Founder of Paul Revere and the Raiders dies

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Paul Revere of Paul Revere & the Raiders performs on a Harley-Davidson-inspired keyboard set. Revere, born Paul Revere Dick, the organist and leader of the Raiders rock band, died Oct. 4, 2014 at his home in Idaho. (Paul Donohue / WireImage)

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Paul Revere gives a hug to Vietnam veteran Gary Ryska on the steps of city hall in Nampa, Idaho, in 2003. (Jeremy Harmon / Associated Press)

By Claire Noland

Oct. 5, 2014 12:36 PM PT

Paul Revere, a keyboard player who formed a campy rock ‘n’ roll band that capitalized on his name, wore Revolutionary War-era costumes and cranked out a string of grungy hits in the mid-1960s, has died. The founder of Paul Revere and the Raiders was 76.

Revere died Saturday in Idaho, six months after retreating to his adopted home state because of health issues after a near-constant touring schedule in recent years. His tour manager, Ron Lemen, confirmed his death but declined to disclose the specific cause.

Along with singer Mark Lindsay, Revere formed a band called the Downbeats in Boise in 1959. Within a few years they would become Paul Revere and the Raiders, string together top-10 pop hits including “Kicks,” “Hungry” and “Good Thing” and become fixtures of Dick Clark’s weekday afternoon TV show “Where the Action Is.”

“Just Like Me,” a 1965 hit written by Revere and Lindsay, made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

The band reached its peak with the 1971 No. 1 hit “Indian Reservation.”

A complete obituary is here.