Bloggerhythms

Freddie Mercury sang "Another one bites the dust" and unfortunately his words continue to ring true when it comes to rock stars of the 1960s. This morning news broke that Paul Revere (no, not the colonial silversmith and patriot) has died. The late keyboard player was the founder and leader of the mid-60s phenomenon, Paul Revere and The Raiders. Because they included a lot of slapstick in their live shows and wore campy revolutionary war uniforms on stage many critics and rock music fans refused to take The Raiders seriously. Yet Paul Revere Dick (yes, that was his real name) and the band he led were a loud, hard rocking outfit that could blow many other rock acts of the era right off the stage. Unfortunately, their carefully cultivated image virtually obliterated the fact they weren't Herman's Hermits or The Monkees. The Raiders were a favorite of Dick Clark and they appeared regularly on Where The Action Is , his TV show of the era. Listen below as Revere,...

The recent passing of Rob Grill, the former lead singer of The Grass Roots, got me to thinking about how many great American pop-rock bands there were in the mid to late 60s. To any baby boomer glued to the radio during the golden age of Top 40 these hitmakers were a big part of your listening experience. Most of these artists had the usual shelf life of two to four years on the charts and, while many continued to tour and record, most took to the oldies circuit to survive (if they survived at all). So, as a tribute to Grill let’s take a look at some of these groups who haven't had a hit in over forty years and are mostly unknown outside of their generation. We’ll start with Grill's own band. The Grass Roots were a quartet that didn't have a permanent horn section but most of their best singles featured horns. Early hits such as "Where Were You When I Needed You" and "Let's Live for Today," were produced with just the standard guitars, bass, ...