Tom Evans (musician)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Evans Jr was a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

 who was most notable for his work with the band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...

.

Badfinger

In 1969, The Iveys changed their name to Badfinger and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 of The Beatles gave the group a boost by offering them his song "Come and Get It
Come and Get It (song)
"Come and Get It" is the name of a song composed by Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian, and made popular by the group Badfinger.-Beatles version:...

" which he produced for the band. It became a featured track for the film The Magic Christian
The Magic Christian (film)
The Magic Christian is a 1969 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with noteworthy appearances by John Cleese, Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same...

, which starred Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers. Evans was chosen by McCartney to sing lead on this track. It reached the Top 10 worldwide.

Badfinger enjoyed more major successes in the early 1970s with singles such as "No Matter What," "Day After Day
Day After Day (song)
"Day After Day" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1971 album, Straight Up.The song was written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by George Harrison, who plays some of the slide guitar parts of the song along with Ham. The record also features Leon Russell on...

," and "Baby Blue
Baby Blue (Badfinger song)
"Baby Blue" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1971 album, "Straight Up." The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released on Apple Records....

". Each featured some of Evans vocals; background harmony and dual lead. Evans' high-career moment was with his composition "Without You," a song co-written with bandmate Pete Ham. The song became a #1 hit worldwide for Harry Nilsson and has since become a standard in the music industry.

Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...

 dissolved following Ham's suicide in 1975, after which Evans joined a group called The Dodgers with Badfinger bandmate Bob Jackson. The Dodgers released three singles produced by Muff Winwood
Muff Winwood
Mervyn "Muff" Winwood is an English songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were formerly members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood played bass guitar...

 and toured the UK before recording an album with producer Pat Moran. Evans was eventually asked to leave the band midway through the recording sessions and he briefly retired from the music industry.

Evans resurfaced in 1977 to join Joey Molland for two Badfinger "comeback" albums. The second album, "Say No More" spawned the Evans single "Hold On," which reached 56 on Billboard in 1981. Evans and Molland went their separate ways after this second album was released, and the two put together rival "Badfinger" touring bands in the U.S.

In 1982, Jackson rejoined Evans in the latter's version of Badfinger. Original Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins was also enlisted for Evans' band for one tour. But after Evans and Jackson signed separate management contracts with a Milwaukee businessman, the trio of Evans, Gibbins and Jackson said they found themselves stranded in the U.S. without tour dates, food, money and much duress from physical threats. After returning to England, Evans was sued for $5 million in damages for abandoning his touring contract.

Death

During the evening of November 18, 1983, Evans argued with Joey Molland
Joey Molland
Joseph "Joey" Charles Molland is an English composer and rock guitarist whose recording career spans four decades...

 of Badfinger on the telephone, chiefly regarding potential publishing/ASCAP divisions of the "Without You" song whose ASCAP royalties accumulating for airplay had been funding Evans, with other potential publishing funds being held by Apple Corps Ltd. pending resolution of debate between the group members and manager Bill Collins. Early the following morning, 19 November, Evans was found dead by suicide; his body hanging in his back garden from a willow tree. Allegedly, he left no note, but family and friends have speculated he was overwhelmed by the combination of his conflicts with Molland, ex-manager Bill Collins and ex-bandmate Mike Gibbins over the pending royalties, plus the U.S. lawsuit he felt threatened his livelihood further. But a major factor of Evans' depression, alluded by many friends and family members, was that he was never able to get over his former bandmate's Pete Ham's suicide. Marianne Evans, his wife, was quoted in a documentary stating "Tommy said 'I want to be where Pete is. It's a better place than down here' ...."

Evans is also survived by a son, Stephen.

In 1993, a CD of recordings made in the early 1980s by Evans and musician friend Rod Roach was posthumously released in the U.K. under the title Over You.

Discography

(with Badfinger, except where noted)
  • Maybe Tomorrow
    Maybe Tomorrow (The Iveys album)
    Maybe Tomorrow was the only album released by Badfinger under the name The Iveys. It was issued in 1969 on the Apple label in Japan, West Germany and Italy. Although the album was scheduled to be released worldwide, the release in the US and UK at that time was halted without explanation...

