The Everly Brothers

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The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
Background information
Born Don Everly
February 1, 1937 (1937-02-01) (age 71),
Phil Everly
January 19, 1939 (1939-01-19) (age 69)
Origin Shenandoah, Iowa, USA
Genre(s) Country,
Rockabilly,
Rock & Roll
Years active 1957–1973,
1983–present

The Everly Brothers (Don Everly, born Isaac Donald Everly February 1, 1937, Brownie, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Phil Everly, born Phillip Everly, January 19, 1939, Chicago, Illinois) are male siblings who were top-selling country-influenced rock and roll performers, best known for their steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing. The Everlys are the most successful charting U.S. rock and roll duo on the Hot 100. Their greatest period of chart success came between 1957 and 1964.

Their father Ike Everly was a musician in his own right. Ike, along with Merle Travis, Mose Rager, and Kennedy Jones, was honored by the construction of The Four Legends Fountain in Drakesboro, Kentucky.

Contents

[edit] Style

Everly Brothers were influenced by Elvis Presley, The brothers were both competent guitarists, and used a simple style of harmony mostly based on parallel thirds. With this approach, each line can often stand on its own as a plausible melody line. This is in contrast to classic harmony lines which, while working well alongside the melody, would sound strange if heard by themselves. One of the best examples of their close-harmony work is their recording of "Devoted to You".

The duo's approach to harmony singing had a strong influence on the rock and roll groups of the 1960s. For example, both The Beatles[1] and The Beach Boys[2] developed their early singing style by performing Everlys covers. The Beatles based the vocal arrangement of their song "Please Please Me" directly upon that of "Cathy's Clown."[3]

[edit] Early career

Guitarist Ike Everly had a radio show on KMA and KFNF stations in Shenandoah, Iowa in the 1940s, with his wife Margaret and two young sons. Singing appearances on their father's show gave the brothers their first exposure to the music industry. The family sang together live on the radio and taveled in the Shenandoah area singing as the Everly Family. The Everly Brothers grew up from ages 5 and 7 through early high school in Shenandoah. Their boyhood home is being restored and will be donated to the Shenandoah Historical Society in the spring of 2009. The Everly Brothers recorded their own first single, "Keep A' Lovin' Me", in 1956, under the aegis of Chet Atkins, but it flopped. However their next single, "Bye Bye Love", (which had been rejected by 30 other acts, including Elvis Presley), became an across-the-board smash, reaching #2 on the pop charts (behind Presley's "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear"), while hitting #1 on both the Country and the R&B charts. The song, written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, became the Everly Brothers' first million-seller.

They soon became known as the stalwarts of Archie Bleyer's Cadence Records label. Working with the Bryants, the harmonic duo had a number of hits in the United States and the United Kingdom, the biggest of which were "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", and "Bird Dog". Other hits in this period include "Problems" (Pop #2) and "('Til) I Kissed You" (Pop #4).

[edit] The 1960s

Signing with Warner Bros. Records in 1960, they continued to have hits. Their first with WB, 1960's "Cathy's Clown" (written jointly by Don and Phil) launched the brothers back to the top of the charts. The song, which sold eight million copies, was the duo's biggest-selling record. It was released as number WB1, the first release in the United Kingdom by Warner Brothers Records.

Other successful Warner Brothers singles followed, such as "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)" (1960) (Pop #7), "Walk Right Back" (1961) (Pop #7), "Crying In The Rain" (1962) (Pop #6), and "That's Old Fashioned" (1962) (Pop #9). As well, Cadence Records continued to release Everly Brothers singles from the vaults: these singles included the top ten hit "When Will I Be Loved" (written by Phil) (Pop #8) and the top 40 hit "Like Strangers", as well as several other lower-charting singles.

However, shortly after signing with Warner Brothers, the Everlys had a falling out with their manager Wesley Rose, who also administered the Acuff-Rose music publishing company. Consequently for a period of time in the early 1960s, the Everlys were shut off from using Acuff-Rose songwriters. These songwriters included Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who had written the majority of the Everlys' hits to that time, as well Don and Phil Everly themselves, who were also contracted to Acuff-Rose as songwriters and had written several of their own hits.

