Drake Levin has past away. Who?
Stephen Stink
Drake Levin Was No Hendrix, But He Did Rock!
So, let me ask you: how close are we to curing cancer? The former
guitarist of “Paul Revere & the Raiders,”: Drake Levin. He died in San
Francisco on July 6 from cancer. He was 62 years old. In the order of
talking about Drake, we must talk about his band.
Paul Revere & The Raiders had the garage sound down to its essence.
Matter of fact, they were the first to record the rock classic,
“Louie, Louie,” however; the Kinsmen released it on a 45 rpm just a
week after they’d recorded it!
What spoiled it for them was that they had a teenybopper following.
So, like the Monkees, nobody took them seriously; plus, wearing those
goofy, 18th Century American Revolutionary outfits didn’t help
matters, either. But hearing them on the radio was a way different
experience! They had that horny, teen-age, garage sound, with a Vox
organ and fuzz tone guitars, bass, and drums. The lead singer, Mark
Lindsay, was the only vocalist who didn’t try to sound like Mick
Jagger, so he was an original. Drake Levin played rudimentary garage
guitar, however he did something that nobody had done before him: he
played double lead on a record called, “Just Like Me.” Now, in 1965,
this was not done. There were only 4 tracks to work with! Two years
later, Arthur Lee & Love would do the same thing on their great L.P.,
“Forever Changes.” The Eagles refined the double lead on their song,
“Hotel California” in 1977, and the Irish band, Thin Lizzy, perfected
it. Drake’s version in ‘65 was sloppy and out of sync, but it sounded
really cool and, well, you just can’t argue with success. His guitar
work on songs like “Just Like Me,” “Hungry,” “Steppin’ out,” “Kicks,”
and the great fuzz tone masterpiece, “The Great Airplane Strike,” gave
them all that hard edge. Drake left the band after four years. The
Raiders tried to sound like the Beach Boys mixed with the Rolling
Stones, but when that didn’t work, they went into a commercial
direction. They scored a point in 1971 with a song about Native
Americans and some chick from Arizona. They, like many of their
contemporaries, faded into obscurity, finally relegated to performing
at county fairs and Disneyland. Drake went on to work with Lee
Michaels and Emmett Rhodes. He also faded into nothingness.
Thus exits another ‘60’s musician. So I pose a toast to Drake: I raise
my Bud high and proclaim: “Here’s to you, dude!”
Off topic alert! This is a musical video I want to share people who
appreciate rock & Roll
If you like this sort of entertainment please click on link. If you
don’t, do not click link!
Thank you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wAb1x7LbU4
Jeff
He "Past" away?
BlackMonk
"Stephen Stink" <not4...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:07b975cc-3679-49b6...@o18g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
< Matter of fact, they were the first to record the rock classic,
�Louie, Louie,� however; the Kinsmen released it on a 45 rpm just a
week after they�d recorded it! >
Richard Berry was the first to record it. The Raiders might have been the
first to record a cover of The Wailers' version.
Then, they might not have. They recorded it the same week that The Kingsmen
did. According to Dave Marsh's book, no one is sure which group was first.
> Drake Levin played rudimentary garage
guitar, however he did something that nobody had done before him: he
played double lead on a record called, �Just Like Me.�
Or the session guitarist who played on the song did.
Bernie Woodham
> "Stephen Stink" <not4ud...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
According to Wikipedia, Levin was facing being drafted. So, he
enlisted in the National Guard instead which allowed him to remain
with the group for recording sessions.
Why would they retain him for recording sessions if they were using
session musicians in his place?
BlackMonk
"Bernie Woodham" <birnh...@insightbb.com> wrote in message
news:aeb5552d-f861-441f...@f33g2000vbm.googlegroups.com...
To do vocals? Because he was part of the band? Because he might have played
some of the more basic guitar parts and percussion while session musicians
handled the majority of the guitar parts? Because they needed someone for
the cover photos and the suit fit him? Because he really enlisted in the
National Guard to keep from going to Vietnam and that was a cover story?
There are plenty of possibilites
The fact that The Raiders used session musicians on recordings is beyond
dispute. Levin's replacement in The Raiders has said that he hardly played
on the records and even Revere himself usually was replaced by a session
musician. (From what I've read, he didn't like the music and would have been
happier doing Jerry Lee Lewis covers) "Just Like Me" is early enough that it
might be Levin, but I wouldn't assume anything.
