Drake Levin

Drake Maxwell Levinshefski (August 17, 1946 – July 4, 2009) was an American musician who performed under the stage name Drake Levin. He was best known as the guitarist for Paul Revere & the Raiders.

Levin joined the group when he was 16 years old, which helped earn him the nickname "The Kid" from Paul Revere. His good looks, excellent guitar skills and showmanship helped establish Paul Revere and the Raiders as the premiere showband in the Northwest United States. Drake's performances included synchronized dance steps, playing on his knees, standing on his amplifier and playing his guitar behind his head. After one particular performance at Seattle's Spanish Castle Ballroom, a young man who had stood at the front of the stage watching Drake intently all evening finally came up to Drake. He said that Drake's playing had inspired him and said he was a really good showman. As Drake thanked him and they shook hands, Drake asked the young man his name and he replied, "Jimi Hendrix."

Drake was present when the Raiders became a national teen sensation, largely from their daily television exposure on the ABC television show, "Where The Action Is." It was during this time that Levin and the Raiders scored many hit records, as his blues-based guitar style helped drive the band's raw, edgy sound. Levin's synchronized dance steps and stage antics with fellow Raider bassist Phil "Fang" Volk earned the pair the nickname "The Twins" fueled partially by their identical height and frame. In 1966, Levin left the performing version of the band to fulfill his United States military service obligation by joining the National Guard. This enabled him to continue recording in the studio with the group during his time off. The fact that this was done is an indication of how well Levin stood with Revere, as well as his popularity with the fans and the worth of his playing. Levin's guitar work and background vocals can be heard on Raiders albums through The Spirit of '67, although his name and photo do not appear on the album cover with the band. Jim "Harpo" Valley had stepped into Levin's place on the Raiders' television and concert performances, thus Valley's photo appears with the band on that particular album.

When bassist Phil Volk became ill and could not tour, Levin graciously stepped in to cover for his friend on a few dates, filling in for Volk on bass. When Levin's performing replacement, Jim Valley, decided to leave the band after a little over a year with the group, Levin again rejoined the Raiders to help them finish their Spring 1967 tour. Levin was to perform with the Raiders on The Ed Sullivan Show on April 30, 1967, but band leader Paul Revere was upset at the pending departure of bassist Phil Volk and drummer Mike "Smitty" Smith and believed Levin to be partially responsible.^[1] Unbeknownst to the group, Revere had hired a replacement guitarist, Freddy Weller, to perform with the group on Sullivan, leaving Levin to watch the Raiders one and only Ed Sullivan Show performance as a spectator from the side of the stage.

Brotherhood

Volk and Smith left the band after the Sullivan performance and Levin re-teamed with them in Brotherhood, a promising band signed to RCA that never got its full chance to be heard, owing to 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 moniker Friendsound.

Guitars

Levin owned and played a triple pickup Epiphone Crestwood Custom Deluxe in his early Raiders days, including the Where The Action Is pilot episode. A few TV performances showcasing the band revealed Drake playing a Mosrite 6 & 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, largely due to the band's Vox endorsement deal. However, he didn't 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 ground breaking double-tracked guitar solo on "Just Like Me." After his death, it was purchased by the Musicians Hall of Fame, Nashville, TN in early 2010 but was severely damaged just a couple of months later in the May 2010 Nashville flood.

Other post-Raiders work

Levin subsequently provided his guitarist skills to artists such as Ananda Shankar, Emitt Rhodes, and Lee Michaels. He has also participated in reunions of various ex-members of the Raiders, and worked with his friend Phil Volk on several occasions.

After a long battle with cancer, Drake Levin died July 4, 2009 at his home in San Francisco, with his wife Sandra at his side.^{[2] [3]}

References

1. ^ Phil Volk Interview Oct 19, 2009 - Grady Martin Radio Show
2. ^ RIP: Drake Levin, guitarist with Paul Revere & Raiders The Louie Report. Retrieved on July 5, 2009.
3. ^ Drake Levin, 62, of Paul Revere & the Raiders The New York Times July 10, 2009.

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Name	Levin, Drake
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Date of birth	August 17, 1946
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Date of death	July 4, 2009
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