Classic Rant #692 (May 9, 2012): Keeping the Flame Burning

In the mid- to late-1960s, there were three teen idols that ruled the roost, that were the epitome of a level of fan frenzy that many attempted to attain, but really only three did.

Davy Jones, Peter Noone and Mark Lindsay were the three, and with one recently passed, the standard bearers continue to be Lindsay and Noone.

Today, Mark Lindsay, former lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders, celebrates his 70th birthday.

And like Jones, Lindsay's stardom was not only on record, but directly tied into television, too.

Lindsay was the star of the Raiders, the lead singer with the pony tail sprouting out under his tri-corner Revolutionary War hat.

Appearing originally as the house band on Dick Clark's afternoon rock and roll show, "Where the Action Is," the Pacific Northwest-based band soon basically took over the show, with Lindsay as its frontman.

They had many, many hits during that period: "KIcks," "Just Like Me," "Steppin' Out," "Ups and Downs," "The Great Airplane Strike," "Hungry," "Good Thing," ... the list goes on and on.

And Lindsay was the focus. He was sort of a Mick Jagger-lite, but that pout and that ponytail turned on female viewers during that period.

They even had one contest where the winner received his queue, also known as his ponytail!

Lindsay and his ever-changing cast of bandmates were regularly featured in Tiger Beat, Flip, and those types of magazines, competing for space with Herman's Hermits' Noone and a little later, with the Monkees, and primarily Davy Jones.

As the 1960s progressed, music changed, but the Raiders continued to have hits as they starred in their own shows under the "Happening" banner. They lasted longer than Herman's Hermits and the Monkees did, and even had one monster one in the 1970s, "Indian Reservation," as Lindsay's own solo career heated up.

He had one real big hit as a solo artist, "Arizona," and he kind of mellowed out as his former teenybopper fans grew up and out of the Raiders fandom clique.

He lasted with the Raiders and as a prominent solo artist until about 1974 or so.

Lindsay has supposedly been on the outs with bandleader Paul Revere for years, so over the past nearly four decades, the Raiders have had their own career as an oldies band, and Lindsay has had his own career as a solo act singing his old Raiders/solo hits.

He puts out a record on occasion, and plays oldies shows around the country.

Yet, he, like Noone and Jones, will always be remembered for their 1960s personas at the top of the teen idol list.

And with the passing of Jones, he and Noone have that "teen idol" mantle to keep going.

Happy birthday, Mark. Keep on going on for many years to come.