Brothers influenced generations of musicians
Don Everly, whose soaring harmonies and aggressive rhythm guitar work as part of the Everly Brothers duo with his younger brother, Phil, influenced generations of rock performers, died Aug. 21 at his home in Nashville. He was 84.
The musical harmony of the Everly Brothers could be heard in many acts that followed them, including the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and The Hollies. At their peak, the brothers nearly rivalled Elvis Presley in commercial power.
Their first million-seller, Bye Bye Love (1957), a bouncy synthesis of country and rock buoyed by four guitars, made them one of the top acts in the country and led to appearances on variety programs. They had 31 records in the Billboard Hot 100, with 12 in the top 10.
Don wrote some of their most popular songs, among them ('Til) I Kissed You (1959), Cathy's Clown (1960) and So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) (1960). Phil's compositions included When Will I Be Loved (1960).
The brothers benefited from a relationship with the Nashville husband-and-wife songwriting team of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. The Bryants' lyrics for songs such as All I Have to Do Is Dream, Bird Dog and Wake Up Little Susie captured the longing and drama of teenage love without trivializing it. They also covered rhythm-and-blues songs such as Little Richard's Lucille and Ray Charles's This Little Girl of Mine in their country vocal style. Their ballads included the enduring Let It Be Me (1960).
The duo charted only sporadically after 1962. They quarrelled with their publishing and management company, Acuff-Rose, a move that restricted their access to new songs from the Bryants.
Everly, addicted to uppers and downers, twice attempted to kill himself with an overdose during an English tour in 1962. He received electroshock therapy, which he said blocked his ability to write songs for several years.
The brothers' personal relationship was less harmonious than their music. Their relentless performing over 30 years magnified their sibling rivalry and simmering resentments. They endured long periods when they sang together, but wouldn't talk to each other.
They also fractured on politics, with Phil a conservative and Don a liberal.
Both singers attempted solo careers, with limited success. Although they would reunite in the 1980s, the Everly Brothers officially broke up after a 1973 concert in Buena Vista, Calif. Don came onstage drunk. Irate, the venue's manager stopped the duo in the middle of the show, causing Phil to smash his guitar and walk offstage.
“It was really a funeral,” Don Everly later told Rolling Stone. “People thought that night was just some brouhaha between Phil and me. They didn't realize we had been working our buns off for years. We had never been anywhere without working; had never known any freedom. We were just strapped together like a team of horses . ... It was one of the saddest days of my life.”