The Raiders Are Coming! [Video] [Column]

The Central Washington State Fair announced its' 2012 entertainment line up today. I plan to be front and center for one act in particular.

I was in the third grade the first time I heard a Paul Revere and the Raiders song. It was "Kicks", on a 45 rpm single my sister borrowed from a friend. I was hooked.
These guys had revolutionary war suits, and the lead singer even had a 1776 style ponytail. They were the coolest band I had ever seen. My family used to spend a lot of time in Idaho, where the Raiders originated, and it seems that all of the kids there actually knew Paul, Mark and the rest personally. (You'll believe just about anything when you're nine)

At my house, we were afternoon devotees of the Dick Clark produced show "Where The Action Is". The Raiders were the house band. They also appeared on many other TV shows in the 60's and early 70's, logging over 740 appearances in all.
They had four Billboard top ten hits, and six Billboard top ten albums. It's an absolute shame that they are not in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. I mean, ABBA is in there, but not the Raiders.

Paul Revere is the only original still performing with the Raiders, but they still draw big crowds of devoted fans. Maybe you'll be sitting next to me on September 28th at 7:30 PM at State Fair Park for a show I've been waiting for since I was nine years old.

Visit the Raiders website here.

Visit the Central Washington State Fair's website here.

And finally, a 1967 Paul Revere and the Raiders appearance on the Smothers Brothers TV show.