Tommy Evans began singing in the late 40s, with a gospel group called the Unity Baptist Five, in his hometown of Detroit. The other members were: Richard Coleman (first tenor), William Davis (second tenor), Wilbert Tindle (baritone), and James Worthy (piano/arranger). Sing they might, but they all had day jobs working for the Ford Motor Company. Little by little, they considered moving away from gospel and into R&B. It doesn't take much to realize that this was prompted by Tommy's ability to imitate Jimmy Ricks.

They changed their name to the Carols, and entered an amateur contest at the Frolic Show Bar. After winning, they were kept on at the Frolic, on weekends, earning the astronomical sum of $4 per man per night. Their manager was Hymie Gastman, owner of the Frolic. In 1950, he brought them to New York, where they appeared on TV with Lionel Hampton on the "Cavalcade Of Bands" (DuMont, Tuesday, 9 - 10 pm). After the show, the Carols played the Baby Grand on Harlem's 125th Street.

While in New York, Gastman got them an audition for Columbia Records, which rushed to record them (on April 20, 1950). There was thus a Ravens sound on Columbia months before the Ravens got there.

COLUMBIA
30210 Please Believe In Me/Drink Gin — 6/50
30217 If I Could Steal You From Somebody Else/I Should Have Thought — 8/50

However, Columbia didn't promote the two records (which weren't received well by the trades either: "Please" was rated a 40 and "Gin" got a 28!).

And so back to Detroit, where Richard Coleman left and was replaced by Kenneth Duncan. By early 1952, Hymie Gastman had been replaced by Al Green, manager of the Flame Show Bar (and former manager of Lavern Baker and Johnny Ray). It was reported, in May 1952, that they were going to New York to record for Decca, but nothing ever came of it.

In 1953, Green arranged for them to record for New Jersey's Savoy Records (the April 27 recordings, however, were done in Detroit). The result was:

SAVOY
896 I've Got A Feeling/50 Million Women — 5/53

There were two unreleased cuts: "Mighty Like A Rose" and "Call For Me If You Want Me" (which, you might guess, sounds a great deal like the Ravens' "Send For Me If You Need Me"). Tommy Evans was lead on all songs. The record was reviewed on June 6, and both sides were rated “fair.”

That was it for the Carols' brief recording career. They continued to sing at the Frolic, but when Tommy was tapped for the Ravens, it was the end of the line for the group.