With the proven sources of hit material unavailable to them, the Everlys recorded a mix of covers and songs crafted for them by other writers. However their last U.S. Top Ten hit was 1962's "That's Old Fashioned"; after that, they would never again reach the U.S. top 30, and the succeeding years saw the Everly Brothers selling many fewer records than before in the United States. Their enlistment in the United States Marine Corps beginning in November 1961, also took them out of the spotlight for a time. Though it's sometimes reported[who?] that The Everly Brothers were swept aside in America due to the rise of The Beatles and the British Invasion in 1964, the truth is that, at least in America, their star had begun to wane two full years before — although their appeal remained strong in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and elsewhere.

In 1962, Warner Brothers released a Golden Hits album which included only their Warner Brothers hits. The 1964 album The Very Best Of The Everly Brothers included new versions of six of their Cadence hits (re-recorded in Nashville), along with six of the original Warner Brothers hits. Some of these re-recordings are sometimes played and mistaken for the originals, such as "Devoted to You" and "Til I Kissed You". In 1963, Cadence released a more complete album of those original hits, titled 15 Everly Hits.

After their Marine Corps experience the brothers resumed their career, but U.S. chart success was limited. Singles and albums continued to be released, but of the 27 singles the Everly Brothers released on Warner Brothers from 1963 through 1970, only three made the Hot 100, and none peaked higher than #31. However, The Everlys had more success in Britain and Canada in that period, consistently reaching the top 40 in the United Kingdom with a string of singles through 1965, and hitting the top 10 in Canada as late as 1967.

The album title In Our Image referred to their influence on a new era of singers like the Beatles, who were inspired by their harmony. The album Two Yanks in England was recorded there with backup by The Picks, and is a reflection of their success there, and a gesture of camaraderie with the new wave. Their 1968 album Roots is touted by some formal critics as a superior example of their music, however by the end of the 1960s The Everly Brothers were no longer hitmakers in either North America or the United Kingdom, and in 1970 their contract with Warner Bros. lapsed after ten years. In 1970, they were the summer replacement hosts for Johnny Cash's television show.

[edit] The break-up of the Everly Brothers

In 1970, Don Everly released his first solo album, but it was not a success. The Everly Brothers resumed performing together in 1971, and signed a recording contract with RCA Records at around the same time.

The duo had a memorable split on July 14, 1973, as Phil Everly smashed his guitar and stormed offstage during a concert at Knotts Berry Farm in California, leaving brother Don to finish the concert by himself. Don Everly told the crowd, "The Everly Brothers died ten years ago." In reality, due to growing tension, The Everly Brothers had already planned the Knotts Berry show to be their last performance. Many believe the tense mood of the show had been caused by the band having a few drinks before the show. After the split, the brothers would not speak to each other for the next 10 years, only getting together once in 1975 for their father's funeral. While to this day, they rarely comment on their break-up, they had stated in interviews that the 10-year period that they did not speak to each other gave them a chance to find themselves and become older and wiser.

The brothers reformed in 1983 with a new album produced by Dave Edmunds. "On the Wings of a Nightingale", written by Paul McCartney for the brothers, was a minor success and returned them to the U.S. and UK charts. Their reunion concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on September 22, 1983, which was instigated by English virtuoso guitarist Albert Lee (who was also the musical director), resulted in both a well-received CD and video. They then earned a final charting country-music hit with "Born Yesterday" in 1986 from the album of the same name. During this time Don's son, Edan Everly, would often join the Everly brothers on stage to sing and play guitar.

At around the same time, Phil enjoyed some success as a soloist, with an album Phil Everly, recorded mainly in London, and including musicians such as Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, Rockpile drummer Terry Williams, and evergreen session keyboard player Pete Wingfield. "She Means Nothing To Me", featuring Cliff Richard as co-lead vocalist, was a UK Top 10 hit, and "Louise" reached the Top 50 in 1983. In 1994, a new recording of "All I Have to Do Is Dream", featuring Cliff Richard and Phil sharing vocals, was a U.K. Top 20 hit.

Even though the brothers have not produced any new studio albums since 1989's Some Hearts, they continue to tour and perform. Throughout their careers they have collaborated extensively with other performers, usually singing either backup vocals or duets. For example, Don Everly recorded a duet with Emmylou Harris in 1979, "Everytime You Leave", on her album Blue Kentucky Girl[4] In 2006, Phil Everly sang a duet, "Sweet Little Corrina", with country singer Vince Gill on his album These Days.[5] He previously supplied harmony vocals on J.D. Souther's "White Rhythm and Blues" on his 1979 album You're Only Lonely.

In 1999 Don Everly and his son Edan Everly did a benefit show billed as The Everly Brothers for Kentucky flood relief.

