Drake Levin, lead guitarist for Paul Revere & the Raiders during the quintet's hit-making prime in the mid-1960s, died Saturday at his home in San Francisco after a long battle with cancer, according to his longtime friend and former Raiders bandmate Phil Volk. He was 62.
Levin's four-year stint with the Raiders, known for its campy Revolutionary War uniforms, thigh-high black riding boots and tri-corner hats, coincided with a string of top 10 hits including “Kicks," “Hungry" and “Good Thing." For a time he was one of the most recognizable American rock guitarists through the group's weekly appearances on the Dick Clark-produced music series “Where the Action Is."
The band's 1965 hit “Just Like Me," prominently featuring Levin's double-tracked lead guitar, is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll."
“I've lost my dear friend, my Raider buddy, and the music world has lost a guitar icon," Volk said in a note posted on his website.
