Evans of 'Zager and Evans'
TONIGHT-THRU TUESDAY!!
WUI I A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO
'2525' artist now performs solo
H EXERCISE, KEEP SUM & TRIM!!
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Hi
By Deb Gray
You remember Rick Evans.
Five years ago he wrote a song that
propelled him and Denny Zager to
instant stardom. The record sold 4
million copies and was No. 1 around the
coutry.
But nothing followed "In the Year
2525." The second, third and fourth hits
that would entrench Zager and Evans as
perennial top 40 artists never came.
Evans on his own
So, about two years ago, Zager and
Evans split up. Evans is now on his own
and has been playing in Lincoln since
last Christmas.
In a jazz and Java concert last week in
the South Crib, Evans played some Jim
Croce, some John Denver, lots of Rick
Evans and "a medley of my hit."
Evans said he and Zager recorded "In
the Year 2525" on their own label and
marketed it to RCA Records. The song
was an instant hit, he said.
Native of Imperial
So, the Imperial, Neb., native who
had never traveled by jet was flown to
New York to enjoy the trappings of
success. Interviews with Life and Time
magazines. The top floor of the
Hotel Americana for their use. And a
group of people "making a fuss over
us.
"Everywhere we went we heard our
record playing," he said. "Everyone
was raving about us."
Evans admitted his catapult to
stardon changed him.
"You feel so powerful," he said.
"You'll still be nice to people, but you
can't help thinking,- 'I couid buy you"
Evans partially blamed himself for his
one-hit woes.
"The most frustrating thing is to look
back on your own mistakes," he said.
"Maybe if we had used some other
songs on our first album and kept the
same group of musicians we had worked
with instead of bringing in new ones,
things would have been different."
Success in love ballads
If their first hit had been a love ballad,
Evans added, perhaps they could have
succeeded in their follow-up efforts.
" 4 In the Year 2525 was such a
unique song," he said. "You can't
follow it up, unless it's with something
more unique. It's different with a love
song. You can take one song, change the
words and music a little and you have
another one.
FD
"For instance, John Denver has
found his place with songs dealing with
love and nature, and based his career on
that."
And, Evans said, the top 40 market is
continually changing.
"The group of young people buying
records changes so fast," he said.
"They don't keep someone with them."
Evans a loner
Since he described himself "some
what a loner," the fall from grace was
. easier to swallow, he said.
"If I was into this business only for
the social thing and for the fame, the
loss of all the admiration would have
been very hard on me."
Evans said he"can hit again, that his
career is not finished.
"I'm doing the same thing now as I
did when I had the last hit," he said.
"I've been producing and writing. I've
met a lot of people."
The music business is frightening
because of its insecurity, Evans said.
"There's never any guarantee of the
future," he said. "If you fail, there's
really nothing else you can do. If you're
older and you fail, you're rejected. You
just have to love it so much that you're
willing to sacrifice anything for it."
11
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Rick Evans
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COLUMBIA PICTURES p'efii
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JACK NICHOLSON ri
h OTIS YOUNG RANDY QUAlDCLIFTOKTjAMES
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Wednesday, October 9, 1974
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