Bernie Woodham
> "Bernie Woodham" <birnhamw...@insightbb.com> wrote in message
But I don't think it's right to cast doubt on his playing either. He
just might deserve credit for playing that part. It's known that Terry
Melcher used session musicians, but I've yet to read anything that
says Levin didn't play that part. He gets credit for it on the
wikipedia page for PR&R.
On another site, an author says this:
"In October , the Raiders followed up "Steppin Out" with what was to
become one of their all time classics "Just Like Me." Written by Rick
Dey, a big Raider fan from the Northwest, "Just Like Me" was released
in November 1965. With a sizzling multi-tracked guitar solo by Levin,
it became the groups' first Top 20 hit.
The Raiders' next song "Kicks," an anti-drug song written by Barry
Mann and Cynthia Weil, went into the top five. Then came another Mann-
Weil composition "Hungry" and another smash hit. But, at this time the
group was starting to developing its own songwriting and Melcher began
using session musicians on the Raiders' recordings"
So Melcher may not have used session musicians until after "Just Like
Me" was released.
Without evidence saying otherwise, I think it should be assumed that
Levin played guitar on that song.
Bernie Woodham
But I don't think it's right to cast doubt on his playing either. He
Bernie Woodham
But I don't think it's right to cast doubt on his playing either. He
Bernie Woodham
But I don't think it's right to cast doubt on his playing either. He
Bernie Woodham
But I don't think it's right to cast doubt on his playing either. He
BlackMonk
Wikipedia is only as good as its sources. Where did the information come
from?
< On another site, an author says this:
"In October , the Raiders followed up "Steppin Out" with what was to
become one of their all time classics "Just Like Me." Written by Rick
Dey, a big Raider fan from the Northwest, "Just Like Me" was released
in November 1965. With a sizzling multi-tracked guitar solo by Levin,
it became the groups' first Top 20 hit. >
Again, where are they getting this information from? For we know, it could
be the wikipedia page. Just Like Me was released in December and it was a
cover of a song that Rick Dey had already done with his group, The Wilde
Knights, so I'm not sure how reliable this page is.
< Without evidence saying otherwise, I think it should be assumed that
Levin played guitar on that song. >
One thing that makes me wonder is the state of recording technology at the
time. There's a rhythm guitar and two lead guitars playing during that
break. Four track was state of the art and the Raiders weren't a huge
commercial success at this point. I suspect that at least one of the guitar
parts was played by another guitarist. Who knows, maybe they had someone
else covering the rhythm part and Levin did all the leads.
Bernie Woodham
>
>
> One thing that makes me wonder is the state of recording technology at the
> time. There's a rhythm guitar and two lead guitars playing during that
> break. Four track was state of the art and the Raiders weren't a huge
> commercial success at this point. I suspect that at least one of the guitar
> parts was played by another guitarist. Who knows, maybe they had someone
> else covering the rhythm part and Levin did all the leads.
Sorry, I meant to post the link. Here it is:
http://www.history-of-rock.com/paul_revere_and_the_raiderstwo.htm
Here's another essentially saying the same thing:
http://www.classicbands.com/raiders.html
Another site that makes sure to give Levin the credit:
"Their second major national hit, “Just Like Me” (1965 – #11) was one
of the first rock records to feature a distinctive, double-tracked
guitar solo (by guitarist Drake Levin) ."
http://tinyurl.com/r59c6m
The Chicago Tribune's obit on Drake:
"The band's 1965 hit "Just Like Me," prominently featuring Levin's
double-tracked lead guitar, is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's
list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll."
That same link quotes from Levin's website:
"Levin's guitar work came to the fore in "Just Like Me," a gloriously
sloppy number with a chord progression and overall sound similar to
"Louie Louie" that reached No. 11 in early 1966."
Finally, Mark Lindsay goes on quite a bit about Levin's guitar work on
his website.
"His name was Drake Levin, and when he moved from Chicago to Idaho, he
brought his love of Chicago blues with him. Drake was not only a
gifted lead guitarist, but was also one of the best rhythm players
ever. This was a great combination and led to some iconic guitar
solos. Think Kicks, Hungry, Good Thing, and the most magical interplay
of Drake and Drake on Just Like Me."
I understand your doubt. A lot has come to light in recent years about
the session players and the amount of work they did on popular albums
and singles without getting any credit. But, in this case we are
talking about a track that has some historical significance in the
rock music industry. Levin gets credited so much without contradiction
for that track it just seems an error to shed doubt on it.
