Rod Evans
In Deep Purple 1968–1969
The first singer – the voice of Hush. Later in Captain Beyond.
Highlights
- The first singer – sang on Hush (1968).
- Was on the first three albums.
- Formed Captain Beyond in 1971.
- Toured in 1980 with a fake “Deep Purple”, which ended up in court.
The story
Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a retired British singer known as the original vocalist of the rock bands Deep Purple and Captain Beyond.
Evans began his professional career in The Maze before becoming a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, with whom he recorded their first three studio albums. After recording a solo single, he co-founded Captain Beyond in 1971, with whom he recorded their first two studio albums. Following a brief legal battle with Deep Purple in 1980, Evans retired from music.
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Rod Evans was born on 19 January 1947; sources differ as to whether his birthplace was Edinburgh, Scotland or Slough, England.
He "had been fronting groups since he was 17" and played together with drummer Ian Paice in The Maze, formerly MI5. He was also in a band called The Horizons in the mid-1960s.
Evans and Paice were original members of Deep Purple when they formed in Hertfordshire in 1968.
According to Deep Purple's founding bassist, Nick Simper, Evans was hired after "dozens" of other singers were auditioned. Evans clinched his place in the band after sharing an idea to rearrange the Beatles' song "Help!" as a ballad. This version of "Help!" was subsequently recorded for Deep Purple's debut album Shades of Deep Purple, but the most recognised song recorded with Evans is a cover of the Joe South composition "Hush", which reached No. 4 on the US Billboard charts in October 1968.
Deep Purple had one other US Top 40 hit with Evans on vocals, a cover of Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman", which appeared on the band's second album and peaked at No. 38. Both "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman" are used in the Quentin Tarantino film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
After recording three studio albums and one non-album single ("Emmaretta"), Evans was dismissed in the summer of 1969 while on tour, with the last Deep Purple performance to feature Evans and Nick Simper taking place at the Top Rank in Cardiff, Wales on 4 July 1969. Evans was replaced by Ian Gillan. It had been decided by Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paice that Evans' pop vocal style would not be suitable for the heavier hard rock sound the band wanted to achieve moving forward. Another factor in Evans' dismissal from Deep Purple was his desire to move to the United States. In September 1969, he married Pamela McKee in Tennessee.
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In Deep Purple
