Kicks (song)

{{Infobox song

| name = Kicks

| cover = Paul Revere & the Raiders - Kicks.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| B-side = Shake It Up

| released = {{Start date|1966|02}}{{cite book |last1=Savage |first1=Jon |author1-link=Jon Savage |title=1966: The Year the Decade Exploded |date=2015 |publisher=Faber & Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0-571-27762-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/1966yeardecadeex0000sava|url-access=registration |page=555}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre =

Garage rock
pop rock{{cite book|first= Gary|last= Pig Gold|editor1-first= Gary|editor1-last= Graff |editor2-first= Daniel |editor2-last= Durchholz |year= 1998 |title= MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |chapter= Paul Revere & the Raiders/Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay/Raiders/Pink Fuzz|publisher= Visible Ink Press |location= Detroit |pages= 938–939}}

| length = 2:26

| label = Columbia

| writer = Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil

| producer = Terry Melcher

| chronology = Paul Revere & the Raiders

| prev_title = Just Like Me

| prev_year = 1965

| next_title = Hungry

| next_year = 1966

| misc =

}}

"Kicks" is a song composed by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, best known as a 1966 hit for American rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders.

Mann and Weill wrote the song for the Animals, but the band's lead singer Eric Burdon turned it down.{{Cite web |last=Dominic |first=Serene |date=March 9, 2000 |title=Phoenix Music – Paul Revere & the Raiders |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-03-09/music/paul-revere-and-the-raiders/ |access-date=September 6, 2009 |publisher=Phoenix New Times (New Times Media) |archive-date=October 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009004832/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2000-03-09/music/paul-revere-and-the-raiders/ |url-status=dead }} Instead, Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded and released it as a single in 1966. The single was a number one hit in Canada, and reached number four in the United States. "Kicks" was included on the band's fifth album, Midnight Ride, released in May 1966. A live version of the song was recorded on the band's 1996 Greatest Hits Live compilation album.

Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, "Kicks" was composed and released during an era in which pro-hippie, pro-experimentation, and other counterculture themes were gaining popularity on U.S. FM radio stations.{{Cite book |last=Perone |first=James E. |title=Music of the Counterculture Era |date=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-32689-9 |edition=1st |location=Westport, Conn. |pages=113–4, 117–8}} The song's message was consequently perceived as outdated by the emerging youth counterculture, as popular artists ranging from the Beatles to Jefferson Airplane had written songs whose themes sharply contrasted that of "Kicks." However, the song has received generally positive reviews by music critics in the decades since its release.{{Cite magazine |last=Brown |first=Chris |date=March 1966 |title=Record Reviews |magazine=Crawdaddy! |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=16–17}}{{Cite web |title=Paul Revere & the Raiders – Biography |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p118074|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=September 6, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}}{{Cite book |title=Everybody Must Get Stoned |date=2009 |publisher=Citadel Press |isbn=978-0-8065-3073-4 |location=New York City|page=118}} In 2004, "Kicks" was ranked number 400 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Background and composition

After the Animals had chart success with the 1965 single "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," producer Terry Melcher asked the song's writers, Mann and Weil, to compose a similar song for Paul Revere & the Raiders.{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2004 |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596245/kicks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122144201/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596245/kicks |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 22, 2007 |access-date=September 6, 2009 |publisher=Rolling Stone}}{{Cite web |title='Kicks' by Paul Revere and the Raiders |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2067 |access-date=September 6, 2009 |publisher=Songfacts}} The result was "Kicks", a song originally offered to the Animals, but turned down by lead singer Eric Burdon. Mann and Weil wrote the song as a warning to a friend about the dangers of drug use.{{Cite book |last=Whitcomb |first=Ian |url=https://archive.org/details/rockodysseymusic0000whit/page/277 |title=Rock Odyssey: A Musician's Chronicle of the Sixties |date=1983 |publisher=Doubleday (Random House) |isbn=978-0-385-15705-6 |edition=1st |location=Garden City, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/rockodysseymusic0000whit/page/277 277]}}

In the song, a narrator pleads with a girl that drug use causes addiction and that soft drugs can lead to the use of hard drugs, though the lyrics never explicitly mention any of those things; ultimately the lyrics conclude that her real problem is psychological ("you'll never run away from you") and that there is "another way" to face the trials of life.

