Everly Brothers ranked among the most popular and influential American singing duos in rock music history. Don Everly (1937-2021) and Phil Everly (1939-2014) sang in a blend of rock and country music styles. They accompanied their singing on guitars. The brothers influenced such later groups as the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and Simon and Garfunkel.
The Everly Brothers gained their greatest popularity from 1957 to 1962. Their music, aimed at a teenage audience, dealt with such concerns as young love and relations with parents.
The first Everly Brothers hit song was “Bye Bye Love” (1957), which established their style of singing in close harmony over a strong rock beat. Their other hits included “Wake Up Little Susie” (1957), “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (1958), “Bird Dog” (1958), “(Til) I Kissed You” (1959), “Take a Message to Mary” (1959), “When Will I Be Loved” (1960), “Cathy’s Clown” (1960), “Crying in the Rain” (1962), and “That’s Old Fashioned” (1962). The brothers had later hits with “Gone, Gone, Gone” (1964), “The Price of Love” (1965), and “Bowling Green” (1967). Many of their songs were composed by the husband-and-wife team of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, though Don and Phil also wrote some of their music.
Isaac Donald (Don) Everly was born on Feb. 1, 1937, in Brownie, Kentucky. Phillip Everly was born in Chicago on Jan. 19, 1939. Their parents were country music singers. As children, the brothers toured with their parents and sang on their radio program. The brothers moved to Nashville in the mid-1950’s. They signed as songwriters with the publishing company of Wesley Rose and country singer Roy Acuff and turned to singing full-time after the success of “Bye Bye Love.”
Personal conflicts led to the breakup of the brothers as a performing act in 1973. Both pursued solo careers, though neither achieved the success of their earlier years. They reunited in 1983 and recorded and toured together. The Everly Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Phil Everly died on Jan. 3, 2014. Don Everly died on Aug. 21, 2021.
