I was very sad to
hear of the passing of Phil Everly this morning.
The Everly Brothers pretty much originated close harmony singing in popular music; without them, there would have been no Beatles, no Beach Boys and no Simon & Garfunkel. Their music was beautifully constructed, with voices that blended so perfectly that if it wasn’t for the musical interval between them, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were one.
They were contemporaries of Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, touring extensively with them both. Their influence on each other was huge: just listen to Buddy’s ‘Listen to Me’ and ‘Words of Love’, for example; you could easily mistake it for the Everlys.
It was a time of cross-promoting between artists, with both Buddy and Roy actively writing for the duo. Phil and Don also supplied the distinctive “Dum, dum, dum, dum-me-doo-wah” that helped make Orbison’s ‘Only The Lonely’ such a big hit.
The Everly Brothers pretty much originated close harmony singing in popular music; without them, there would have been no Beatles, no Beach Boys and no Simon & Garfunkel. Their music was beautifully constructed, with voices that blended so perfectly that if it wasn’t for the musical interval between them, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were one.
They were contemporaries of Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison, touring extensively with them both. Their influence on each other was huge: just listen to Buddy’s ‘Listen to Me’ and ‘Words of Love’, for example; you could easily mistake it for the Everlys.
It was a time of cross-promoting between artists, with both Buddy and Roy actively writing for the duo. Phil and Don also supplied the distinctive “Dum, dum, dum, dum-me-doo-wah” that helped make Orbison’s ‘Only The Lonely’ such a big hit.
The two brothers
and Buddy were exceptionally close. Phil was even a pallbearer at his
funeral, though Don was too distraught to attend.
The Everly Brothers' influence also stretched across the water to the UK.
The young Lennon & McCartney modeled themselves on the Everlys. Most of the early Beatles hits were built around a strong two-part lead, in the style of the duo; ‘Love Me Do’, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘From Me to You’, ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ were all hugely indebted to both Phil and Don.
It was an influence that continued to the end of The Beatles’ career; during the 1969 session for ‘Two of Us’, the close-harmony melody inspired Paul to ad lib “Take it, Phil”, mid-take. The band then launched into a series of impromptu Everly covers, with all their obvious tensions briefly forgotten.
McCartney also name-checked the Everlys in the 1976 Wings single ‘Let ‘Em In’ and wrote a song personally for them to sing in the 1980s; the oft-forgotten gem ‘On the Wings of a Nightingale’.
The Everly Brothers' influence also stretched across the water to the UK.
The young Lennon & McCartney modeled themselves on the Everlys. Most of the early Beatles hits were built around a strong two-part lead, in the style of the duo; ‘Love Me Do’, ‘Please Please Me’, ‘From Me to You’, ‘She Loves You’ and ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ were all hugely indebted to both Phil and Don.
It was an influence that continued to the end of The Beatles’ career; during the 1969 session for ‘Two of Us’, the close-harmony melody inspired Paul to ad lib “Take it, Phil”, mid-take. The band then launched into a series of impromptu Everly covers, with all their obvious tensions briefly forgotten.
McCartney also name-checked the Everlys in the 1976 Wings single ‘Let ‘Em In’ and wrote a song personally for them to sing in the 1980s; the oft-forgotten gem ‘On the Wings of a Nightingale’.
Sadly, things were not always as harmonious between the duo as their voices would suggest; they broke up acrimoniously for a decade, though eventually managed to patch up their differences.
It’s sad to think that one of those two beautifully pure voices is no longer with us; not only has Don lost a brother, he has also lost the partner with whom he will forever be associated.
Bye Bye Phil: thank you for the music.
It’s sad to think that one of those two beautifully pure voices is no longer with us; not only has Don lost a brother, he has also lost the partner with whom he will forever be associated.
Bye Bye Phil: thank you for the music.