Kicks

Album

Original Hits of the 50’s & 60’s

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Garage Rock

Composer(s)

Barry Mann,;cynthia Weil

Entered Chart

Mar 19, 1966

Peak Date

May 14, 1966

Released

February 28, 1966

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Columbia 4-43566

B-Side

Shake It Up

This might be the first anti-drug rock song. It finds lead singer Mark Lindsay telling a girl that drugs won't fill the emptiness inside her, and she needs to get straight before it's too late. "Kicks" in the song is a stand-in for "drugs." The last thing most teenagers wanted to hear was another warning about the dangers of drugs, but this song didn't come off preachy - it sounded more like a honest concern from friend than the finger wagging of an authority figure. This was written by the husband-and-wife team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who were in their mid-20s at the time but already established songwriters, with "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" among their credits. They also wrote the Animals hit "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place"; when producer Terry Melcher went to work on the Paul Revere & the Raiders album Midnight Ride, he asked Mann and Weil for a similar song. They sent him "Kicks," which they had originally written hoping it would help get a friend off drugs. Terry Melcher started working with the group after doing production work on The Byrds' first two albums. In 1968, he rented his house to director Roman Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate. Melcher knew Charles Manson and worked with him on some projects before abandoning them. In 1969, Manson's "family" killed Tate and four of her friends in Melcher's house. Melcher became much more secluded after the murders, but did help write The Beach Boys 1987 hit "Kokomo." He died of cancer in 2004. This was the first Top 10 hit for Paul Revere & the Raiders, who were famous for performing while dressed in American Revolutionary War soldier uniforms. Many kids played this in their garage bands, often unaware that it was an anti-drug song. Ace Frehley of Kiss, who covered it on his 2020 album Origins Vol. 2, told Songfacts: "When I was a kid, I used to come home from school and they'd be on TV. I was exposed to their music, and I always liked the song 'Kicks' because it had a great riff. Now that I listen to the lyrics, I realize that it's a really good anti-drug song, and it's a good message for the youth of today." Other artists to cover the song include The Monkees, Flamin' Groovies and Everclear. "Kicks" shows up in The Simpsons episode "Marge Gamer" (2007), and in the 1987 movie He's My Girl.

Girl, you thought you found the answer
On that magic carpet ride last night
But when you wake up in the mornin'
The world still gets you uptight
Well, there's nothin' that you ain't tried
To fill the emptiness inside
When you come back down, girl
Still ain't feelin' right

And don't it seem like
Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find
And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight
No, but not with kicks, you just need help, girl

Well you think you're gonna find yourself
A little piece of paradise
But it ain't happened yet, so girl, you better think twice
Don't you see no matter what you do
You'll never run away from you
And if you keep on runnin' you'll have to pay the price

And don't it seem like
Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find
And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight

No, you don't need kicks
To help you face the world each day
That road goes nowhere
I'm gonna help you find yourself another way

Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find
And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight

Don't it seem like
Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find
And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind
Before you find out it's too late, girl
You better get straight