Terry Evans (musician)

Terry Evans (August 14, 1937 – January 20, 2018)

Terry Lee Evans[1] was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States, and sang in his local church choir.^[3] His parents were keen for him to concentrate purely on gospel music, although Evans found exposure to the work of mainstream blues musicians.^[4] He worked semi professionally with an a cappella group called the Knights before relocating in the 1960s to Los Angeles. He expanded his repertoire by learning to play the guitar and started to write songs for other musicians. Amongst those who recorded his songs were Pops Staples ("Love Is a Precious Thing") and Louis Jordan ("Hop, Skip, and Jump"). Unable to find his own fame, despite television exposure, Evans teamed with fellow soul and gospel singer, Bobby King. They performed regularly on the Chitlin' Circuit throughout the 1970s, although Evans also worked as a backing vocalist for Ry Cooder. His backup work is featured on several of Cooder's albums, including Chicken Skin Music (1976), My Name Is Buddy (2007) and some of his final recorded work featured on Cooder's The Prodigal Son (2018).^[3] Evans joint work with King saw the release of two albums in 1988 and 1990.^[5]

He gained a bigger audience through his involvement in the

Evans' last recording was his joint effort with Theessink, on Delta Time (2012). CBC News journalist, Bianca Cervantes, opined that "Delta Time is the latest transatlantic blues treasure."^[11]

In 2014, Evans was featured on the compilation Songs from a Stolen Spring. On the album Evans' performance of "Dancing in the Street" was meshed with Lebanese singer-songwriter Tania Saleh's "Not a Word was Spoken".^[12]

Evans died on January 20, 2018, at the age of 80.^[2]

Discography

Albums

^[13]

References