Where the Action Was
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Celebrations, ruminations and videos at MOG were inspired by the recent induction of the mid-1960s British Invasion rockers the Dave Clark 5 into the (to my mind, superfluous and ridiculous) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Circumstances aside, the recognition was deserved – and the thread that strung out of a DC5 post by our brother-in-MOG emscee eventually name-checked an American counterpart to the group, Paul Revere & the Raiders.There was a period in the ‘60s when numerous young people in the U.S. considered themselves members of the original Raiders Nation. (No apologies to the smug-but-addled Al Davis and his NFL team.) I was reminded of this sitch two days ago as my plane flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles soared above the Southern California coast. (Yep. I’m back in Hell A for a couple of weeks, although I'll be leaving the day that Coachella kicks off.)It was a clear afternoon, and looking down from above, I could clearly see Malibu Beach and, then, Santa Monica Pier. It called to mind the sun-dappled settings and incredible coolness of “Where the Action Is†- a Dick Clark-hosted pop-music showcase that was broadcast by ABC-TV on weekday afternoons from various SoCal outdoor locations between 1965 and 1967. Freddie “Boom Boom†Cannon – who was best-known for his hit “Palisades Park†and appeared on Clark’s “American Bandstand†before the show moved from my home town of Philadelphia to Hollywood – sang the theme song “Action.†Decked out in their trademark colonial garb, Paul Revere & the Raiders - featuring lead singer Mark Lindsay - would be considered the closest thing to a “Where the Action Is†house band.I’ve seen vintage videos of the program with the Raiders performing on the beach in Santa Monica for bobbing boys in trunks and go-going girls in bikinis. That's right. Sun, surf, sand, and tri-cornered hats. It looked like a crazy dream of a beach-party movie come to life, minus Annette and Tommy Sands (unless they happened to be on the show that day).Although spawned in the Pacific Northwest, the Raiders became identified with the Los Angeles rock scene. Their Revolutionary War costumes suggested a tongue-in-cheek American response to the British Invasion, but they were an ass-kickin’ ensemble that, in songs such as "Him or Me, What's It Gonna Be," hinted at the guitar jangle of the L.A. folk-rock to come. And (other than the bikini-clad babes), they were the best thing about WTAI.Their ‘60s hits – including "Good Thing," "Hungry," "Just Like Me," "Ups and Downs," and "Kicks†– were monstrously hip. As emscee said, if not for the costumes, they'd be taken far more seriously these days as a pre-eminent '60s proto-garage-rock band.Clips are hard to find. Still, I grabbed this one from some other ‘60s TV show, so you can look and listen to the Raiders lipsync a version of their cautionary tune “Kicksâ€:
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Comments (20)
dave swanson & david steinberg know the lyrics! they wrote them down for all the guys who were trading verses
george cabaniss, jimmy zero, david steinberg and frank secich
Great post. Enjoyed the music.
See? Even a year after I posted this (and 40 years later), this stuff still kicks it! The bestest music is timeless!