I was a member of Paul Revere & The Raiders from early 1978 to the end of 1980. For almost three years, I wore the outfits, did the steps, and played the songs that were monster hits when I was growing up. It was an unforgettable time, and I’m always amazed at how many experiences were crammed into such a short amount of time. Here’s how it all came about:

In 1977, I was living in Seattle, WA, playing bass guitar and singing in a band called “Louie & The Rockets.” We toured the Northwest, went to Las Vegas on occasion, and performed in Alaska as well. As with any band, personnel changes are common, and one of our changes brought a new guitarist, Doug Heath into the band. Before joining Louie & The Rockets, Doug had been the guitarist for Paul Revere & The Raiders, replacing Freddy Weller in 1973. Sometime around 1977, Paul had decided that he wanted to retire from performing, disbanded the Raiders, and it was our good fortune that Doug ended up as part of our band. Paul’s desire to retire soon faded away, and before long, he called Doug to ask if he was interested in putting a band together so that Paul could perform around sixteen to twenty weeks a year at his favorite venues. Doug’s reply was that Louie & The Rockets would be the perfect band to back Paul whenever he wanted to perform, and coincidentally, we were scheduled to perform in Paul’s home town of Boise Idaho so that he could see the band for himself. After seeing us perform in Boise, Paul agreed that it would be a good fit, and our incarnation of Paul Revere And The Raiders were born.