BlackMonk
< That same link quotes from Levin's website:
"Levin's guitar work came to the fore in "Just Like Me," a gloriously
sloppy number with a chord progression and overall sound similar to
"Louie Louie" that reached No. 11 in early 1966." >
A lot of these sites aren't really worth much as sources, but if Mark
Lindsay says the solo was Levin doubletracked, that's close to
authoritative. (People's memories can always be wrong, but unless there's
some strong evidence to the contrary, there's no reason not to take his
word.)
Incidently, the above isn't from Levin's site. The article quotes a brief
note from Phil Volk's site, but that quote is just part of the obituary. I'm
not sure Levin would have said that the chord progression was similar to
Louie Louie's. To someone with a passing interest, they are, but to someone
who spent his life playing three and four chord rock and blues songs, it's a
big difference. He probably wouldn't have argued if you'd said the feel of
the guitar solo was similar, though.
Just Like Me: I-VII-IV-V
Louie Louie: I-IV-v-IV
Tony
concert.
Bernie Woodham
> Sorry to hear it. I was a big Raiders fan in the sixties. I saw them in
> concert.
First band I ever saw in concert. Sadly, I don't remember a whole lot
about it. I do remember Billy Joe Royal opened for them. He started
in on a song and then broke the song off to go scream in the face of
one of the guitarists. He got done screaming and came back to the mic
and started the song over.
I don't know what he got upset about, I guess the guy's playing. But,
I don't think anyone else would have even noticed.
Tony
remember a whole lot about it. I do remember Billy Joe Royal opened for
them. He started in on a song and then broke the song off to go scream
in the face of one of the guitarists. He got done screaming and came
back to the mic and started the song over.
I don't know what he got upset about, I guess the guy's playing. But, I
don't think anyone else would have even noticed."
Good story.<G> I also saw him in concert, same venue, different day
than the Raiders.
Ron Fowler
been exaggerated and blown out of proportion. Even after Drake left the
group in mid 66, he continued to play on Raider sessions because Melcher
liked his playing. The Raiders as a band played on most of their hits.
One exception was "Him or Me - What's it Gonna Be". Melcher wrote the
song with Lindsay, and started the track while the band was on tour. The
guys were a bit ticked to come back and find out the track had been
finished without them - all they needed to add was the vocals. This was
one of the things that lead to Harpo, Fang and Smitty quitting the
group. It wasn't the only thing - songwriting credits on the albums was
another, and the overall direction of the music was another. Harpo felt
the music wasn't changing enough; the others thought it was changing too
much. The Beatles had "Eleanor Rigby" with string backing, so Paul and
Mark wrote "Undecided Man" with string backing. Things like that caused
disenchantment in the band. Too bad their differences were not resolved.
The Raiders continued to make great records with the later lineups -
Weller, Coe, Allison, Corerro - but there was something about the
Paul/Mark/Drake/Phil/Smitty lineup.
Tony
The Portland Tribune, Mar 13, 2001
You'd probably have had a hard time catching up with former Paul Revere
and the Raiders' drummer Michael "Smitty" Smith the past five years,
even though he was semiretired.
Smith, who went from Beaverton High School to the rarefied world of
national television and rock 'n' roll tours as the madcap drummer for
Portland's biggest rock band of the '60s Ñ and maybe any other decade
Ñ was still living the rock 'n' roll life.
At 58, he was working by day in a lumberyard and playing music at night
in Kona, Hawaii. But last Tuesday, his long, strange trip came to an
end.
Smith's death, which occurred from internal bleeding after he was
rushed to a hospital, left his friends in shock.
"It's like losing a member of the family. I can't believe it," Paul
Revere said from his home in Boise. "He was there from the beginning,
and he had that strange, wonderful sense of humor. He was such an
individual, always off on some new adventure. I'd hear from him a couple
of times a year, and I'd never know his phone number. He'd be a tugboat
captain on the Willamette or beachcombing in Lincoln City."
Michael LeRoy Smith was born on March 27, 1942, in Beaverton, where his
father, Howard Smith, still lives.
Smith met bandmates Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay when they came to
Portland from Boise in 1962 following their national hit "Like, Long
Hair." While they were checking out Portland's Headless Horseman teen
club, where "Mark had to go inside because I was too old," Revere
recalled, they met the irrepressible Smith.
Smith knew enough local musicians to fill out the band's lineup.
"He helped me find the best talent in the Northwest," Revere said.
