The Everly Brothers are especially renowned for their harmonious vocal arrangements, setting the standard for countless generations of pop musicians. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Eagles and many others all owe a debt to the musical brothers.
Isaac Donald ‘Don’ Everly was born on 1 February 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky. His brother Phillip ‘Phil’ Everly was born on 19 January 1939 in Chicago, Illinois. Don and Phil are the sons of Ike Everly and Margaret Embry, two country musicians who travelled through the American Midwest and introduced their children to music from an early age. There was plenty of music played and sung in the Everly household. In 1945, the family moved to Shenandoah, Iowa, where father Ike got a job at a local radio station. Before long, the entire Everly family performed on their father’s radio show. Don was only eight years old and Phil just six. The weekly Everly Family Show became a well-known feature, first in Iowa and later also in Indiana and Tennessee, where the family moved.
Father Ike encouraged his sons to play guitar. At their mother Margaret’s suggestion, teenagers Don and Phil left the countryside for the big city. Once in Nashville, a meeting with Chet Atkins led to Don and Phil’s first record. As the Everly Brothers, they recorded the song 'Keep A Lovin’ Me' in 1956, but the single was not a success. That changed with the next single 'Bye Bye Love', a song rejected by Elvis Presley, with which the Everly Brothers scored their first big hit in the spring of 1957. Eventually, 'Bye Bye Love' reached number two in the American charts. The song was also a huge success elsewhere in the world.
With the help of producer Archie Bleyer and the songwriting couple Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, a series of big hits followed, including 'Wake Up Little Susie', 'All I Have To Do Is Dream', 'Bird Dog', 'Till I Kissed You', 'Let It Be Me' and 'Claudette', written by Roy Orbison. In 1960, the Everly Brothers signed a record deal with the young Warner Bros Records. Their first success with the new label was not long in coming. With the self-penned 'Cathy’s Clown', the Everly Brothers scored their third American number one hit in the spring of 1960. More hits followed, including 'Lucille', 'Ebony Eyes', 'Crying In The Rain', 'That’ll Be The Day', 'Price Of Love' and the also very successful 'Temptation' in our country.
After scoring a Dutch hit in 1965 with 'Love Is Strange', their success seemed to be over. The album Two Yanks In England from 1966, recorded with The Hollies, did not change that. The same goes for Roots from 1968, a prestigious project featuring old radio fragments and country classics. A major reason for the lack of success was Don Everly’s lifestyle, who often let the side down due to his alcohol and drug addiction, causing his career and that of the Everly Brothers to decline further. In 1973, Phil Everly had had enough. During a performance, he threw his guitar on the ground, angrily walked off stage and ended the musical partnership with his brother Don. Both continued their own paths, albeit with little success.
After the death of their father Ike, an unexpected reconciliation between the brothers took place in 1983. The Everly Brothers gave a few fantastic reunion concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, supported by, among others, guitarist Albert Lee. An album was even released, which did very well especially in Europe. As a result, the Everly Brothers decided to make a brand new record with British producer Dave Edmunds, titled EB 84. With 'On The Wings Of A Nightingale' from that album, specially written for them by Paul McCartney, the Everly Brothers scored a huge worldwide hit.
In the meantime, the Everly Brothers also lent their vocal support to Paul Simon’s legendary album Graceland. In 1990, Phil Everly recorded a duet with Dutch singer René Shuman. In 1994, the version he recorded with Cliff Richard of 'All I Have To Do Is Dream' became a hit in England. Occasionally, the Everly Brothers still performed, such as in 2004 when the brothers appeared as guests during the Simon & Garfunkel concert at the Amsterdam ArenA. The audience responded with great enthusiasm.
Passing
On 3 January 2014, Phil Everly died at the age of 74 due to respiratory ailments. Don Everly passed away on 21 August 2021.
Immediately after Don Everly’s death, Paul Simon told the New York Times he was deeply saddened. 'Phil and Don were the most beautiful-sounding duo I ever heard. Both their voices are innocent and soulful. The Everlys stood at the crossroads of country and R&B. They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.'
Top 2000
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, The Everly Brothers no longer have any entries, which really shouldn’t be the case. The Everly brothers have made an enormous contribution to modern music.
Sunday Morning Classic: EB 84
On 13 February 2022, the Everly brothers are our guests as Sunday Morning Classic with the album EB84, which features their last big hit On the Wings of a Nightingale. That song was written by Paul McCartney.
The tensions between the two brothers began around 1967, especially in the studio. The cause partly lies in years of being constantly together combined with the pressure to come up with another hit (album). A complicating factor was that, roughly speaking, Don could be seen as the artistic half and Phil as the commercial one. Don did not want to make concessions but had to adapt to the record company and his brothers’ decisions. The break was healed in 1983. The brothers kept in touch until Phil’s death. The differences remained the same but the understanding for each other increased somewhat, according to Phil.
EB 84 is an almost forgotten album. The Everly Brothers had hits in the 1950s, really big hits, and maintained their status until about the mid-1960s. The comeback of the Everlys and actually also their farewell. I certainly cannot recall anything serious being released after this album. It is a nice album with songs that fit the brothers very well. Led by rocker Dave Edmunds and with a little help from 'fans' like McCartney and Lynne, it is a pleasant trip down memory lane.
With On the Wings... they still had a well-deserved hit. Yet you do this album a disservice by only referring to that song, a favour from Sir Paul. The Story of Me by Jeff Lynne is also not bad, albeit with less impact than the aforementioned song. Danger Danger, I don’t like much and it doesn’t really sound like an Everly Brothers song. I’m takin’ my Time, on the other hand, does. Of course, by the time of this album, the Everlys had long since earned their stripes in the music world.
source: NPO and various internet sites photo: Ronzoni and public domain
Below you will find a small selection of the released albums. Are you looking for a specific album? Please let us know!
