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Rod Evans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rod Evans | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Rodney Evans | |
| Born | January 19, 1945 (age 62) | |
| Origin |  Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Genre(s) | Rock, pop, Progressive, Hard rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer | |
| Years active | 1965 - 1973, 1980 | |
| Associated acts |
Deep Purple, Captain Beyond, The Maze, The Horizons | |
Rod Evans (born 19 January 1947 in Slough, Berkshire) is a former British singer and was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968. He provided vocals for the group's first three albums, including the hit single Hush. He was replaced by Ian Gillan in 1969. After his departure, Deep Purple became a heavier outfit, as opposed to the more progressive and pop driven sound achieved with Evans.
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Before joining Deep Purple, Evans played together with Ian Paice in The Maze, formerly MI5. He was also in a band called The Horizons in the mid 1960s.
After leaving Deep Purple, Rod went on to form Captain Beyond, along with former Johnny Winter drummer Bobby Caldwell, former Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman and guitarist Rhino (Larry Reinhardt), who also was part of the last incarnation of the Butterfly. This band proved to be very influential, but sales never reflected their musical achievements. Someone also called them sci-fi rock, but anyway their first self-titled album became a rarity, because it was only distributed by Capricorn records, a small label from Macon, Georgia, who also held the Allman Brothers Band at the time. Lack of commercial success ended the group after three albums.
Evans left Captain Beyond and the music business after their first two albums. He then became a director of respiratory therapy at a West American hospital until 1980.[citation needed]
In 1980 he was approached by a management company which specialized in questionably reformed bands with big names, and began to tour under the Deep Purple name with a bunch of unknown session musicians. With the following lineup:
- Rod Evans - vocals
- Tony Flynn - guitar
- Tom de Rivera - bass
- Geoff Emery - keyboards
- Dick Juergens - drums
After several shows ended in near riots, Evans was sued by the management of the real Deep Purple and they were awarded damages of $672,000. As a result of the lawsuit, Evans no longer receives royalties from the band's first three albums.
- The Highway Star - Information from a Deep Purple fansite.
- Additional information - Further reading.