Musically, the song's lead guitar lines recall the Beatles, while its bass figures are similar to those popularized by the Byrds. The song contains closer harmonies and a more euphonious melodic arrangement than the band's previous single, "Just Like Me".{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Al |title=Review – 'Kicks' – Paul Revere & the Raiders |url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t5736132|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=September 7, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}}

Lead singer Mark Lindsay's R&B vocal style, combined with the song's guitar and organ instrumentation, is reminiscent of British bands such as the Kinks and the Yardbirds.{{Cite book |last1=Schinder |first1=Scott |title=Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever |last2=Schwartz |first2=Andy |date=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-33846-5 |edition=1st |location=Westport, Connecticut |page=261}}

Release and reception

{{Listen|pos=left|filename=Kicks.ogg|title="Kicks"|description=A sample of "Kicks" from Paul Revere & the Raiders' 1966 album, Midnight Ride. This sample illustrates the song shifting from the first chorus to the second verse. }}

In March 1966, "Kicks" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 62.{{Cite magazine |date=March 26, 1966 |title=Billboard Hot 100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5SgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 |magazine=Billboard |volume=78 |issue=13 |page=20 |access-date=September 6, 2009}}

The song peaked at number four in May,{{Cite magazine|date=May 14, 1966 |title=Billboard Hot 100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ygEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22 |magazine=Billboard|volume=78 |issue=20 |page=22 |access-date=September 6, 2009}}

and spent 14 weeks on the chart.{{Cite magazine |date=June 18, 1966 |title=Billboard Hot 100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0igEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18 |magazine=Billboard |volume=78 |issue=25 |page=18 |access-date=September 6, 2009}}

Within two months of its release, the single had sold 500,000 copies.{{Cite magazine |date=June 18, 1966 |title=Revere and Raiders in Hot (Records) Gallop |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_igEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 |magazine=Billboard |volume=78 |issue=19 |page=56 |access-date=September 6, 2009}}

It was the highest-charting U.S. hit to that date for Paul Revere & the Raiders, later eclipsed only by 1971's "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)," which reached number one.

"Kicks" became the band's first Canadian number one single when it topped the Canadian Singles Chart in May 1966.{{Cite magazine |date=May 2, 1966 |title=RPM 100 |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.5727&volume=5&issue=10&issue_dt=May%2002%201966&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=0r5ollk3glhvlgn4fo3smdhtb1 |magazine=RPM |via=Library and Archives Canada |volume=5 |issue=10 |access-date=September 6, 2009}} In Sweden, it reached number 14 on Tio i Topp.

The song is considered the first with an anti-drug message to become a U.S. hit single.{{Cite book |last=Wadhams |first=Wayne |title=Inside the Hits: The Seduction of a Rock and Roll Generation |date=2001 |publisher=Berklee Press |isbn=978-0-634-01430-7 |edition=1st |location=Boston, Massachusetts |page=149}}

With the passage of the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission was chartered to monitor the radio and TV industries, meaning broadcasts were subject to censorship.{{Cite book |last=Blecha |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Blecha|url=https://archive.org/details/tabootuneshistor0000blec/page/32 |title=Taboo Tunes: A History of Banned Bands and Censored Songs |date=2004 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=978-0-87930-792-9 |location=San Francisco |pages=[https://archive.org/details/tabootuneshistor0000blec/page/32 32, 73]}}

Some censors, based on the song title alone, mistakenly believed "Kicks" to glorify drug use.

Despite the song's commercial success, its lyrics were soon perceived as outdated by young people, as they increasingly experimented with marijuana and LSD. Meanwhile, songs emerged from popular artists who praised, sometimes cryptically and sometimes overtly, the use of psychedelic drugs. These acts included the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Byrds. The messages contained within hit songs such as "White Rabbit," "Along Comes Mary" and "Eight Miles High" were antithetical to that of "Kicks," which contributed to a perception by members of the burgeoning youth counterculture that Paul Revere & the Raiders were part of the Establishment. Singer–songwriter David Crosby, then a member of the Byrds, was upset with the success of the song, particularly as it came just after his group's "Eight Miles High" had been boycotted by many U.S. radio stations.{{Cite book |last1=Zimmer |first1=Dave |title=Crosby, Stills & Nash: The Biography |last2=Diltz |first2=Henry |date=2008 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81615-4 |edition=3rd |location=New York |page=43}}

Crosby described "Kicks" as "a dumb anti-drug song" that took "a falsely adopted stance. With 'Eight Miles High', we were talking about something very near and dear to our hearts."

