The Everly Brothers

Country music declined in popularity throughout the 30’s to the 40’s while rock and roll
started to rise out of nowhere. Whoever thought that someone could combine both styles
successfully? The Everly Brothers transformed the country music that they grew up with and
crossed-over to new grounds with rock and roll. The Everly Brothers started off as a small-town
vocal duo and went on to become one of the most influential artists of the 20 th century. Along with
their many accomplishments and their personal problems, the group can be considered as a
pioneer in the fact that they bridged two different styles of music and are successful for it.

No ever knows that they would one day be one of the most famous artists of all time.
Brought up in Kentucky, Isaac Donald “Don” Everly was born on February 1, 1937, and Philip “Phil”
Everly was born 2 years later on January 19. They were the sons of live-radio entertainers Ike and
Margarete Everly. Don and Phil were taught how to play the guitar at an early age and they sung
with their parents almost regularly on the show in Iowa. By 1950, they were publicly known as
“The Everly Family.” They became very popular in the region, but as people tuned in less and less,
they took the road. While in Knoxville, the family met Chet Atkins, a widely known guitarist. Chet
was very enthusiastic of what he saw in the Everly Brothers and signed them to a 6 month contract
in 1955 with Columbia Records. They only had 1 recording session: they sang 4 songs, but only 2 of
them were released: “The Sun Keeps Shining”, and “Keep A’ Lovin’ Me.” Even then, the songs were
only played by deejays who knew the family. But soon they found their big break when they got a
contract with Archie Bleyer’s Cadence Label. Their first recording session was in March, 1957: they
finally got a hit with “Bye Bye Love” written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The Everly Brothers
were coached by their musical mentor Chet Atkins, and with his help, “Bye Bye Love” reached
number one on the country charts and crossed over to number 2 on the pop charts. There next big
hit was with the then-controversial “Wake Up Little Susie,” dealing with a couple of teenagers and
their little mishaps. In a span of 2 years, the brothers had 6 top ten songs on the country charts and
7 top ten songs on the pop charts. But after these tremendous successes, the Everly Brothers left
Cadence Label in 1960 and signed a ten-year, million-dollar contract with Warners. Even though
this meant losing the Bryant’s songwriting team, they started off well with a couple of hits. Then, in
November 21 1961, the Everly Brothers were drafted into the Marine Corp Reserves for a total of 6
months. On February 18, 1962, Phil and Don were invited on CBS-TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show still in
their uniforms, and 3 months later, they were released from the navy. That’s when things got off
track: 1964, The Year of the British Invasion (which wiped out all other styles for a time.) Their
careers eventually slowed down immensely due to personal problems and drug problems. Don
eventually had a nervous breakdown and had to go to Electro-shock therapy. Arguments between
both Don and Phil led to their break-up: on July 14 1973, the manager came on stage and stopped
the concert. He was angry about Don’s unacceptable performance. Don later announces that The
Everly Brothers have split up. On September 23, 1983, Don and Phil, who have by then established
a career as solo performers, apologized and reunited once again to be a duo. They soon made a few
more hits that made it to the best seller charts.

The Everly Brothers are known to have been a big influence on other artists: The Beatles,
The Hollies, Simon and Garfunkel, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, and the Byrds. Their style of singing
has been described as having very close-harmonies, as well as being thrilling and somewhat urgent.
There band was made up of an acoustic guitar playing a robust beat and a bass player (sometimes
backup singers and background vocals). They were able to keep a modern-pop sound mixed with
the Appalachian music that they grew up with. Though they never sung as “raw” as other artists of
Sun Records, they have been said to execute their songs in such a style that could ultimately
compete against Sun Records and win. They often sung of teenage love from upbeat tunes to
compelling ballads. The songs that they are most known for were written by the Bryants, but Don
and Phil occasionally thought of their own songs. They are best known for their performances of:
Crying in the Rain, Bye Bye Love, Cathy’s Clown, and Wake Up Little Susie. "Phil and Don
transformed the Appalachian folk, bluegrass and country sounds of their Kentucky boyhood into a
richly harmonized form of rock and roll,” said The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Don was always
singing the melody while Phil sung the harmonies. They are famous for being one of the first few
artists to not only have a major impact on country music but also receiving major hits on the pop
charts. That is why they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and received the
Grammy Life Time Achievement Award: “Even though the hits stopped flowing in 1962, The Everly
Brothers influence continued to spread.”

Usual all celebrities hit a brick wall with drug problems and controversies that pull them
down. Unfortunately, The Everly Brothers met the same problem. Don became addicted to Ritalin in
1961. Back then, Ritalin was considered a healthy vitamin mixed with drugs. Don eventually tried to
commit suicide to stop his addiction, but was stopped and taken to Electro-shock therapy. He
collapsed on stage many times. Phil was also pulled into the world of addiction when he found out
about “speed.” After getting cleaned, both brothers joined the navy for 6 months. There, Don
married Venetia Stevenson, a movie starlette, in California. Five days later he was invited onto the
Ed Sullivan Show; they had a son and 2 daughters (one of the daughters later on briefly married Axl
Rose, the lead singer of Guns N’ Roses.) By then, The British Invasion had started and the Brothers
had stopped coming up with hits. Though they even had their own special program on CBS, they
never had the same fame. Multiple arguments led to their breakup in 1973. By 1983 the brothers
had made up and were united as a singing duo group.

From their humble beginnings in Iowa to their dramatic breakup and finally to their
reunion, the Everly Brothers have made many achievements in the world of music and constructed
a bridge between two diverse styles of music. That is why the Everly Brothers are so significant and
will always be well remembered.