Just picked up nice early group soul (62ish?) thing, The Furys on a French Columbia EP. Was aware of a couple of their Mack IV releases, some which appear on this. One track in particular on the EP 'If there's a next time' I'm convinced I've heard before maybe in 80s post Stafford etc? Any background info on who these guys were?

The Furys (1962-64) on Jimmy McEachin's Mack IV Records were a Los Angeles based group, which had the following members all of whom had sung since the mid 1950s:

 

Jimmy Green-tenor lead (ex of The Medallions), Tony Allen-tenor (ex of The Champs), Charles Jackson-tenor (ex of The Shields), and Jerome Evans-baritone and main lead singer (ex of The Medallions).  In 1965, without Tony Allen, they got back together with lead singer Vernon Greene, to re-form The Medallions.  From 1962 through 1964, Vernon Green had sung backed by a "new" Medallions group.

Edited March 29, 201411 yr by RobbK

Cheers for that, just what I was after....

The Furys (1962-64) on Jimmy McEachin's Mack IV Records were a Los Angeles based group, which had the following members all of whom had sung since the mid 1950s:

 

Jimmy Green-tenor lead (ex of The Medallions), Tony Allen-tenor lead (ex of The Champs), Charles Jackson-tenor (ex of The Shields), and Jerome Evans-baritone (ex of The Medallions).  In 1965, without Tony Allen, they got back together with lead singer Vernon Greene, to re-form The Medallions.  From 1962 through 1964, Vernon Green had sung backed by a "new" Medallions group.

Is that the same Tony Allen who did the original version of night owl?

Is that the same Tony Allen who did the original version of night owl?

Yes, the original "Night Owl" was sung by Tony Allen and The Champs on Specialty Records.  Tony Allen had a lot of different background groups and sang for lots of small, independent L.A. Labels.  He was also a non-lead member of several groups.

The Furys had another lineup as follows:

 

Jerome Evans (baritone lead), with Robert Washington, Melvin White, George Taylor, and Jimmy Green.  I assume that this group was the later group on the last Mack IV release, and The Keymen issue in 1965, from after Tony Allen left to go solo again, and Charles Jackson left to join Vernon Greene's new Medallions.  But, I had thought that Jimmy Green left to join them as well.  Maybe this was a short, transition roster, with Green already gone when the group signed with Keymen?

 

Scott Engel (one of The Walker Brothers) was their main arranger, and P.J. Proby (under his pen name, James K. Smith) was one of their major songwriters.

Edited March 29, 201411 yr by RobbK

Yes, the original "Night Owl" was sung by Tony Allen and The Champs on Specialty Records.  Tony Allen had a lot of different background groups and sang for lots of small, independent L.A. Labels.  He was also a non-lead member of several groups.

Thanks for that.     

The Furys on a French Columbia EP. Was aware of a couple of their Mack IV releases, some which appear on this.

 

I'm a big fan of their recordings...my fave is, "Another Fella", which is on that French EP, but the mix is not as powerful as the US Mack IV 7"...incredible production and perfect vocals (as usual):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yetjWc7f7E

According to Steve Propes book "Old School 77 Years Of Southern California R&B Vocal Group Harmony Records 1934 - 2011 (A must have book for all anoraks IMO) the Furys according to Baritone Jerome Evans came out of the Cyclones on Forward with Charles Jackson & Ray Daugherty.

According to Steve Propes book "Old School 77 Years Of Southern California R&B Vocal Group Harmony Records 1934 - 2011 (A must have book for all anoraks IMO) the Furys according to Baritone Jerome Evans came out of the Cyclones on Forward with Charles Jackson & Ray Daugherty.

I once swapped emails with Jerome Evans (or rather his wife Joy!)...he was touring with "Danny & The Juniors" a decade or so ago. She said they had enough unreleased material to fill a double CD set!

Those Cyclones were also on Flip records.

Brilliant info guys, especially RobbK. Every day is a school day.

Dave

Edited March 30, 201411 yr by Only Dreaming

Jerome Evans would have probably had more success had he not sounded almost exactly like Ben E. King.  He was the non-novelty lead singer of The Lions on Rendezvous, Everest, and Imperial.

Edited March 30, 201411 yr by RobbK