LOS ANGELES — Paul Revere, 76, the organist and leader of the Raiders rock band, died from cancer Saturday at his home in Garden Valley, Idaho, said Roger Hart, manager for the rock group.
“He’d been quiet about it for some time,” Hart said. “Treated at the Mayo Clinic, Paul stayed on the road as long as he could, then retired recently back to Idaho, where he and his wife, Sydney, always kept a home.”
Revere, born Paul Revere Dick, became known as “the madman of rock and roll” for his colonial wardrobe and infectious onstage persona with the band.
“From Day One, we’ve always been a party band that accidentally had some hit records and accidentally got on a hit television series,” Revere said in a 2000 interview.
The group became popular in 1963 with its rendition of Richard Berry’s “Louie, Louie” before releasing its own hits, such as “Kicks,” “Hungry” and “Good Thing.” The band’s biggest smash came in 1971 with “Indian Reservation.”
While the band’s lineup changed over the past 50 years, Revere remained a constant presence.
Paul Revere and the Raiders served as the house band for the Dick Clark TV show “Where the Action Is” and made an appearance as themselves in the “Batman” TV series starring Adam West.
