Comments: 23

• George from Vancouver BcTo make such a beautiful song out of such an evil travesty: THAT is truly art! No doubt the lead guy (Paul Revere Dick) was named for the patriot Paul Revere, so the band, ultimately, took its name from Paul Revere, American patriot.
• Doug Dean from Madison TnWhile the truth may never be known for sure, there is pretty strong evidence this was going to be a Mark Lindsay solo 45, except that Revere crisscrossed the nation promoting it.
• Ron Fowler from SeahurstOnce again, I see the rumour that this was a Mark Lindsay solo single. Not true. The song was brought to the Raiders in 1970 while they were working on an album. They recorded it for the album, and Paul decided to test market the song to see if it had any potential as a single. When it got great response on the radio, Columbia released it, February 1971. It didn't do anything, though, until Paul went out on a promotional tour. He took the record around to dozens of radio stations, and slowly, it climbed up the charts, hitting the top spot the last week of July 1971.
• Jennifur Sunthe late Hal Blaine of the Wrecking Crew was the drummer on this song. as i recall from his book I believe it was just around that time that he had that HUGE drum kit built that became so popular with a number of musicians. I also think that the whole song features members of the Crew as welll
• Petra from EnglandSo true, so sad, will we ever learn not to be so cruel, a culture destroyed.
• Earl Kliethermes from Jefferson City, MissouriI can't believe someone repeated the myth that Mark Lindsay is not the lead singer. It is quite obviously Mark Lindsay.
• Seventhmist from 7th HeavenJeff, I also noticed the organ riff being similar to the one in "Society's Child." Since, as you pointed out, it was the same musician, it's almost like he was "signing his painting" each time.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyHere's some obscure, if not disturbing, trivia:
  On January 31st 1876, the U.S. Commissioner of Indians Affairs ordered all Native Americans to move onto U.S. reservations...
  Ninety-five years later on April 4th, 1971 the Raiders' "Indian Reservation" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #94; fifteen weeks later on July 18th, 1971 it peaked at #1...
  {See second post below}.
• Beatle from St. Louis, Mo.The Raiders's biggest hit of the period, "Indian Reservation", was recorded as a Mark Lindsay solo session, although some sources erroneously credit the lead vocals to Paul Weller, who, around the same time, had recorded "Indian Lake" (a cover of the hit song by the Cowsills).
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 4th 1971, "Indian Reservation" by the Raiders entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 at position #94; fifteen weeks later on July 18th, 1971 it peaked at #1 {for 1 week} and spent 22 weeks on the Top 100...
  It spent three weeks at #2 before moving up to the top spot, then after being at #1 for one week it spent two more weeks at #2...
  Between 1961 and 1973 the quintet had twenty-four* Top 100 records; besides "Indian Reservation" they had four other Top 10 records, "Kicks" {#4 in 1966}, "Hungry" {#6 in 1966}, "Good Things" {#4 in 1967}, and "Him or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" {#5 in 1967}...
  They just missed having a sixth Top 10 record when "Just Like Me" peaked at #11 in 1966...
  * With their first seventeen charted records they were known as 'Paul Revere and the Raiders'.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn August 25th 1968, "(The Lament Of the Cherokee) Indian Reservation" by Don Fardon entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #74; and on September 29th, 1968 it peaked at #20 {for 2 weeks} and spent 9 weeks on the Top 100...
  In his native England it reached #3 on the UK Singles chart and #4 in Australia...
  He had one other Top 100 record, "Delta Queen", it reached #86 in 1973...
  In 1974 he covered the Kink's "Lola" {it’s on You Tube}...
  Mr. Fardon, born Donald Maughn, celebrated his 71st birthday six days ago on August 19th {2014}.
• Carolyn from Knoville, TnMarvin Rainwater did record this prior to Paul Revere and the Raiders. I liked the song because it spoke of the injustice done to Native Americans, as did Johnny Cash's "Bitter Tears" album.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyJohn D. Loudermilk had four records that made the Top 100; his most successful was "Language of Love", it peaked at #32 in 1961. As Johnny Dee he charted with "Sittin' In the Balcony", it reached #38 in 1957...
• Jeff from Long Island, NyThe organ coda is a slightly lengthened, but otherwise virtually identical version of the one in Janis Ian's "Society Child" five years earlier, but it's hard to call it plagiarism, since Artie Butler was the organist both times.
• Jennifer Harris from Grand Blanc, MiI like the organ parts of this song.It is a good song.One of my favorites.
• Deb from Portland, OrMark Lindsay sang Indian Reservation; in fact, it was recorded as a Mark Lindsay single (he's part Cherokee) but then he released it as a Raider single when the group was pressed for a new single. Mark produced Freddy Weller's Indian Lake and somehow the confuson began.
  
  Loudermilk was given songwriter credit on Indian Outlaw because a few bars of Indian Reservation are included in the later song.
• Roy from Leeds, EnglandFardon's version not a hit in UK until October 1970. He was originally lead singer with a UK band called the Sorrows who had a top 30 UK hit in 1965 with a song called Take A Heart
• Camille from Toronto, OhJohn Loudermilk also went on to co-write the hit country tune "Indian Outlaw" which put Tim McGraw (you know, Faith Hill's hubby) on the map.
• Jon from Oakridge, OrI heard the Raiders were kidding around when they made this and so it became a controversy. Is this right.
• Alan from Grande Prairie, Alberta, CanadaDon Fardon's cover far superior to the Raiders. Paul Revere and the Raiders excellent band with great songs like "Kicks" sad to say their biggest song to chart was their worst. #1 go figure???
• Jordan from Richardson, TxMarvin Rainwater sang an older version of this song called the Pale Faced Indian in 1959. He was only a fourth Cherokee
• Charles from Charlotte, NcThe song's author John Loudermilk told the syndicated radio program "American Top Forty" a tall tale about how he was taken prisoner by Cherokee Indians once, and released only after he promised to write a song dramatizing their plight. The ruse went undetected for years. Loudermilk told the fib in response to being woken up after midnight by a telephone call from one of the show's writers.
• Mickey from Ocala, FlDoesn't anyone at all remember that this was a song done by a full blooded Cherokee Indian by the name of Marvin Rainwater several years before the Raiders version?

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