    (1969 as "The Iveys")
  • Magic Christian Music
    Magic Christian Music
    Magic Christian Music is an album by band Badfinger, released in early 1970 on Apple Records. Three tracks from the LP are featured in the film The Magic Christian, which also gives the album its title...

    (1970)
  • No Dice
    No Dice
    No Dice is a pop album by Badfinger, issued by Apple Records and released on 9 November 1970. Their second album under the Badfinger name and third album overall, No Dice significantly expanded the British group's popularity, especially abroad...

    (1970)
  • Straight Up
    Straight Up (album)
    Straight Up is the third album by power pop band Badfinger, released on December 13, 1971. It is widely regarded as Badfinger's best album, spawning two Top 20 singles in the U.S. and being commercially successful in its own right. The album was released on the The Beatles' Apple Records label and...

    (1971)
  • Ass
    Ass (album)
    Ass is the fourth and last album released on Apple Records by power pop band Badfinger. The opening track, "Apple of My Eye", refers to the band leaving the label to begin its new contract with Warner Brothers Records. The cover artwork alludes to Badfinger's feelings that they had been misled by...

    (1973)
  • Badfinger
    Badfinger (album)
    Badfinger is the fifth album by rock band Badfinger. The album was recorded in autumn 1973 and released in 1974 on Warner Bros. Records. It was the first of two albums released by the band on the Warner label...

    (1974)
  • Wish You Were Here
    Wish You Were Here (Badfinger album)
    Wish You Were Here is the sixth album by rock band Badfinger and their third consecutive album produced by Chris Thomas. It was recorded in the spring of 1974 at Colorado's Caribou Ranch and released in November of that year on Warner Bros. Records...

    (1974)
  • Airwaves
    Airwaves (album)
    Airwaves is an album released by Badfinger in 1979 on the Elektra label , the seventh album released that was credited to Badfinger...

    (1979))
  • Say No More
    Say No More (Badfinger album)
    Say No More is the last studio album recorded by Badfinger that contained new material. Issued in January 1981 on Radio Records, the LP was the second and last attempt by Tom Evans and Joey Molland to recapture Badfinger's earlier market success, which was lost after the death of band founder Pete...

    (1981)
  • Over You: The Final Tracks (1993 as "Tom Evans with Rod Roach")
  • Head First
    Head First (Badfinger album)
    Head First is the tenth and final album by rock band Badfinger, released on November 14, 2000. It is the last album to feature the original "Iveys" core of Pete Ham, Tom Evans and Mike Gibbins. It was recorded in December 1974 at The Beatles' Apple Studios in London and remained unreleased for 26...

    (2000)


Evans also appeared as a guest artist on
  • The Concert for Bangladesh (album)
  • All Things Must Pass
    All Things Must Pass
    All Things Must Pass is a triple album by George Harrison, recorded and released in 1970. The original vinyl release featured two LPs of rock songs as well as Apple Jam, a third LP of informal jams...

    by George Harrison
    George Harrison
    George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

     (album)
  • "It Don't Come Easy
    It Don't Come Easy
    "It Don't Come Easy" is a song by Ringo Starr released as an Apple Records single in April 1971, reaching number four in both the U.S. and UK singles charts. It was Starr's first solo single in the UK, but his second in the US , following the breakup of the Beatles...

    " by Ringo Starr
    Ringo Starr
    Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...

     (single)
  • Imagine
    Imagine (album)
    Imagine is the second album by John Lennon. Recorded and released in 1971, the album tended toward songs that were gentler, more commercial and less avant-garde than those on his critically acclaimed previous album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. The album is considered the most popular of his works...

    by John Lennon
    John Lennon
    John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

     (album)

Compositions of note

  • "Maybe Tomorrow" (Billboard
    Billboard (magazine)
    Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

     charting #67, by The Iveys)
  • "Without You" (Billboard charting #1 by Harry Nilsson
    Harry Nilsson
    Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...

    , #3 by Mariah Carey
    Mariah Carey
    Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...

    , #28 by Clay Aiken
    Clay Aiken
    Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...

    ).
  • "Hold On" (Billboard charting #56 by Badfinger)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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