Sorry if this has already been posted...there goes another piece of my youth. R.I.P, Drake.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_44wXrFq2M-w/SS5_IXAbktI/AAAAAAAAAzE/LAN-HzXbCIA/S220/Dan+Monigold+&+Drake+1965.jpgPaul Revere and the Raiders Lead guitar man Drake Levin dies
July 8, 10:25 PM
http://www.examiner.com/x-3283-Las-Vegas-Movie-Examiner~y2009m7d8-Paul-Revere-and-the-Raiders-Lead-guitar-man-Drake-Levin-diesAs the world mourned Michael Jackson, several other performers quietly slipped away.
The original lead guitarist for the fun 60s band, Paul Revere and the Raiders has died of cancer at 62.
Levin played guitar in the prime of the Raiders life. Their hits at this time included; "Kicks", "Hungry", and "Good Thing".
It was the 1965 hit "Just like Me', that featured Levin's double-tracked lead guitar, that made the top "500 songs that shaped rock 'n roll".
Drake Levin left the band after 4 years to start a blues band of his own.
He died on the 4th of July, which is fitting for a man who was in a band that wore revolutionary war costumes.
Paul Revere and the Raiders' Drake Levin (1946-2009)
by Ryan White, The Oregonian
Monday July 06, 2009, 1:21 PM
Word comes via email that Drake Levin, guitarist with Paul Revere and the Raiders, died yesterday at his home in San Francisco. He was 62, and had been battling throat cancer.
After the jump the full email from Roger Hart, who managed Paul Revere and the Raiders, who are in the Oregon Music Hall of Fame.
Drake Levin died this morning, just after nine AM, at home in San Francisco. He would have turn 63 in August. He and Phil Volk were part of the 'essential' Raiders group that became Television and Recording Teen Idols in the 60's, teamed with Paul Revere, Mark Lindsay and Mike Smith. Network Television was what launched them into national prominence with successive major hit records. Drake and Phil were the ones who developed the basic rhythms and choreography for the group, and Drakes' double-lead guitar piece on "Just Like Me" is a classic. No memorial arrangements are yet known, but will occur in San Francisco at some later date. His wife Sandra was with him at the end, and his closest friends had stayed in touch over the years and gave what support they could. Phil Volk spend six days with him recently, recapping their days together, and playing their old hits together for one last time. After leaving the Raiders for the last time in 1967, Drake, Phil and Mike Smith formed their group, Brotherhood, and recorded for a time for RCA Records. However, their brightest and most significant moments were as part of Paul Revere's Raiders, who overall enjoyed 12 years on the Columbia Records record label.
http://www.oregonlive.com/music/index.ssf/2009/07/paul_rever_and_the_raiders_dra.html