On the other hand, Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson singled out "Kicks" as one of his favorites of Terry Melcher's works.{{Cite magazine |date=December 4, 2004 |title=Producer Terry Melcher Dies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TRMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8 |magazine=Billboard |volume=116 |issue=49 |page=8 |access-date=September 6, 2009}}

Music critic Chris Brown of Crawdaddy! praised the song's vocal, saying "the use of harmony is well-timed and wonderfully executed; and the power in the vocal as the last word of each verse stretches into the chorus is undoubtedly what sells the song."

Bruce Eder of AllMusic called it "a great song that managed to be cool and anti-drug."

In his 2009 book, Everybody Must Get Stoned, author R. U. Sirius named "Kicks" the number one rock song against drugs.

Sirius said, "With clear and concise lyrics by the famous Mann-Weil songwriting team, there's no cheese on rock's first anti-drug platter."

The song was ranked number 400 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song placed 36th on Paste Magazine{{'}}s 2014 list of the "50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time".{{Cite magazine |last=Stiernberg |first=Bonnie |date=August 27, 2014 |title=The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html |magazine=Paste Magazine |access-date=September 8, 2014 |archive-date=July 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715031831/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html |url-status=dead }}

Other versions

Paul Revere & the Raiders performed a live version of "Kicks" on the band's 1996 Greatest Hits Live compilation.{{Cite web |title=Overview – Greatest Hits Live – Paul Revere & the Raiders |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r300415|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Lindsay, with the Mark Lewis Trio, re-recorded the song on the 1990 album Looking for Shelter.{{Cite web |title=Overview – Looking for Shelter – Mark Lindsay & the Michael Lewis Trio |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r667588|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}}

A live version appears on his 1999 album Legends Live: Mark Lindsay & Friends.{{Cite web |title=Overview – Legends Live: Mark Lindsay & Friends – Various Artists |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r421976|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Former bass guitarist Phil Volk, with his band Fang & the Gang, performed the song on the 2005 tribute album Fang Reveres the Raiders.{{Cite web |title=Overview – Fang Reveres the Raiders – Fang & the Gang |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r726406|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}}

Mann and Weil revisited the song in their 2004 Off Broadway revue They Wrote That? The Songs of Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil.{{Cite magazine |last=Bessman |first=Jim |date=February 28, 2004 |title=They Wrote That? We Loved It |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 |magazine=Billboard |volume=116 |issue=9 |page=56 |access-date=September 9, 2009}}

Singer-songwriter Del Shannon recorded a version of "Kicks" for his 1966 album This Is My Bag.{{Cite web |last=Eder |first=Bruce |title=Overview – This Is My Bag – Del Shannon |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r17833|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Surf rock group the Challengers covered the song on their album California Kicks, also released in 1966.{{Cite web |title=Overview – California Kicks – The Challengers |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r3549|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} The Leathercoated Minds, a studio band featuring J. J. Cale on guitar and production, performed the song on their 1968 album A Trip Down the Sunset Strip.{{Cite web |title=Overview – A Trip Down the Sunset Strip – The Leathercoated Minds |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r42911|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Rock band Nazz covered the song for a compilation album which ended up being cancelled, but their recording eventually saw release on Nazz III (a collection of archival Nazz recordings) in 1971. Nazz guitarist Todd Rundgren recalled, "We thought the song was ok, but Paul Revere and the Raiders were funny. So we had to break it down in the middle and do something more Mothers of Invention."{{Cite AV media notes |title=Open Our Eyes: The Anthology |others=Nazz |year=2019 |first=Kieron |last=Tyler |type=Booklet |publisher=Purple Pyramid Records}} In 1974, John Mellencamp was signed to MCA Records after Mellencamp recorded a demo on which he performed the song.{{Cite web |title=VH1 – John Mellencamp |url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/502343/19981006/mellencamp_john.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605033025/http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/502343/19981006/mellencamp_john.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 5, 2011 |access-date=September 6, 2009 |publisher=VH1 (MTV Networks)}} Rock band Earth Quake recorded a version of the song on their 1977 album Levelled.{{Cite web |last=Worbois |first=Jim |title=Overview – Levelled – Earth Quake |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r36235|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Leif Garrett covered "Kicks" on his 1979 album Same Goes for You.{{Cite web |title=Overview – Same Goes for You – Leif Garrett |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r38672|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}}

