(December 2016)
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Greg Shaw launched Bomp! Records in December 1974 with the release of the Bomp 101 single, “You Tore Me Down” b/w “Him or Me” by the Flamin’ Groovies, with the latter song being the Paul Revere and the Raiders song.  The first band signed by the new label was past UARB the Poppees, whose unabashed Beatlesque stylings were at odds with the established rock scene and the punk/new wave scene alike. 
 
(December 2017)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021