Song:Arizona
Album:The Complete Columbia Singles
Paul Revere and the Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay scored a top ten solo hit with Arizona in 1970. He had some other minor hits but Arizona is the most memorable. At the same time, he continued as lead singer of the Raiders. He was born Mar. 9, 1942 in Eugene, OR and he grew up in Idaho. He met Paul Revere Dick while in high school and eventually they formed Paul Revere and the Raiders. The revolutionary war costume gimmick got Dick Clark's attention and he signed them to be regulars on the TV series Where The Action Is. They also signed with Columbia Records and scored a lot of hit singles. By 1968 Lindsay was the main writer and producer of the Raiders and Clark hired them to star in the TV series Happening. Lindsay started to branch out and he produced a country album for Raiders guitarist Freddy Weller. Then he decided to record solo. Fans thought he left the Raiders but Lindsay said his solo albums were just an extension of the Raiders. Lindsay hired Jerry Fuller to produce. Fuller produced Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and became a house producer at Columbia. Arizona was the third single and it reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by veteran songwriter Kenny Young who also co-wrote Under The Boardwalk for The Drifters. Some of Lindsay's other songs including Silver Bird charted. When he decided to turn Indian Reservation into a Raiders song, it was the group's only number one hit. Lindsay recorded three albums for Columbia. You can get all his singles on this CD from Real Gone Records. Lindsay left the Raiders in 1975 and worked as a house producer for United Artists Records. He also got into jingles and worked on films, the most notable being Shogun Assassin in 1980. Lindsay continues to record occasionally and tour. He announced his retirement in 2003 but changed his mind. He was part of the Happy Together: 25th Anniversary tour with The Turtles and he released a new CD last year. Here's a video for Arizona by Mark Lindsay.
Always liked his 'Something Big' theme, from the Dean Martin western.
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