[edit] Legacy

The Everly Brothers have had a total of 26 Billboard Top 40 singles and 35 Billboard Top 100 singles. They still hold the record for the most Top 100 singles by any duo, and trail only Hall and Oates for the most Top 40 singles by a duo. (Hall and Oates had 29 singles in the top 40, all between 1976 and 1990.)

In 1986, the Everlys were among the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During the induction ceremony, they were introduced by Neil Young, who observed that every musical group he ever belonged to had tried and failed to copy the Everly Brothers' harmonies. That same year on July 5, 1986 the Everlys returned to their boyhood home of Shenandoah, Iowa to a crowd of 8,500 for a concert, parade, street dedication, class reunion and other activities. At that time concert fees were donated to fund The Everly Family Scholarship Fund which gives scholarships to middle and high school students in Shenandoah every year.

In 1997, they were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.[6] Their pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The Everly Brothers have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The Everly Brothers[7] #33 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time [8]. They are also #43 on the list of UK Best selling singles artists of all time.

They were also accomplished songwriters, penning a number of their own hits, including "Till I Kissed You" (Don), "Cathy's Clown" (Don and Phil), and "When Will I Be Loved" (Phil). "Cathy's Clown" and "When Will I Be Loved" later became hits for Reba McEntire and Linda Ronstadt, respectively; (for the latter, the Everly Brothers even sang the back up chorus). Also, the Norwegian band a-ha covered "Crying In The Rain" in 1990 for their fourth album, East of The Sun, West of The Moon.

The Bee Gees have acknowledged the Everly Brothers on several occasions stating that they would sing in the style of the Everlys and then add a third harmony. This is evident on the Bee Gees' 1967 hit, "New York Mining Disaster 1941".

Paul McCartney paid tribute to the Everlys by mentioning "Phil and Don" in his 1976 million-seller, "Let 'em In".

They still perform occasionally, despite having declared their retirement from both touring and the studio more than once. Most notably, they joined Simon and Garfunkel as the featured act in the Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour of 2003 and 2004. As a special tribute to the Everly Brothers, they were not the opening act, rather Simon and Garfunkel opened their own show and had the Everlys come out in the middle for three or four songs. For Paul Simon, it was not the first time he had performed prominently with his heroes. In 1986, The Everlys sang background vocals on the hit title track of Simon's landmark album Graceland, the song he has named as his single greatest composition.

On Labor Day Weekend 1988, Central City Kentucky began hosting The Everly Brothers Homecoming event to raise money for a scholarship fund for Muhlenberg County students.[4] The Homecoming became a popular annual event for fourteen years, before ending in 2002. Don and Phil successfully toured the United Kingdom in 2005 and Phil has appeared in 2007 on recordings with Vince Gill and Bill Medley. Rumors are also around that the Everly Family are currently putting together an album[citation needed]. Also in 2007, country singer Alison Krauss and former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant released "Raising Sand" which included a cover of the 1964 hit single, "Gone, Gone, Gone" with T Bone on lead.

Don Everly's daughter, Erin Everly , was briefly married to the controversial front man of Guns N' Roses, Axl Rose.

Rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis named his son, Everly, after the members of the band.

Throughout the 1950s, The Everly Brothers used Gibson J-200 guitars, some customized with dual white pickguards. In 1962, Gibson Guitar Corporation collaborated with the brothers to produce the Gibson Everly Brothers Flattop, a signature acoustic guitar.

Today, Phil Everly is heavily involved with his own musical instrument accessories manufacturing company. Everly Music Company produces products designed by Phil and Jason Everly, Phil's eldest son, for guitar and bass.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

