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The Everly Brothers

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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 a pair of male siblings who were top-selling country-influenced rock and roll performers, best known for their Steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing. They had their greatest period of chart success between 1957 and 1961.

The elder brother was born in Brownie, a now-defunct coal mining town located outside of Central City, Kentucky. Phil Everly was born in Chicago. The sons of country musicians, Ike and Margaret Embry Everly, the Everly Brothers grew up in the state of Iowa. They performed with their parents on live radio and in small-market live shows in the midwest.

Style

In addition to both being competent guitarists, the brothers used a style of close harmony singing in which each brother sang a tune that could 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]

Early career

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, and #1 on both the Country, and the R & B charts. The song, written by the songwriting husband and wife 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 U.S. and the UK, the biggest of which were "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," and "Bird Dog."

In 1960, when they signed with Warner Bros. Records, they continued to have hits. Their first hit with WB, 1960's "Cathy's Clown", launched the brothers back to the top of the charts. It was released as number WB1, the first release in the United Kingdom by Warner Brothers Records. Other singles followed, such as "Crying In The Rain" (1963) and "The Ferris Wheel" (from 1964), but the years after 1962 saw the Everly Brothers become less commercially viable than before. Their enlistment in the United States Marine Corps in 1963, to meet military obligations, took them somewhat out of the spotlight immediately before The Beatles (whose close harmonies were modeled on the Everlys) broke loose in the United States and changed the pop-music landscape.

Warner Brothers released a "Golden Hits" album in 1962, which included their Warner Brothers hits, from "Cathy's Clown" to "That's Old-Fashioned" (their last Top 10 hit) in 1962. The 1964 Warner Brothers album, "The Very Best Of The Everly Brothers", included new versions of six of their Cadence hits (re-recorded in Nashville), along with six original Warner Brothers hits. Some of these re-recordings are sometimes played and mistaken for the originals, such as "Devoted To You" and "Dream". In 1963, Cadence came out with a more complete album of those original hits, titled "15 Everly Hits".

The 1963-64 period includes some non-hits, like "Hello Amy", "So It Always Will Be", and "Nancy's Minuet". They are found currently on some reissues.

The Break-Up of the Everly Brothers

The duo broke up in 1973, but reformed in 1983 with a new album produced by Dave Edmunds. "On the Wings of a Nightingale", written by Paul McCartney for the brothers, became a hit single in both the US and UK, and their 1983 Reunion Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London 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."

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 joint lead vocalist, was a 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 UK Top 20 hit.

Even though the brothers have not produced any new studio albums since their 1989 album "Some Hearts", they still continue to tour and perform. Throughout their career, and to this day, they have been known to collaborate extensively with other performers, usually singing either backup vocals or duets.

As an example of this, Don Everly recorded a duet with Emmylou Harris in 1979, "Everytime You Leave", on her album "Blue Kentucky Girl" [4]

Furthermore, in 2006, Phil Everly sang a duet, "Sweet Little Corrina", with country singer Vince Gill on his much acclaimed album These Days. [5] He has previously supplied harmony vocals on J.D. Souther's "White Rhythm and Blues" on his 1979 album "You're Only Lonely".

Legacy

The Everly Brothers have had a total of 26 Billboard Top 40 singles. In 1986, they were among the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 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 them #33 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[7].

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 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.

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 of the show for three songs In the liner notes to the Old Friends CD. The Everlys were brought in the middle of the show as "a way to telling the story of Simon of Garfunkel". For Paul Simon, it was not the first time he got to preform with his heroes. In 1986, The Everlys played harmonies on the title track of Simon's landmark album Graceland.

Discography - Albums

Discography - Singles

Charted hits in the US (Billboard) and UK, and notable singles: 

                                              US   UK        label     notes
 1. Keep A-Lovin' Me /The Sun Keeps Shining            1956 Columbia   
 2. Bye Bye Love                              # 2  # 6 1957 Cadence    US: Gold, C&W #1
 3. Wake Up Little Suzie                        1    2          "      US: Gold, C&W/R&B #1
 4. This Little Girl Of Mine                   26      1958
 5. All I Have To Do Is Dream                   1    1                 US: Gold, C&W/R&B #1
       /Claudette                              30    1
 6. Bird Dog                                    1    2                 US: Gold, C&W #1
       /Devoted To You                         10      
 7. Problems                                    2    6 1958
 8. Take a Message To Mary    _   _   _   _    16   20 1959
       /Poor Jenny                             22   14
 9. Til I Kissed You                            4    2
10. Let It Be Me                                7   13 1960 
11. When Will I Be Loved                        8    4   "     "
12. Like Strangers                             22   11 1960 Cadence
13. Cathy's Clown                               1    1 1960 Warner Br  US: Gold, R&B #1
14. So Sad                                      7    4   "     "
       /Lucille                                21    4   "     "
15. Walk Right Back     _   _   _   _   _   _   7    1 1961    "
       /Ebony Eyes                              8    1   "
16. Temptation                                 27    1   
17. Don't Blame Me                             20   20
       /Muskrat                                82   20
18. Crying In the Rain                          6    6 1962
19. That's Old Fashioned                        9    -
       /How Can I Meet Her                     75   12
20. Don't Ask Me To Be Friends                 48    - 1962
       /No One Can Make My Sunshine Smile     117   11
21. So It Always Will Be                      116   23 1963
       /Nancy's Minuet                        107    -
22. It's Been Nice                            101   26   "
23. The Girl Sang the Blues                     -   25
       /Love Her                              117    -
24. Ain't That Loving You Baby                133    - 1964
       /Hello Amy                               -    -
25. The Ferris Wheel                           72   22   "
26. Gone Gone Gone     _   _   _   _   _   _   31   36
       /Torture                                 -    -
27. You're My Girl                            110    - 1965
28. That'll Be the Day                        111   30
29. The Price of Love                         104    2
30. I'll Never Get Over You                     -   35
31. Love Is Strange                           128   11
       /Man With Money
32. It's All Over                               -    -
33. Lovey Kravezit                              -    - 1966
34. The Power Of Love    _   _   _   _   _      -    -   "
35. Bowling Green                              40    - 1967
36. Love Of the Common People                 114    - 1967
37. It's My Time                              112   39 1968
38. T For Texas                                 -    - 1969 Warner Br   
39. On the Wings Of a Nightingale              50      1984 Mercury     US: #9 on the AC chart
40. The Story Of Me                             -    - 1984 Mercury   
41. Born Yesterday                                     1986 Mercury     US: #17 on the AC chart
42. Don't Worry Baby (with the Beachboys)       -    - 1988 Capitol

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. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Kentucky-Girl-Remastered-Expanded/dp/B00013MS9M
  5. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ipxuak8kdm3v~T1
  6. ^ 'The Everly Brothers' Vocal Group Hall of Fame Page
  7. ^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone Issue 946. Rolling Stone.

External links

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