Drake Levin

Drake Maxwell Levin (August 17, 1946 – July 4, 2009) Unknown to the group, Revere had hired a replacement guitarist, Freddy Weller, to perform with the group on the Sullivan show, leaving Levin to watch the Raiders only Ed Sullivan Show performance as a spectator.

Brotherhood

Volk and Smith left the band after the Sullivan performance and Levin re-teamed with them in Brotherhood. The band was signed to RCA, but were hindered by the members' lingering contractual obligations to Columbia Records from their Raiders work. The power trio released three albums, two under the Brotherhood name in 1968 and 1969 and a third album in 1969 called Joyride under the name Friendsound. Joyride was an experimental album that was included on the 1979 Nurse with Wound list. The cover art for this album was illustrated by Edna Marie O'Dowd. Ms. O'Dowd was an emerging artist and a friend of Drake Levin during the recording of the album.

Guitars

Levin owned and played a triple-pickup Epiphone Crestwood Custom Deluxe in his early Raiders days, including the pilot episode of Where The Action Is. A few TV performances appearances of the band showed Drake playing a Mosrite six- and 12-string doubleneck that was offered to him from Mosrite, but he found it too heavy to play comfortably. He was also seen televised with a Vox Phantom VI, because of the band's Vox endorsement deal. However, he did not use them live or even in the studio as he thought they were poorly made instruments. Drake did use bandmate Phil Volk's 1960 Fender Stratocaster in the studio. In his later years, Levin played a reissue 62 Fender Stratocaster and a Fender Telecaster. However, he is most widely associated with his cherry red 1963 Epiphone Sheraton, with which he recorded his double-tracked guitar solo on "Just Like Me." After his death, it was purchased by the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN in early 2010, but it was severely damaged just a couple of months later in the May 2010 Nashville flood.

Later career and death

Levin subsequently performed with artists such as Ananda Shankar, Emitt Rhodes, and Lee Michaels (on the album Barrel). He also participated in reunions of various ex-members of the Raiders, and worked with his friend Phil Volk on several occasions.

Drake Levin died of cancer July 4, 2009 at his home in San Francisco, with his wife Sandra at his side.

Discography

With Paul Revere & the Raiders

Studio albums

Singles YearSong titles1963"So Fine" b/w "Blues Stay Away""Louie Louie" b/w "Night Train" (from Just Like Us!)1964"Louie Go Home" b/w "Have Love, Will Travel""Over You" b/w "Swim""Ooh Poo Pah Doo" b/w "Sometimes"1965"Steppin' Out" b/w "Blue Fox" (Non-Lp track)"Just Like Me" b/w "B.F.D.R.F. Blues" (Non-Lp track)1966"Kicks" b/w "Shake It Up" (Non-Lp track)"Hungry" b/w "There She Goes" (from Midnight Ride)"The Great Airplane Strike" b/w "In My Community""Good Thing" b/w "Undecided Man"1967"Ups and Downs" b/w "Leslie" (from Revolution!)"Him or Me – What's It Gonna Be?" b/w "Legend Of Paul Revere" (from Greatest Hits)"I Had A Dream" b/w "Upon Your Leaving""Peace Of Mind" / "Do Unto Others""Rain, Sleet, Snow" b/w "Brotherly Love" Cancelled single