Jerome Evans and
the Furys
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Jerome Evans, the lead singer of the Furys started singing when he was a mere 3 years old imitating songs he heard on the radio.  Growing up in the West Los Angeles neighborhood of 42nd Street between Broadway and Main, Jerome starting "foolin' around" with his brothers and some other friends singing in amateur shows in 1952.  Later, Jerome formed a group called the Cyclones along with Robert Washington, Melvin White and George Taylor.  In 1959, the Cyclones recorded "Big Mary" for George Motola's Forward Records (Forward 313).
 

Later, in 1962, the four members of the Cyclones joined Jimmy Green (the brother of Vernon Green of the Medallions) to form a new group.  The group was practicing one day when songwriter/producer Jimmy McEachin (who wrote such novelty hits as the Fight and Gravel Gert for the Barons in 1959) heard them and decided to take them into the studio giving them their new name - the Furys.  The group recorded a number of records for McEachin including So Tough b/w I've Got a Pain in My Head (Over You) (Edsel 786 -1961).  According to Jerome, Over You did pretty well for 6 months and was played a lot on KGFJ and was pushed by Hunter Hancock on his radio show.  The Furys later would score on McEachin's own Mark IV label with a rendition of Zing Went the Strings of My Heart b/w Never More (Mark IV 112 - 1962).   Of all the groups that recorded Zing, the Furys' version is probably the most recognized.  "That was the beginning of everything" for the Furys, says Jerome. Working with the William Morris agency, the group did a lot of big shows.  "We were playing everywhere," Jerome remembers, and the Furys made weekly appearances on local television shows.

When the British invasion hit, the Furys went overseas doing tours in Japan and in southeast asia (in 1970).  The group later disbanded in the early 1970's.  Jerome would later join up with the Lions and during the 1970's and 1980's he sang with the Coasters performing many shows with them.  Jerome also wrote a number of songs including I'm Looking For a Song and I'll Do Anything For You which was a bit hit for Freda Paine.  Most recently, Jerome had been singing with the Medallions until the recent death of Vernon Green in December 2000.  He has also been singing with Bobby Hendricks' Drifters touring many times in the U.S. and overseas.  Jerome is working on a new CD called "Life" with some new recordings and some older material which should be out by the end of the year.