Everly Brothers, The

Everly Brothers, The the most popular vocal duo from the rock ’n’ roll 1950s. MEMBERSHIP: Don Everly (b. Brownie, Ky, Feb. 1, 1937); Phil Everly (b. Brownie, Ky, Jan. 19, 1939, although some say Chicago). Don and Phil Everly were taught the guitar at an early age. Their parents, Ike and Margaret, were touring musicians and began hosting a weekly radio show on KMA in Shenandoah, la., in 1945. The brothers began appearing on The Everly Family Show when Don was eight and Phil six. During summers they toured the country circuit with their parents. In 1954, with the help of family friend Chet Atkins, Don was signed to a songwriting contract with Acuff-Rose Publishing, providing Kitty Wells with the major country hit ’Thou Shalt Not Steal,” A year later the brothers moved to Nashville, recording briefly for Columbia Records in late 1955. Early the following year, Wesley Rose became their manager, introducing them to the songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1957.

Signed to Cadence Records, the Everly Brothers scored their first hit in 1957 with “Bye Bye Love” written by the Bryants. The song, like many that followed, became a three-way hit, making the pop, R&B and country- western charts. “Wake Up Little Susie,” written by the Bryants, topped all three charts, as did Boudleaux’s “All I Have to Do Is Dream/7 The Bryants’ “Problems” was both a pop smash and major country hit, and Boudleaux’s “Bird Dog” was a top pop/country/R&B hit. They debuted at the Grande Ole Opry in May and appeared on CBS Television’s Ed Sullivan Show in August. Their major hits through 1958 included Ray Charles’s “This Little Girl of Mine” Roy Orbison’s “Claudette,” and Boudleaux’s “Devoted to You.” The Everly Brothers briefly visited Great Britain in early 1959 and continued their string of pop hits with “Take a Message to Mary” backed with “Poor Jenny” (both by the Bryants). Don’s “(Til) I Kissed You,” recorded with the Crickets, was a pop/country/R&B hit. The tender ballad “Let It Be Me” (their first recording with strings) and Phil’s “When Will I Be Loved” became near-smashes on the pop charts.

In 1960 the Everly Brothers were the first artists signed to the newly formed Warner Brothers label, for a reported $1,000,000. They toured Great Britain in the spring of 1960 and moved to Hollywood in early 1961. Without the services of producer Atkins, they scored a top pop/R&B hit with their own “Cathy’s Clown,” ultimately their biggest selling record. “So Sad” was a near-smash pop/R&B hit, “Walk Right Back” (by Sonny Curtis) a near-smash pop hit, and “Ebony Eyes” (by John D. Loudermilk) a near-smash pop/major country/major R&B hit. Parting company with Wesley Rose in the summer of 1961, the duo’s last major pop hits came in 1962 with “Crying in the Rain” (written by Carole King and Howie Greenfield) and “That’s Old Fashioned.” The brothers joined the Marine Corps Re-serve in late 1961, serving six months of active duty. They reunited with the Bryants for Gone, Gone, Gone, which yielded a moderate hit with their own title song, and recorded Two Yanks in England in London with the assistance of Jimmy Page plus Graham Nash, Allan Clarke and Tony Hicks of the Hollies. The brothers scored a British smash with “The Price of Love” in 1965, and a moderate American pop hit with “Bowling Green” in 1967.

The Everly Brothers’ 1968 Roots was acclaimed as one of the finest early country-rock albums, and in 1970 they hosted The Everly Brothers Show, a summer replacement for The Johnny Cash Show, on ABC-TV. By the early 1970s they had switched to RCA Records, touring and recording the excellent 1972 set Stories We Could Tell with guitarist-keyboardist Warren Zevon and guitarist Waddy Wachtel. However, despite the inclusion of John Sebastian’s title song, Rod Stewart’s “Mandolin Wind,” Jesse Winchester’s “Brand New Tennessee Waltz” and Don’s ironic “I’m Tired of Singing My Songs in Las Vegas,” the album failed to sell, as did Pass the Chicken and Listen, recorded in Nashville with producer Chet Atkins.

On July 14, 1973, Phil Everly smashed his guitar and stormed off stage at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., effectively ending the brothers’ 28-year career. Both pursued solo careers and recorded solo albums. Don recorded Sunset Towers with British guitarist Albert Lee and scored his biggest solo hit in the country field with “Yesterday Just Passed My Way Again” in 1976. Phil performed on albums by John Sebastian, Dion, Warren Zevon (his debut), and J. D. Souther during the 1970s. In 1978 Phil made a cameo appearance in the Clint Eastwood film Every Which Way But Loose, performing “Don’t Say You Don’t Love Me No More” with co- star Sandra Locke. In 1983 Phil managed a moderate country hit with “Who’s Gonna Keep Me Warm” and a major British hit with “She Means Nothing to Me,” recorded with Cliff Richard.

Don and Phil ended their bitter separation in September 1983 with concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The following year they recorded EB ’84 with producer Dave Edmunds, guitarist Albert Lee and keyboardist Pete Wingfield (1975’s “Eighteen with a Bullet”). The album produced a country/pop hit with Paul McCartney’s “On the Wings of a Nightingale.”

They toured with Lee and Wingfield in 1984 and 1986 and recorded Born Yesterday with Edmunds producing. The Everly Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, 1986, and recorded Some Hearts with Brian and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys in 1988. Don’s daughter Erin was briefly married to Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses in 1990. In 1992 Don’s son Edan recorded Dead Flowers with his band Edan for Hollywood Records. Despite a distinguished career, the Everly Brothers were without a record label by the mid 1990s.

The Everly Brothers introduced country harmonies into rock music, with Don usually singing tenor lead and Phil supplying high harmony. Their precise, assured harmonies influenced a whole generation of rock singers, from the Beatles to the Hollies, the Beach Boys to the Byrds, from Simon and Garfunkel to the Eagles. Aided immeasurably by the songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and the guitar playing and production of Chet Atkins, the Everly Brothers recorded songs on topics of concern to teenagers such as parents, school, and young love.

Discography

The Everly Brothers (1958); Songs Our Daddy Taught Us (1958); Best (1959); The Fabulous Style of the Everly Brothers (1960); It’s Everly Time (1960); A Date with the Everly Brothers (1960); Both Sides of an Evening (1961); Folk Songs (1962); Instant Party (1962); Golden Hits (1962); Christmas with the Everly Brothers (1962); Sing Great Country Hits (1963); Very Best (1964); Rock ’n’ Soul (1965); Gone, Gone, Gone (1965); Beat ’ri Soul (1965); In Our Image (1965); Two Yanks in England (1966); Hit Sound (1967); The Everly Brothers Sing (1967); Roots (1968); The Everly Brothers Show (1970); Stories We Could Tell (1972); Pass the Chicken and Listen (1972); Home Again (1985); The Reunion Concert (1984); EB ’84 (1984); Bom Yesterday (1985); Some Hearts (1985).

Bibliography

Phyllis Karpp, Ike’s Boys: The Story of the Everly Brothers (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1988); Consuelo Dodge, The Everly Brothers: Ladies Love Outlaws (Starke, Fla., 1991).

—Brock Helander