Manager Roger Hart came on board next when a teller at his Lake Oswego
bank told him, "You won't believe the name of this rock band that's just
opened an account." Hart, who was a deejay at KISN at the time, was
looking for a band for a teen dance. "I hired them for $150," Hart said.
The band had a West Coast hit with "Louie, Louie," recording it a week
before the Kingsmen did. But they were handicapped because their label,
Columbia Ñ which they would stay with for 12 years Ñ didn't
distribute it on the East Coast.
"Mitch Miller, who was a head honcho at the label at the time, said,
'This is Columbia; we don't release things like that,'" Hart recalled.
So the Kingsmen's version became the definitive recording of Richard
Berry's song. It was that band's high point. "We got the hit; you got
the career," Dick Peterson of the Kingsmen told Hart.
The hits keep coming
In 1965, everything clicked for Paul Revere and the Raiders. Revere came
up with the idea for colonial uniforms, the band landed on Dick Clark's
ABC-TV show, "Where the Action Is," and the hits started coming:
"Steppin' Out," "Just Like Me," "Kicks," "Hungry," "Good Thing," "Him or
Me," "Too Much Talk," "Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon" and some lesser songs until
1971's blockbuster "Indian Reservation," which hit No. 1.
"That was the biggest-selling single Columbia had to that date," Hart
said.
The lineup for those years included Revere, Lindsay Ñ who wrote many
of the hits with producer Terry Melcher Ñ bassist Phil "Fang" Volk,
guitarist Drake Levin and Michael "Smitty" Smith, the drummer.
Rolling Stone writer David Fricke is a longtime Raiders fan ("the first
album I bought was 'Spirit of '67'") who wrote the liner notes for a
recently released greatest hits compilation.
"I owe them a lot just to be where I am," he acknowledged. "It was the
turn of the karma wheel. After everything they'd done for me, I had a
chance to give something back."
Fricke said the Raiders were always underrated musically."They were
really good players," he said. "They had to be in order to survive all
those marathon frat house gigs and doing that vaudeville at the same
time. Smitty was the backbone. He was such a presence back there. He had
a really firm backbeat Ñ like Ringo Starr and Charlie Watts Ñ and
that flair for comedy. He was really doing double duty."
Portlander Gino Rossi was the band's photographer and went on to cover
many rock 'n' roll stars over the years. He recalled Smith as a Keith
Moon character whose outlandish sense of humor never got in the way of
his playing:
"He was a mad little wizard. He'd do crazy things Ñ have a fake heart
attack and they'd take the mike stand and give him a shot of rhythm and
blues. They were like the Marx Brothers. Even when the Beatles came,
nobody was doing anything onstage and these guys were like vaudeville."
Then there was the time the band upstaged Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
Hart said that Gary Lewis was singing "This Diamond Ring" and nobody was
watching him. Hart turned around, and Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere were
pushing Smith across the stage on a gurney, operating on him, "digging
stuff out of him and throwing it up in the air."
Island life
In 1969 Lindsay started a solo career and had a hit with "Arizona" but
came back to the band for "Indian Reservation." The old band split up in
1975. Revere has continued touring, playing 150 to 200 gigs a year. He
was in Washington D.C., preparing for a Memorial Day concert, when he
heard of Smith's death.
After the Raiders split up, Smith went to Hawaii and was involved in a
bad car crash, according to his ex-wife, Brenda Smith of Corvallis. He
met her when he came back to Brookings to recuperate and began playing
in bands there. The two then lived for a number of years in Hawaii,
where Brenda's happiest memory of Smith is of him "riding around the
island on a motorcycle with our guitars on our backs. He loved the
islands and the island people."
The two were divorced five years ago. They had two children, Jenna, 16,
and Rio, 14. Smith also had two children, Rory, 36, and Alexandra, 32,
from a previous marriage.
Brenda Smith remembered her ex-husband as always creative.
"There are napkins in drawers all over his apartment with songs and bits
of songs written on them," she said. "And he had such stories! The kids
always wanted to hear stories."
Those stories have been running in Paul Revere's head, too. "I've
thought about him every day since I heard," he said. "I thought we'd sit
around in our old age and share memories. I was going to spend days
reminiscing with Smitty and write a book. Now I'm never going to have a
chance to do that. I miss him terribly. I just can't believe he's gone.
In our minds we're all still kids, and my fondest memories all include
Smitty."
Ron Fowler
for the Raiders in their Louie Louie days. Listen to their versions of
Louie and Night Train back to back. It's the same exact beat, same
tempo, because that's what the kids wanted to dance to.