Charted hits in the U.S. (Billboard), Australia (Kent Report) Canada (CHUM Chart) and UK, and notable singles
 Note that catalog numbers, release dates, and A-side/B-side configurations may differ from country to country. All catalog/release info here refers to US releases.
Song title U.S. AUS CAN UK. Year Label & Cat # Note
Keep A-Lovin' Me 1956 Columbia 4-21496
Bye Bye Love (A-side) 02 014 02 06 1957 Cadence 1315 U.S.: Gold, C&W #1, R&B #5
→ I Wonder If I Care (B-Side) 0 0 1957 Cadence 1315 Made U.S. charts as 'flip' of "Bye Bye Love"
Wake Up Little Susie 01 03 01 02 1957 Cadence 1337 U.S.: Gold, C&W, #1, R&B #1
This Little Girl Of Mine (A-Side) 026 0 1958 Cadence 1342 U.S.: C&W #4
→ Should We Tell Him (B-Side) 0 014 0 1958 Cadence 1342 U.S.: C&W #10
All I Have to Do Is Dream (A-Side) 01 03 01 01 1958 Cadence 1348 U.S.: Gold, C&W #1, R&B #1
→ Claudette (B-Side) 30 026 01 1958 Cadence 1348 U.S.: C&W #15
Bird Dog (A-Side) 01 01 01 02 1958 Cadence 1350 U.S.: Gold, C&W #1, R&B #2
→ Devoted to You (B-Side) 10 25 01 999 1958 Cadence 1350 U.S.: C&W #7, R&B #2
Problems (A-Side) 02 012 05 06 1958 Cadence 1355 U.S.: C&W #17
→ Love Of My Life (B-Side) 40 05 999 1958 Cadence 1355 zz
Rip It Up
(Australian only release)		 57 1959 Cadence zz
Take a Message To Mary (A-Side) 16 02 08 20 1959 Cadence 1364 zz
→ Poor Jenny (B-Side) 22 22 08 14 1959 Cadence 1364 zz
('Til) I Kissed You 04 02 03 02 1959 Cadence 1369 U.S.: C&W #8, R&B #22
Let It Be Me (A-Side) 07 24 08 13 1960 Cadence 1376 zz
→ Since You Broke My Heart (B-Side) 04 1960 Cadence 1376
Cathy's Clown (A-Side) 01 03 02 01 1960 Warner Brothers 5151 U.S.: Gold, R&B #1
→ Always It's You (B-Side) 56 1960 Warner Brothers 5151 zz
When Will I Be Loved (A-Side) 08 03 16 04 1960 Cadence 1380 zz
→ Be Bop A Lula (B-Side) 74 0 1960 Cadence 1380 zz
So Sad (A-Side) 07 19 18 04 1960 Warner Brothers 5163 U.S.: R&B #16
→ Lucille (B-Side) 21 19 18 04 1960 Warner Brothers 5163 zz</span
Like Strangers (A-Side) 22 39 32 11 1960 Cadence 1388 zz
→ Brand New Heartache (B-Side) 109 32 1960 Cadence 1388 zz
Walk Right Back (A-Side) 07 08 03 01 1961 Warner Brothers 5199 zz
→ Ebony Eyes (B-Side) 08 08 03 01 1961 Warner Brothers 5199 U.S.: C&W #25, R&B #25
Temptation (A-Side) 27 04 12 01 1961 Warner Brothers 5220 zz
→ Stick With Me, Baby (B-Side) 41 12 1961 Warner Brothers 5220 zz
Don't Blame Me (A-Side) 20 26 20 1961 Warner Brothers 5501 zz
→ Muskrat (B-Side) 82 26 20 1961 Warner Brothers 5501 zz
Crying In the Rain 06 07 25 06 1962 Warner Brothers 5250 zz
That's Old Fashioned (A-Side) 09 08 18 999 1962 Warner Brothers 5273 U.S.: A/C #4
bgcolor="#d6f6b6"|12 1962 Warner Brothers 5273 zz
I'm Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail 76 94 1962 Cadence 1429 zz
Don't Ask Me To Be Friends (A-Side) 48 59 1962 Warner Brothers 5297 US: A/C #16
→ No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile (B-Side) 117 59 11 1962 Warner Brothers 5297 zz
Nancy's Minuet (A-Side) 107 1963 Warner Brothers 5346 zz
→ (So It Was, So It Is) So It Always Will Be (B-Side) 116 23 1963 Warner Brothers 5346 zz
It's Been Nice (Goodnight) 101 98 26 1963 Warner Brothers 5362 zz
The Girl Sang the Blues (A-Side) 39 25 1963 Warner Brothers 5389 zz
→ Love Her (B-Side) 117 1963 Warner Brothers 5389 zz
Ain't That Lovin You, Baby 133 1964 Warner Brothers 5422 zz
The Ferris Wheel 72 22 1964 Warner Brothers 5441 zz
You're The One I Love 1964 Warner Brothers 5466 zz
Gone Gone Gone 31 30 19 36 1964 Warner Brothers 5478 zz
You're My Girl 110 1965 Warner Brothers 5600 zz
That'll Be the Day 111 45 30 1965 Warner Brothers 5611 zz
