mostly david ephgrave

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 two brothers and Buddy were exceptionally close. Phil was eve...