The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers were a popular American musical duo consisting of brothers Don and Phil Everly. First appearing on the music scene in the mid-1950s, the Everly Brothers were among the first major stars of the emerging rock and roll genre. Recognized for their signature steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing, the Everly Brothers quickly became one of the most successful musical acts of their era. Some of their most popular works included hit songs like “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.” Despite their initial success, however, the Everly Brothers’ popularity waned in the 1960s as ground-breaking bands like The Beatles rose to the forefront of the rock and roll scene. The Everly Brothers went their separate ways professionally for a time in 1970s and 1980s. Although they eventually got back together to perform live and released a few more records, the Everly Brothers never returned to their hit-making roots. Their history as an act ultimately ended when Phil Everly passed away on January 19, 2014.

Background

The Everly Brothers arrived on the music scene just as rock and roll was beginning to take off. A wildly popular musical genre that first appeared in the United State in the mid-1950s, rock and roll took the world by storm and changed the nature of popular music forever. Rock and roll’s historic roots can be traced back to traditional African American musical genres such as blues and gospel. In years leading up to rock and roll’s debut, many African American vocal groups began experimenting with a new musical style that meshed traditional gospel harmonies and call-and-response style singing with especially aggressive rhythm-and-blues rhythms and simple lyrics. While the sound they created was undeniable catchy, the realities of widespread racial discrimination and segregation meant that these artists were largely denied any meaningful airtime. Still, the few disc jockeys who chose to spin early African American rock and roll records, including Cleveland’s Alan Freed and Memphis’ William “Hoss” Allen, quickly found that the songs drew considerable interest from young audiences.

In hopes of cashing in on the emerging genre by tailoring it to appeal to a broader audience, many record companies hired white artists to cover African American songs. However, since white artists struggled to recreate the soulful performances that made the original songs work, early efforts in this endeavor were largely unsuccessful. To bring rock and roll to the masses, record producers had to find white artists with performance styles to match African American musicians.

One of the key figures in this search was Memphis record producer Sam Phillips. In 1954, Phillips found what he was looking for in an up-and-coming artist named Elvis Presley. Presley’s deep Southern voice and famous gyrating hips made him the ideal choice for facilitating rock and roll’s transition to the mainstream. As soon as he hit the airwaves, Presley was an instant smash and quickly took his place as the king of rock and roll. Moreover, his success cleared the way for other artists, black and white alike, to emerge as rock and roll superstars.

Overview

Don Everly was born on February 1, 1937, in Brownie, Kentucky. His brother, Phil Everly, was born on January 19, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois. The brothers’ parents, Ike and Margaret Everly, were both country music singers. As a result, Phil and Don became performers themselves from a young age, getting their professional start singing country tunes on their family’s Iowa radio show as early as 1945. With his sons showing real promise, the Ike Everly moved the family to Nashville in 1955 in hopes of finding an opportunity for them to break into the country music scene. About a year later, the Everly Brothers inked a deal to record with Columbia Records. That effort yielded “Keep a-Lovin’ Me,” a single composed by budding songwriter Don that quickly flopped and brought an end to the brothers’ relationship with Columbia.

After their departure from Columbia, the Everly Brothers eventually met music publisher Wesley Rose of Acuff-Rose Music. Rose promised the help the brothers get a record deal in exchange for them signing with Acuff-Rose as songwriters. The Everlys took the offer. In March 1957, Rose secured the brothers a recording contract with Cadence Records. At Cadence, the Everly Brothers moved away from traditional country music and instead recorded a series of songs penned by songwriters Boudleaux and Felice Bryant that were infused with catchy rhythm-and-blues rhythm patterns. Their first Cadence single was “Bye Bye Love,” a popular foot-tapper that shot to number two on the charts upon its release. Over the next three years, the Everly Brothers released a string of equally successful follow-up singles that included “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” and “When Will I Be Loved.” These and other songs earned the Everly Brothers critical acclaim as two of the most talented and innovative artists of their era. Moreover, their success placed the Everly Brothers at the heart of the rapidly emerging rock and roll scene.

The Everly Brothers’ streak of success and stardom continued until the early 1960s. Around that time, a number of changes forced the duo out of the limelight. After leaving Acuff-Rose in 1961, the brothers moved to California and began recording a series of singles that proved to be too experimental for their fans’ tastes. The split from Acuff-Rose also meant that the brothers no longer had access to songs written by the Bryants. In addition, the duo’s touring schedule was greatly reduced after both brothers left the road to briefly enlist in the Marines. Don also developed a prescription drug problem that likely contributed to the duo’s woes. In addition, like many other acts of their time, the Everly Brothers found themselves nearly forgotten when The Beatles became popular in the United States and completely revolutionized the rock and roll landscape.

Despite their decline in popularity, the Everly Brothers continued to record, most notably releasing an innovative but largely unsuccessful country-rock record called Roots in 1968. In 1973, the brothers split up professionally and went their separate ways for about a decade before eventually reuniting and resuming their touring and recording career. Their final album together was 1989’s Some Hearts. The Everly Brothers’ act reached its conclusion when Phil passed away at the age of seventy-four on January 3, 2014, as a result of complications tied to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Bibliography

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Stempel, Jonathan. “Don Everly Sues Brother Phil’s Family Over ‘Cathy’s Clown.’” Reuters, 10 Nov. 2017, www.reuters.com/article/us-music-everlybrothers-lawsuit/don-everly-sues-brother-phils-family-over-cathys-clown-idUSKBN1DA2NT. Accessed 9 July 2020.

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