High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! "Kicks" is a song by American rock band Paul Revere the Raiders. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil wrote the song for The Animals, but the band`s lead singer Eric Burdon turned it down. 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.