Paul Evans

Music enthusiasts most readily connect Paul Evans to his composition "Roses Are Red, My Love," yet the vocalist himself maintained an equally durable performing career that places him among artists active in the business for over five decades. From an early age Evans regarded music as central to daily existence, given his family's deep involvement in the field despite limited financial reward. According to longstanding family lore, his father sold a personal flute to purchase a guitar for the boy. His mother contributed piano instruction that likewise proved a sound investment in the child's abilities. An older sister ultimately guided his guitar technique, exposing him to folk repertoire and hootenannies. While still in high school Evans began performing, earned a scholarship to Columbia University, and started a campus radio program devoted to the folk idiom; although the scholarship supported engineering studies, that path grew less probable with each passing year. Initial professional work found him singing in modest clubs and on a cruise ship. The early 1960s brought his first hit singles, among them "Seven Little Girls Sitting In The Back Seat," "Happy-Go-Lucky Me," and "Hushabye, Little Guitar." A further success followed in 1979 with "Hello, This Is Joannie." His songwriting accomplishments, however, exceed this already solid performing record. In addition to the aforementioned Bobby Vinton blockbuster, which itself prompted numerous cover versions, Evans supplied the Kalin Twins with their timely hit "When," contributed "Something Blue" and "I Gotta Know" to Elvis Presley, and wrote for Jackie Wilson, Frankie Lymon, Fabian, the Coasters, and later Reba McEntire. When hits failed to materialize he remained occupied composing for commercials and industrial films, one example being the CBS This Morning theme. A modest attempt to establish him as a film actor accompanied his earliest record successes, yet he later appeared on television soap operas. Renewed interest in the 1990s produced the 1995 retrospective collection Paul Evans: the Fabulous Teens and Beyond. Evans' own recording of the self-mocking "Willie's Sung With Everyone (But Me)" appeared on Willie Nelson's 22 Legendary Duets CD. His version of "Happy-Go-Lucky Me" serves as the theme for John Waters' 1998 film Pecker. After working with the vocal jazz quintet Group 5ive, Evans returned to his earlier catalog and produced new recordings of the old hits.