Saying ‘Bye Bye’ to the Everly Brothers’ Phil, 1939-2014
Saying ‘Bye Bye’ to the Everly Brothers’ Phil, 1939-2014
By Chris Willman
8 hours ago
If not for the Everly Brothers, not only would we not have had the greatest two-part harmonies of the rock era, but we might also have missed out on every set of singers who ever grew up trying to imitate that brotherly love, from the Beatles to Simon & Garfunkel to Crosby, Stills & Nash. There was a reason Lennon and McCartney briefly toyed with the notion of calling themselves the Foreverly Brothers.
Phil and Don are now foreverly on record only. The passing of younger brother Phil Everly at age 74 has classic rock fans everywhere "Crying in the Rain" (or the snow, actually, given the national weather at the time of his Jan. 3 death). The siblings have been essentially retired as a live act since the mid-2000s; had not made an album since the 1980s; had not had a major hit since the early '60s. Yet it seemed unimaginable that we'd never again hear both brothers simultaneously fret about having fallen asleep with little Susie at the drive-in, or lament about having become comic foils for a cruel girl named Cathy. Whatever teen predicaments befell either of them befell both, as they befell generations of thrilled listeners. "Perhaps even more powerfully than Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers melded country with the emerging sound of '50s rock & roll," wrote Paul Simon in an essay saluting the duo as one of Rolling Stone's 100 greatest artists of all time. (The magazine factored them in at No. 33.) Indeed, they're among a handful of acts to claim membership in both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville's like-minded country hall; Neil Young did the introductory honors when the Everlys were among the very first class inducted into the rock institution in 1986. Billboard has cited them as the third-biggest duo in the history of the Hot 100, trailing only Hall & Oates and the Carpenters for chart success, even though nearly all their hits came in the relatively short time span of 1957-62.
Sad but we all must go someday. Life marches on playing its tune. We tag along for a good little piece and then drop off to become dust again. I am old enough to remember them well. -Tyr
18 U.S. Code § 2381-Treason Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
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