The Price of Love 104 02 1965 Warner Brothers 5628 zz
I'll Never Get Over You 999 35 1965 Warner Brothers 5639 zz
Love Is Strange 128 11 1965 Warner Brothers 5649 zz
It's All Over 1965 Warner Brothers 5682 zz
The Dollhouse Is Empty 1966 Warner Brothers 5689 zz
(You Got) The Power Of Love 1966 Warner Brothers 5808 zz
Somebody Help Me 1966 Warner Brothers 5833 zz
Fifi The Flea 1967 Warner Brothers 5857 zz
The Devil's Child 1967 Warner Brothers 5901 zz
Bowling Green 40 01 999 1967 Warner Brothers 7020 zz
Mary Jane 1967 Warner Brothers 7062 zz
Love Of The Common People 114 70 04 1967 Warner Brothers 7088 zz
It's My Time 112 28 39 1968 Warner Brothers 7192 zz
Milk Train 98 1968 Warner Brothers 7226 zz
T For Texas 1969 Warner Brothers 7262 zz
I'm On My Way Home Again 1969 Warner Brothers 7290 zz
Carolina On My Mind 1969 Warner Brothers 7326 zz
Yves 1970 Warner Brothers 7425 zz
Ridin' High 1972 RCA 74-0717 zz
Lay It Down 1973 RCA 74-0849 zz
Not Fade Away 1973 RCA 74-0901 zz
On The Wings Of A Nightingale 050 078 041 1984 Mercury 880213 U.S.: A/C #9, C&W #49.
Canada: C&W #39
Written by Paul McCartney.
The First In Line 1985 Mercury 880423 U.S.: C&W #44
Born Yesterday 1986 Mercury 884228 U.S.: A/C #17, C&W #17
Canada: C&W #7
I Know Love (A-Side) 1986 Mercury 884694 U.S.: C&W #56
→ These Shoes (B-Side) 1986 Mercury 884694 U.S.: C&W #57
Don't Worry Baby 086 1988 Mercury 448297
Don Everly solo
Song title U.S. UK Year Label & Cat # Note
Tumblin' Tumbleweeds 1970 Ode 66009 zz
Warmin' Up The Band 110 1974 Ode 66046 zz
Yesterday Just Passed My Way Again 1976 Hickory 368 U.S.: C&W #50
Love At Last Sight 1977 Hickory 54002
Since You Broke My Heart 1977 Hickory 54005 U.S.: C&W #84
Brother Juke Box 1977 Hickory 54012 U.S.: C&W #96
Let's Put Our Hearts Together 1981 Polydor POSP 315
Phil Everly solo
Song title U.S. AUS UK Year Label & Cat # Note
God Bless Older Ladies (For They Made Rock And Roll) 1973 RCA 0064
Old Kentucky River 1974 Pye 71014
New Old Song 1975 Pye 71036
Words In Your Eyes 1975 Pye 71055
Living Alone 1979 Elektra 46519
You Broke It 1979 Elektra 46556
Dare To Dream Again 1980 Curb 5401 U.S.: A/C #9, C&W #63
Sweet Southern Love 1981 Curb 2116 U.S.: A/C #42, C&W #52
Louise 52 1982 Capitol CL 266 (UK)
Who's Gonna Keep Me Warm 1982 Capitol 5197 U.S.: C&W #37
She Means Nothing To Me (duet with Cliff Richard) 17 9 1983 Capitol CL 276 (UK)
Sweet Pretender 79 1982 Capitol CL 285 (UK)
All I Have To Do Is Dream (duet with Cliff Richard) 093 14 1994 EMI 359 (UK)

[edit] Albums

[edit] Original studio albums

[edit] Compilations of previously unreleased archival material

[edit] Live albums

[edit] Compilations of previously released material

[edit] See also

United States Marine Corps portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ MacDonald, Ian (1997). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties. Random House. ISBN 0-7126-6697-4.  p.293.
  2. ^ Granata, Charles L. (2003). I Just Wasn't Made for These Times: Brian Wilson and the Making of Pet Sounds. MQ Publications. ISBN 1-903318-57-2.  pp. 35-36.
  3. ^ MacDonald (op. cit.), p.55.
  4. ^ Amazon.co.uk: Blue Kentucky Girl: Remastered & Expanded: Emmylou Harris: Music
  5. ^ allmusic ((( These Days > Review )))
  6. ^ 'The Everly Brothers' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
  7. ^ "The Everly Brothers". Paul Simon. Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.
  8. ^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Everly_Brothers"
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