Terry Evans ultimately emerged as a commanding, gospel-infused lead singer heading his own ensemble, yet his path to that stature unfolded through numerous detours. Like countless blues musicians, his initial contact with music occurred inside church walls as a member of the junior choir. Although his parents restricted him to gospel material, he secretly absorbed blues recordings by Elmore James, Little Walter, Albert King, and B.B. King. His earliest opportunity arrived when he joined the Southern vocal ensemble the Knights. He subsequently relocated to Southern California, where he took up guitar and began composing original material, including “Love Is a Precious Thing,” later cut by Pops Staples, and “Hop, Skip, and Jump,” recorded by Louis Jordan.
During the 1970s Evans toured the chitlin circuit as half of a duo alongside Bobby King, delivering their distinctive Stax-styled blend of soul and gospel. While maintaining that partnership, he also supplied background vocals for Ry Cooder on both studio releases and live dates. His profile rose sharply after contributing lead vocals to “Down in Mississippi” and the title track for the film Crossroads.
Evans issued his debut solo effort, Blues for Thought, on Pointblank in 1993. While adding backing vocals to Lloyd Jones’ Trouble Monkey, he caught the ear of producer Joe Harley, who promptly signed him to Audioquest. Under Harley’s guidance he completed two well-regarded albums, Puttin’ It Down and Come to the River. Walk That Walk appeared in early 2000, followed a year later by Mississippi Magic and then Live Like a Hurricane in 2003. Crosscut Records released Fire in the Feeling in 2005. Evans also collaborated with Dutch blues artist Hans Theessink on the Blue Groove label for Visions (2008), Delta Time (featuring Ry Cooder, 2012), and True & Blue Live (2015). He passed away at a Los Angeles hospital in January 2018 at age 80 after falling ill while touring Europe.
