Chapter 20: American Responses to the British Invasion
Following the Kingsmen’s breakout success with “Louie Louie,” the American pop charts were soon filled with one-off hits from garage bands across the country. In 1965 and 1966, groups like ? and the Mysterians (“96 Tears”), Cannibal and the Headhunters (“Land of a Thousand Dances”), and Count Five (“Psychotic Reaction”) each scored major hits with raw, energetic tracks that reflected the garage rock ethos. Most of these bands only placed a single song on the charts before fading from view, reinforcing the genre’s reputation for producing one-hit wonders. There were exceptions, however—Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs released a string of successful singles between 1965 and 1967, including “Wooly Bully” and “Little Red Riding Hood.”
One garage band that managed to break through the one-hit wonder ceiling was Paul Revere and the Raiders. Formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958, the group was led by organist Paul Revere and frontman Mark Lindsay, with guitarist Drake Levin, bassist Mike Holliday, and drummer Mike “Smitty” Smith rounding out the lineup. After early regional success with songs like “Beatnik Sticks” (1960) and “Like Long Hair” (1961), they signed with CBS Records and released their own version of “Louie Louie” in 1963—around the same time as the Kingsmen. While the Kingsmen’s version became a national sensation, the Raiders’ version was not nearly as successful.
Their national breakthrough came in 1965, when television producer Dick Clark of American Bandstand fame hired them as the house band for his new CBS rock variety show Where the Action Is (1965–74). The program was designed as a more youth-oriented response to other rock-focused shows such as ABC’s Shindig! and NBC’s Hullabaloo, and it offered a national platform for both British and American acts including Otis Redding, the Four Seasons, the Association, the Zombies, Peter and Gordon, and the Everly Brothers. Paul Revere and the Raiders embraced the visibility. Because the band was presented as an American response to the British Invasion, they performed in eye-catching Revolutionary War costumes and leaned into slapstick humor and choreographed antics. The show helped boost their profile, and they became a staple of 1960s teen pop culture. During their run on Where the Action Is, they released several charting singles including “Kicks” and “Hungry,” both written by the Brill Building songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. In 1966, they released their first self-written hit, “The Great Airplane Strike.”
Even after leaving Where the Action Is in 1966, the Raiders remained active. By 1968, Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay were the only original members still in the band when they returned to TV as co-hosts of Happening ’68, another Dick Clark production. Their biggest commercial success came in 1971 after they left Where the Action Is with “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian),” which reached number one on the Billboard pop chart.
Television played a critical role in amplifying rock music during this era. In addition to Where the Action Is, shows like Shindig!, Hullabaloo, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, and later programs like Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert and The Midnight Special brought rock into millions of American homes. These shows helped artists such as the Supremes, the Lovin’ Spoonful, and Roy Orbison gain national exposure. Soul Train, created and hosted by Don Cornelius beginning in 1971, became a groundbreaking platform for Black musicians and continued the legacy of televised music well into the 21st century.
Television emerged as a powerful force in shaping the sound and image of 1960s rock, turning regional acts into national sensations and transforming music into a visual as well as sonic experience. Programs like Shindig!, Hullabaloo, The Lloyd Thaxton Show, and later programs like Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, Soul Train, and Where the Action Is not only showcased garage bands like Paul Revere and the Raiders but also helped create a new template for merging music with entertainment media. As rock became more polished and performance-oriented, television producers began experimenting with even more ambitious blends of music, comedy, and narrative storytelling. Nowhere was this fusion more fully realized than in the creation of The Monkees—a made-for-TV band that would blur the lines between parody and pop stardom, and in doing so, redefine what it meant to be a rock group in the television age.