Naz Nomad and the Nightmares, a side project featuring members of punk band The Damned, covered the song on their 1984 album Give Daddy the Knife Cindy.{{Cite web |last=Raggett |first=Ned |title=Overview – Give Daddy the Knife Cindy – Naz Nomad and the Nightmares |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r45754|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} The Monkees included their version of the song on their 1986 greatest hits compilation Then & Now... The Best of The Monkees.{{Cite magazine |date=July 19, 1986 |title=Reviews – Albums |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA74 |magazine=Billboard |volume=98 |issue=29 |page=74 |access-date=October 15, 2009}} Rock band the Flamin' Groovies released "Kicks" as a single from their 1986 album One Night Stand.{{Cite magazine |date=November 15, 1986 |title=AIM Records |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA56 |magazine=Billboard |volume=98 |issue=46 |page=56 |access-date=September 9, 2009}} In 1999, jazz guitarist Mimi Fox released the album Kicks, on which her rendition of the song appears.{{Cite web |title=Overview – Kicks – Mimi Fox |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r400567|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Garage rock band the Gants added a version of the song on their 2000 greatest hits album I Wonder.{{Cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=Overview – I Wonder – The Gants |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r210440|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=October 15, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}} Everclear covered the song on their 2008 album The Vegas Years.{{Cite web |title=Review – 'The Vegas Years' – Everclear |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1341451|pure_url=yes}} |access-date=September 14, 2009 |publisher=AllMusic}}

Personnel

Paul Revere & the Raiders

Mark Lindsay – lead vocals, tambourine{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2010 |title="We were more the American Stones than the American Beatles...": An Interview With Paul Revere and the Raiders' Mark Lindsay |url=http://stereoembersmagazine.com/american-stones-american-beatles-interview-paul-revere-raiders-mark-lindsay/ |access-date=March 20, 2021 |website=Stereo Embers Magazine}}
Drake Levin – 12-string lead guitar, backing vocals
Phil Volk – bass guitar, backing vocals
Paul Revere – organ, backing vocals
Mike "Smitty" Smith – drums{{cite web|website=X|url=https://x.com/marklindsay/status/1105780035074564097|first=Mark|last=Lindsay|title=Post|date=March 13, 2019|accessdate=July 11, 2024}}

Session musicians and production staff

Jerry Cole – rhythm guitar{{Cite web |title=The Independent |website=Independent.co.uk |date=October 23, 2011 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/jerry-cole-surf-guitarist-859049.html |access-date=September 14, 2017}}
Terry Melcher – producer

Chart performance

class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (1966)

!Peak
position

align="left"|Canadian RPM Top Singles

|align="center"|1

Sweden (Tio i Topp){{Cite book |last1=Hallberg |first1=Eric |title=Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74 |last2=Henningsson |first2=Ulf |publisher=Premium Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=919727125X |location= |pages=53}}

| style="text-align:center;"|14

align="left"|U.S. Billboard Hot 100

|align="center"|4

align="left"|U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles{{Cite web |title=Cash Box Top 100 5/07/66 |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19660507.html |access-date=September 6, 2009 |publisher=Cash Box}}

|align="center"|3

align="left"|U.S. Record World 100 Top Pops{{Cite magazine|title=100 Top Pops|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/66/Record-World-1966-05-07.pdf|magazine=Record World|issue=May 7, 1966}}

|align="center"|5

References

External links

{{YouTube|o-oRTRYaWWE|Paul Revere & the Raiders - Kicks}}

Category:1966 songs

Category:1966 singles

Category:Songs written by Barry Mann

Category:Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil

Category:Paul Revere & the Raiders songs

Category:Leif Garrett songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Terry Melcher

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Parlophone singles

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Songs about drugs