The Lost Raider

At sixteen years old, Steve West was a member of one of rock 'n' roll's biggest groups, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and in 1962 he was the guitarist for the original recordings of "Shake It Up Part I" and "Shake It Up Part II". In 1963, as the band's sole guitar player, with Paul Revere on bass guitar, Mark Lindsay on Sax and lead vocals, and Mike 'Smitty' Smith on drums, Steve West helped record the original version of "Louie Louie" and "Night Train". No one at the time imagined that those songs would be so financially and culturally significant, and as a high school student, neither did Steve. He chose to finish school, and the band went on without him. But since that time, despite his guitar work on some of rock 'n' roll's most popular songs, Steve West would be lost to history.
In 2007, Steve finally got the recognition he deserved when he was inducted into the First Annual Oregon Music Hall of Fame. But in those lost years, despite losing out on the fame and glory associated with a '60's rock 'n' roll teen idol, Steve West stayed true to music. He continued to play in other bands his entire life, becoming a fixture in the Portland music scene. There have been many of Paul Revere's Raiders over time, and despite his significant contributions to the team, Steve has remained the least written about or photographed Raider in music history---that is, until now.