Paul Revere & The Raiders - Kicks (1966)

Born Paul Revere Dick in Harvard, Nebraska on January 7th, 1938, this group’s namesake man made his start at life owning and managing multiple restaurants in the Caldwell, Idaho area in his early twenties. On the side, Revere had a band called The Downbeats. One day in 1958 while purchasing hamburger buns from a local bakery for his restaurants, Revere met one of the bakery’s employees, Mark Lindsay. Lindsay would eventually join Revere’s band as the group’s lead singer and, by 1960, the band had changed their name to Paul Revere & The Raiders (just before the release of their first single). A year later in 1961, the group had their first local hit with an instrumental song, “Like, Long Hair,” released in 1961. By April, the song had reached the national charts topping out at number thirty-eight and the group thought they were on their way. Unfortunately, it was around this time that Revere was drafted for military service. Claiming to be a conscientious objector, Revere managed to stay out of fatigues and worked as a cook in a mental institution for a year and a half. Initially, throughout the summer of 1961, Lindsay toured off of the success of their hit single with replacement band members, but then had to pump gas to make a living until the summer of ’62 when Revere was finally relieved of his duty. Rounding out their band, the group again thought they had struck gold when they recorded “Louie Louie” in 1963. What they didn’t know was that at the same time another band, known as The Kingsmen, had been recording the same song. As Mark Lindsay once summed it up, “they [The Kingsmen] got the huge hit single…but we got the career!”

Written by married couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, this song was inspired by the couple’s friend, Gerry Goffin, who had been ruining his marriage to fellow songwriting partner Carole King with excessive drug use. At a time when most songs were talking about using and abusing mind-altering substances, this song was firmly clear about taking a stand against drug us. Originally offered to The Animals, it was turned down by Eric Burdon and later given to this group in 1966. The release of the song garnered accusations that the band had “sold out” and had “become a part of the establishment,” while David Crosby of The Byrds had called it “a dumb anti-drug song.” Despite its unpopular anti-drug theme, the song still managed to reach number four in the United States and number three in Canada. It stills receives regular airplay on the radio to this day.



Paul Revere & The Raiders - Kicks (1966)

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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
But 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)
Oh, you don't need kicks, girl
(And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind)
You just need help, girl
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight

And don't it seem like
(Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find)
Oh, you don't need kicks, girl
(And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind)
Oh, you just need help, girl
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight…