The Smiley Smile Message Board

What a loss. I grew up on the Everly Bros. harmonies. Their music will be forever a part of my life.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-phil-everly-of-the-everly-brothers-dies-at-74-20140103,0,2091176.story

The news just came over the radio. I was just getting ready to post this. They were a big influence on the Beach Boys and the Beatles. Many others as well.

R.I.P.
I can't believe this.
In fact, I only found out just now through this thread.

Guess there's no chance of a Everly Brothers reunion.
Wonder what Don's reaction was?

Oh, man, that's sad to hear.

RIP, Sad to hear.

RIP very sad. :(

And what's really creepy is, last night I had a dream in which I was singing the song "Alll I Have To Do Is Dream."  :'(

The dream also had a Carpenters song in it, so if Richard Carpenter bites the dust any time soon, you can blame me!

sh*t.  :(

Sad news indeed. My love for the Everly Bros. predates my love for the BB.

Man, That's very sad to hear.  :-[

RIP

I had the great fortune of seeing the Everly Brothers perform together as part of Simon & Garfunkel's Old Friends tour. 

Such a beautiful sound he and Don had together, very sad news indeed.

I just learned that Phil Everly died of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The same thing that killed my dad n 2009. This both saddens me and pisses me off. My dad fought for eight years with it. It felt more like twenty. What an evil bastard of a disease.  >:( Sorry to "rant" a little here. May Phil rest in peace. I hope that wherever he is now, he's feeling like his old self again, happy and healthy.

This sucks that all the legends are starting to pass, in fact it's becoming a monthly occurrence. I'm digging out my Everly Brothers cds today to pay my respects. Their influence on Rock and Roll is immeasurable. No Everlys = no Beatles. RIP you Birddog.

Oh sh*t, no.. :-\  R.I.P., Phil. Thank you for all the beauty.



(...)




That's it - this is going to be an Everly kind of a saturday. >:( Take that, death!!


(http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/90833575/Rock+cover.jpg)
(http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/94997491/The+Ballads+of+the+Everly+Brothers+5397102173257.jpg)

Just saw it on TV. I'm really sad about this. The Everlys were such a great act! R.I.P.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEO3K7msUcE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF4FXPKDeOU

RIP Phil

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/phil-everly-rip.html

It's already been said; the Everlys were the best.

Didn't know his mom was still alive. She must be one tough ol' gal.

Fron Brian's Facebook page:

Some trivia: Phil was the owner of the Everly Music Company, maker of a.o. Everly guitar strings.

The Everly Brothers were spectacular.  I was fortunate enough to see them during their reunion tour in the '80's.  Their "Roots" album is beautiful.  All the early hits are timeless, and I also love their "Pass the Chicken and Listen" album.  I'd also recommend lesser known songs like "Empty Boxes", "The Lord of the Manor" and "On My Way Home Again".  Phil will be missed greatly, may he rest in peace.  I'll do my crying in the rain...

Well..........I dunno about that.

Why? When you hear John and Paul harmonizing, you are hearing them imitating the Everly Brothers.

The Everly's were one of many influences on the Beatles. If the Everly Bros. weren't around, that doesn't mean the Beatles wouldn't have existed.  Sometimes the Beatles were referred to as the English Everly Brothers. Here's a comparison of their early stuff though - the harmonies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBJF1jDml6I

I'm so glad I got to see the Everly Bros. singing live.  I caught them at a county fair a few years after their first reunion, and went back to see them three more times. They had some kind of third element that would come in when their two voices combined. I've seen a lot of live acts singing live harmony, but none of them had that quality that the brothers had. It's just too bad they didn't get along better and continue with touring, because according to Phil's son, he could still sing in spite of the lung problem.

The Everlys appeared with the Beach Boys on their 25th anniversary special. I had forgotten about it until looking for some Everly clips. The Everlys did "Don't Worry Baby" (which they had done for the "Tequila Sunrise" film soundtrack), lip-synced a bit of "Getcha Back" with the Boys, and a little bit of "Wake Up, Little Susie":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E0lRlXq3tc

Funny your posting this clip, as one of the comments  is a supposed? Lennon quote refuting your post:   

>>Without the Everly Brothers, There would have been no Beatles": John Lennon <<

Also no Simon and Garfunkel.

Lennon was obviously paying tribute to one of their influences. Like he often did with Presley, Berry, Holly, Cochran, Little Richard, Perkins, Dylan, Rory Storm,  and Cliff Richard to name a few off the top.

And no Beach Boys.

Don Everly released a statement, posted on Billboard. 

"I loved my brother very much. I always thought I'd be the one to go first. I was listening to one of my favorite songs that Phil wrote and had an extreme emotional moment just before I got the news of his passing. I took that as a special spiritual message from Phil saying good-bye. Our love was and will always be deeper than any earthly differences we might have had. The world might be mourning an Everly Brother, but I'm mourning my brother Phil Everly. My wife Adela and I are touched by all the tributes we're seeing for Phil and we thank you for allowing us to grieve in private at this incredibly difficult time."

I got to see them in 1984, 87, and 89. The 1987 show was the most special because by then they had recorded a couple albums of new material, and played a few of them in the show. Also had great seats for that one. But the 89 show had some exceptional moments, several standing ovations during the show, including a long one for "All I Have to Do Is Dream". And that was the one and only time I met them - briefly, as they were headed out to the van after the show. They signed my copy of "Some Hearts". I should put it in a frame now. RIP Phil

Yes..really sad news about Phil.   He really was one of my heroes (along with his brother Don).

I had a chance to meet them back about 20 years ago, and after all the years in the business and all the fans and all the comments etc...they were still sweet, gracious and very nice to hear what I had to say. 

Lonely Summer mentioned their 1989 album and song (written by Don) called SOME HEARTS....

The lyrics are about a lost love, but also about the hope to love again:

Some hearts will break
Some hearts will mend
Some hearts just take
Some hearts just give
Some hearts will die
Some hearts just live

But some hearts
Fall in love again
Just when the daylight seems dark as the night
Someone will come along and turn on the lights
And let love in, where it's never been before
Some hearts are worth waiting for…..

It's a shame to lose Phil, but a song like this fills me with hope that my heart will mend and life will go on...

As it usually does.

RIP PHIL.

Dogbone

Thanks for posting!
I just saw an interview with Phil from the late 80s and he said something along those lines, too. He said that no matter what differences there might be, the love of two people who sing so close in harmony together is greater than everything.



This comes from A-Ha:

‘SERENDIPITOUSLY INTERTWINED’
…i’ll do my crying in the rain.

the world of music has lost one of its signature voices.
phil everly has passed away.

from the musical legacy of the everly brothers we knew growing up in norway, to the personal encounters with phil and don around the world many years later…

from the beautiful guitars they generously gave us for xmas one year in the late 80s, to ‘crying in the rain’ – the song we recorded as a tribute to them, but which became a hit for us too, thus reminding us with every show we subsequently played…

whilst musical generations apart, the everly brothers and a-ha somehow became serendipitously intertwined.

early on our relationship to the everly brothers was perhaps chiefly that they had been a main source of inspiration for one of our own main sources of inspiration; the beatles.

later on, a much more personal and interesting bond was forged through the relationship the everlys had with terry slater. terry was previously a bassplayer for the everly brothers back in the 60′s, a very close, longstanding friend of phil’s…and then went on to become a-ha’s first manager.

through their close friendship, we were given some early glimpses into a world to come: our first ever visit to the backstage dressing-rooms at the royal albert hall (the everly reunion concert in 1983), our first ride in a limousine after a concert through a crowd of devoted fans outside, and so on…

many a night on a tour bus somewhere, we would sit and listen to terry tell stories about life on the road with the everlys, and i still remember a word of wisdom evidently originating from phil and don’s father, which went something like this: ‘you can break two sticks, one after the other – but hold them together and they cannot be broken.’

now a big branch has fallen, but together or apart each of the everly brothers contributed to a musical oevre which continues to inspire, fascinate and comfort new generations of music lovers around the world.

we were lucky enough in our lives to know phil everly a little bit, and we hope some of his wry sense of humour and generous nature has rubbed off on us all.
his sweet voice will be sorely missed.

our thoughts go to patti, jason, chris, and the rest of the everly family-tree.
r.i.p. phil.

lots of love
from a-ha

RIP Phil Everly. :'(

  RIP Phil Everly

 No offense to Don, but Phil was my fave of the two for some reason. Sad he has left us.

 The Bros 1968 LP ROOTS is an unsung masterpiece of Americana. Trust me, you'll like it.

July 15th 2000, I attended Pet Sounds Tour Concert inHarrisburg PA.   Few short weeks later, on September15th , I saw the Everly Brothers at a Kentucky homecoming performance following their stint in Las Vegas.  Does not seem to be almost14 years ago.......

Condolences to big brother on.

Simon & Garfunkel, Peter & Gordon & The Hollies all acknowledged the influence of The Everly Brothers, and they all recorded cover versions of Everly Brothers hits.

[/quote]






Mikie, I was just thinking of those two songs.    You're exactly right.    the comparison is clear and I cant think of another comparison.

I feel the same way. I have 4 of Phil's solo albums, only one of Don's. Maybe it's the just feeling that I am hearing a rare treat hearing Phil sing lead for a change. And maybe just that, of the two, he seemed to be the really kind one - a very gentle soul in an often brutal business.

A tribute to Phil Everly:

http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/phil-everly-tribute.html

I believe some of the last recordings by the Everly Brothers are as part of Don's son's solo album "Songs from bikini atoll". You can listen here: http://www.edaneverly.com/store.html


The time they were touring with Simon & Grafunkel has to be among the last times they were on stage with each other. Does anybody know if there are recordings from later?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Doem-_tfMuY

Phil also had a big hit in England in '82 with Cliff Richard, "She Means Nothing to Me".  My favorite of his solo albums is "Star Spangled Springer".

The Everly Brothers were also where Warren Zevon, another of my favorites that left us too soon, got his start.

Pity Bill Medley's voice was shot for that recording of In My Room with Phil and Brian

I just picked up that album Saturday night at my favorite used record store. Looks like the only one of Phil's solo albums I am missing now is from the 80's, I don't think it was even released in the US.

One of my favorite Everly songs is "It's all over". It is also one of the only, if not the only lead vocal Phil had (on the bridge) if I'm not mistaken. Anyway here's Don's solo demo recording. I think it's not only beautiful but also so poignant in the days after Phil's passing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aonocJnMyaY

Found this on facebook.

>>>>> PHIL EVERLY'S LAST INTERVIEUW <<<<<
>>>>> WITH PASTE NET - MAGAZINE <<<<
................Published on January 4, 2014

When Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones recorded their own version of the Everly Brothers’ Songs Our Daddy Taught Us, we tracked Phil Everly to talk to him about the album. We couldn’t know that he’d pass away a few weeks later, just shy of his 75th birthday. Here is what we believe to be his last official interview:

With his co-vocalist brother Don, singer Phil Everly helped lay the very foundations for rock’n’roll, which included such surprising left turns as Songs Our Daddy Taught Us, the “American Gothic”-stark sophomore album from 1958 that still continues to stun (and/or haunt) new generations of artists, like Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones, who recreated it, note for note, on “Foreverly.” When I interviewed him last month before his unexpected death yesterday at the age of 74, his life was much less hectic, as he quietly oversaw the Everly Music Company in Southern California. But that didn’t mean he’d stopped making music. “My son and I run a string company, and he has a studio there, and I go down sometimes and we’ll record,” he said. “Like last year, I did some Christmas things, but I just do that for myself. So if I do end up doing something, it’s just because it’ll be fun.” Which is why he was seriously considering tracking his own version of Green Day’s poignant “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” as a way of saying thanks to his new punk rock benefactor Armstrong. “Because that song is very similar to a Boudleaux Bryant song. When you put the harmony to the last line, it just reminds me of that feel—it’s a really good song,” he added, in a rare interview he granted to Paste for the “Foreverly” occasion.

PASTE: Songs Our Daddy Taught Us has almost every dark traditional but “Knoxville Girl,” it seems. It’s just incredible.
PHIL EVERLY: You know your songs. These were the traditional songs that we grew up singing, because we started out in radio with our mom and dad, and those were the songs that we sang. So we knew them—it was just a matter of doing them. And it was kind of strange to have done it. But it was part of our tradition, so we just did it.

PASTE: And The Everly Brothers had already scored all these chart hits. It was quite a creative gamble to put “Songs” out for a second album.
PHIL EVERLY: Well, there was some reason other than that, that eludes me right now. But it was perfectly natural. And you know, it’s all live and it was very easy to do. And I think it was at the transitional period where we had another album to do for [initial imprint] Cadence, and then we were going to go to Warner Brothers. So all of that comes into play. But we didn’t think in those terms back in the old days. Only now, in modern times, is it acceptable for you to keep doing the same thing, over and over and over. But in the beginning of rock and roll, there was always innovation. Artists were always trying to do something new and something different. And I find that [vintage mindset] true for Billie Joe Armstrong—it’s very unusual for him to have done this.

PASTE: Have you heard the entire Foreverly album yet?
PHIL EVERLY: Well, the two pieces that I have heard are just really, really sensational, really good. I heard “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine” the other day, and they did it a little faster, and it’s really quite interesting. It’s one of my favorite songs, anyway, but it was always hard for me. On the last tour my brother and I did in England, we were doing an acoustic set in the middle of it, and we would do that one. And it’s a real hard song to sing—it just brings up that…that emotional feeling. But Billie Joe and Norah do a great job with it.

PASTE: And they put a funky flamenco topspin on “Kentucky.”
PHIL EVERLY: Well, it had a rhythmic feel to it in the old days, in the original one that we did. The timing on it is very funny. But it’s all very interesting stuff, and an interesting comparison, these two things.

PASTE: Norah said that she’d heard “Barbara Allen” had been sung since nearly medieval times.
PHIL EVERLY: Oh, really? That’s surprising! But that’s the wonderful thing about music. And that’s still a great story, isn’t it?

PASTE: As a kid, was there a point where you went ‘Uh, dad? These songs kinda scare us’?
PHIL EVERLY: That’s an interesting question. But you know, it’s a little like…like gore. When you’re young, you really like gore anyhow, so I think I just found those songs really interesting. And there are other songs, too, like “The Rosewood Casket.” But it was just so traditional for us, when we sang in the family. And we were singing every morning, and you’d sing almost any given thing. So Don and I were doing those songs, plus what for us were very modern things, like The Dell Sisters, some of their things. So there’s also the fact that “Barbara Allen” lasts, the fact that the music itself is so good, it holds up. Especially in harmony—it really lends itself to that.

PASTE: So you and Don truly never consider performing together again?
PHIL EVERLY: No, you couldn’t get me to go travel around and sit in a hotel room again. I have no interest in doing that. So everybody’s happy. I am, at 74. Some people like doing it, but I never was much for that, anyway. It’s a lot of work. So the only thing I miss about all of it is the camaraderie of the tour, but that doesn’t offset the rest of it. So it’s not something that we’re going to do.

PASTE: It’s curious to note your “Songs” lineage. Like the Gene Autry-popularized “Silver Haired Daddy.”
PHIL EVERLY: With Gene Autry, it’s kind of funny. I grew up as a Roy Rogers fan, of course. And in my old age, it’s kind of funny—at night, what I like to do is watch TV when I go to sleep. And what I really like is to put on a Gene Autry film, because he sings really well. So he sings me to sleep. And it’s amazing, how many songs you know that he caused you to know.

PASTE: But you have quite a few of your own.
PHIL EVERLY: Have you heard our Pass the Chicken and Listen album? It’s a strange damn title, but Chet Atkins produced it. So for anybody who’s actually interested in our stuff and wanted to hear something, they ought to listen to that album. It’s a very interesting album. I don’t sit around and listen to our stuff at all—it’s just what I remember. And my favorite song on the thing is called “Lay it Down, Brother.” But whenever people talk about Don and I recording again—which almost everybody usually mentions—I always say ‘Well, there’s plenty of things that you haven’t heard! Plenty of things out there to discover!’

PASTE: Are you bracing yourself for a sudden uptick in Everly Brothers iTunes sales?
PHIL EVERLY: Well, that’s an interesting thing, and it’s a whole new world out there. I don’t keep up on things like that, but I’ve got a young wife, so I’m usually aware of something current. But I don’t know as much about it as probably I should. But this [Foreverly collaboration] has been an interesting thing, because Songs was such a strange album anyway. But it was one of our things that we always liked, and it was so much a part of our life, our heritage. So it’s kind of nice to see somebody who’s brave enough to do the same thing, all over again

My parents introduced me to Phil and Don when they bought Songs Our Daddy Taught Us in 1958.  I was too young to understand the sentiment of such songs as "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," but loved "Bird Dog" and "Problems" - both on a record of singles they put out in 1959.  "Problems" was later done by Chris Hillman (another big fan of the Everly Brothers) and Herb Pedersen in 2002, on their Way Out West album.

I hope Don is doing okay. I haven't read or heard much about him in recent years. I read an interview with Albert Lee in which he said he'd stayed in touch with Phil, but not so much with Don, even though Don is the person who first used him on his solo work in the early '70s.

I also read that one reason the Everlys stopped touring is that Don refused to lower the keys of their songs, which Phil requested. That might sound insensitive, but I think they would have lost a lot of that magical sound if they did lower the keys. It's not like Don was singing that much lower than Phil, even though his part did tend to be the lowest by a few notes. I read that Don quit smoking back in 1970 and that Phil didn't until well into his 60s, and that may have made the difference in their ability to still hit the notes.

They did lower the key on at least one song in the 80's - Crying in the Rain, and it sounded fine. I notice a lot of older artists doing that, and in a lot of cases, it works fine. Burton Cummings has dropped a lot of his Guess Who stuff down a step, no problem. Better to do that than find yourself straining for notes that aren't there anymore. I think the Everlys just got tired of touring. After the 3 albums they did in the 80's, they couldn't come to an agreement on any further recording. Don wanted them to do an album of old country songs, kind of a Songs Our Daddy Taught Us 2. I don't know what Phil wanted, maybe he felt he'd proved himself, didn't have anything left. It's gotta be discouraging when you have tried umpteen times to "come back", and the records only sell modestly or poorly. They didn't do too bad in the 80's, but they were too country for the pop stations, and country stations thought of them as rock 'n' rollers.

Phil mentioned in some interviews that he just doesn't want to go on tour. Dunno if there were other reasons as well.

Here's an appearance by Don in 2011 at a Paul Simon show. I haven't seen or heard other recent appearances by him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1QGjEmo-_c

My favorite song of theirs is Let It Be Me, I like how in the bridges it sounds like one of them is playing acoustic and the other is playing electric.  I'm not sure if that's how they recorded it, just always imagined it that way.  I think it's a very impressive song. 

When I was a kid I really liked "Wake Up Little Susie" too. 

My dad used to tell me this story all the time where he and his girlfriend saw them at a club one night, they went in and didn't even know anybody was going to perform, so they got a table right near the stage, and then the Everly Brothers came out and played.  This would have been in California sometime in the early 80's.  He said they were amazing and he was so thrilled that he got to see them, and be sitting 10 feet from them the whole show.

Thanks for that clip. Good to see Don looking well. Perhaps Phil was right about lowering the keys, because Don sounds a little strained on the high notes there. It also seems as though both brothers were ready to retire. Nice that they left on a high note. Phil was still active with his son's guitar string company, so he was having a good life himself after retirement.

There are a few recent clips on youtube where Phil is promoting the guitar strings, and he sure looks healthy and happy.

There's also what might be the last "new" recording of him we will hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slYfs2HFLCI

Phil also had the idea behind Warren Zevon's biggest hit... Warren was in the Everly Brothers touring band, and Phil was talking about a great old English horror film, saying that Warren should do a song and name it after the movie - thus was born "Werewolves of London"!  Phil thought they should write it with the idea of it becoming a dance craze, everyone would be doing the "werewolves of London" dance. Took 15 minutes to write the tune...

r.i.p. :(

I saw the EBs on their 1984 Reunion tour.. Nov 9th, 1984 at the Cornwall Coliseum, Carlyon Bay, St. Austell.
(Was living and working in England at the time.) Was a great show! They were amazing. Still have my stub and program.

RIP Phil

It's Phil's birthday today.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LgmCvMNr7g

These pictures were posted on Facebook. They were take on May 20th 2013:


http://davidwalterbanks.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Phil-Everly/G0000t6klHPmgRco/I0000E6_GrbNyRBM


http://davidwalterbanks.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Phil-Everly/G0000t6klHPmgRco/I0000APudxaGmvwI

It's going to take me a long time to get over Phil's death. The Everlys music just speaks to me in way most other stuff doesn't. And the great thing is, there's so much of it. I have maybe 10-15 of their albums, and that's only scratching the surface.

The Rhino 4-CD box set Heartaches & Harmonies is a quite comprehensive anthology, but there are a lot of essentials tracks that couldn't be squeezed in. And even in the 20 or so years since it out, there have been several releases of unheard demos and alternate takes.  I have the feeling there's a lot of Everly music that we still have yet to hear, which is sure for the best.

 As one of the articles after Phil's passing pointed out, the quality of their work - even on albums, where a lot of their contemporaries were found lacking - is extraordinarily consistent, right into the era after their reunion. 

I was out of the country when Phil died, and his passing shook me.  Not least, because though born in Chicago and raised in Iowa, his (and Don's) Kentucky roots ran so deep, spiritually, that their music always makes me proud I was born in that state.

 I saw them perform at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville in 1985. It was the closest they had come to their parents' hometown of Central City since they got back together and I heard that close to a hundred of their kinfolk came up for it and were in the front rows. "It's sure good to see your faces after so long," said Don between songs.   Easily among the three or four greatest shows I ever witnessed.

One thing that came to mind was that the Everlys never did get the Kennedy Center Honors treatment.  There's no doubt that Dylan, Brian and Sir Paul, to mention three such honorees, would say they deserved to be among that number. 

Definitely! I thought it was very nice when Little Richard showed up to honor Chuck Berry a dozen or so years ago - still waiting for the roles to be reversed.

Everly Brothers' legacy saluted at Americana Music Assn. show

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-everly-brothers-tribute-americana-bonnie-raitt-20140126,0,7554842.story#ixzz2radKK6BA



Crowell read a letter from Don, who did not attend, with his first extensive public comment on his brother’s death.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there in person,” Everly wrote, “and really appreciate the recognition. Right now, I’m mourning the loss of my little brother and suffering from a broken heart. His death has saddened me profoundly. I love him very much. He will always be missed.
“Phil was a great singer,” Crowell continued reading. “It’s nice to see how his, and our, legacy is being honored. Thank you for the tribute. Phil would have been proud.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/everly-brothers-song-sales-up-669608

"Everly Brothers' Song Sales Up 696 Percent Following Phil Everly's Death"

Billie Joe Feat. Miranda Lambert - When I Will Be Loved Live @ Grammy Awards, LA 2014


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3X0CyBwntg

Today is Don's birthday. But as you can see at the message below that was posted in the Facebook-group, it's not a happy day.

Dear Everly Brothers Friends & fans
The Donald Everly Family Lawyers kindly requested
to post this on our Everly Group site!

The Donald and Phillip Everly family are still in mournin,
Please NO Birthday Wishes for Don Everly's Birthday !


On another note, the new official Everly Brothers fansite is online:

http://everlybrothers.net/

So much was written about the bitterness, feuding, etc between Don and Phil - IMO blown out of proportion, I mean YOU trying singing into one microphone with your brother night after night for several decades - but it's obvious now that Don truly, deeply loved his brother. Let's keep thinking positive thoughts, healing thoughts for Don, send some prayers his way.

http://www.copdfoundation.org/PhilEverlyMemorial.aspx


Phil Everly Memorial Fund

The COPD Foundation would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Patti Everly and her family on the loss of her husband, Phil Everly. We are grateful to them for extending his legacy by making a commitment to support our efforts to eradicate this disease. We are motivated by their support to continue to make progress through research to ultimately find a cure for COPD, so individuals such as Phil will not have to suffer.

Phil passed away Friday, January 3, 2014 in Burbank, Calif. at the age of 74 due to complications from COPD. The Everly family would like contributions to be made in memory of Phil to the COPD Foundation, to help us fight this terrible disease.

According to the LATimes.com, Phil Everly and his brother Don made up the most revered vocal duo of the rock-music era, their exquisite harmonies profoundly influencing the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and countless younger-generation rock, folk and country singers.

Phil Everly was born in Chicago, IL on January 19, 1939, but grew up in Iowa. He began singing country music with his brother in 1945 on his family's radio show in Shenandoah, Iowa. Notable songs of the Everly Brothers was "Cathy's Clown", "Wake up Little Susie", "Bye Bye Love", "When Will I Be Loved", and "All I Have to Do is Dream". The Everly Brothers were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and were known for mixing rock 'n' roll music with country music. Phil Everly last performed in public in 2011, but his son Jason said he had been actively writing songs, living part of the year in Burbank and the rest in Nashville. He said his father had been in the hospital for about two weeks when he passed away. Though the COPD caused by smoking affected his health, Jason Everly said it never affected his voice. Everly married his third wife Patti (current wife) in 1999. His 2 children are from previous marriages.

The Everly family thanks you for your support in memory of their angel.
- See more at: http://www.copdfoundation.org/PhilEverlyMemorial.aspx#sthash.VAi2oVEO.dpuf

Rocker - thanks for all the posts... I am still saddened greatly by Phil's death.  Been listening to Roots and some of their more obscure stuff from late '60's and early '70's.  Also Pass the Chicken and Listen...

Pass the Chicken is a fine album - IMHO better than Stories We Could Tell. I saw a few interviews of Phil from the later years where they asked him if he and Don would make another album, and Phil said "there were a lot of them that nobody bought" so he didn't feel any burning desire to add to the legacy.

Did I mention the nice everly bio that TNN did a few years back?   I found it on YOUTUBE in it's entirety.  See it if you haven't.  A lot of Don interview and reflection.  Also family history and a lot of background.

There were a couple of those that aired pretty close together. The other one might have been on A&E, and both brothers were interviewed for that one. In one of them, Don came across as mostly bitter about how their career turned out, seemed very serious, didn't smile; in the other one, he is laughing and smiling, and seems more at ease about things. Maybe he was "the moody one". Phil always seems pretty easy going anytime I've seen him interviewed, including a couple videos from the last year or two.

You can now order these two albums on one disc:

http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Chicken-Listen-Stories-Could/dp/B00JAD137M/ref=sr_1_12?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397616408&sr=1-12&keywords=everly+brothers

Pass the Chicken & Listen/Stories We Could Tell

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81cOaKc24xL._SL1400_.jpg)

Stars and fans will never say 'Bye Bye Love' to the Everly Brothers, as Music Masters show proves (concert review)

http://www.cleveland.com/music/index.ssf/2014/10/stars_and_fans_will_never_say.html


(http://imgick.cleveland.com/home/cleve-media/pgmain/img/plain-dealer/photo/2014/10/26/-5bd0e68fa7b20075.jpg)

Stories We Could Tell seemed to get more attention in the press, but I actually like Pass the Chicken and Listen better. Glad they are available again.

Just saw this rocking version of "The Price Of Love" on youtube:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayQsTg8GMd0

Been listening to the Evs a lot lately. It's such a large catalog, always more to discover. Lately, I've been playing their solo records. I especially enjoy hearing Phil's solo albums, it was so rare to hear him sing solo when they were together.

I am glad this thread has been bumped up, as I have just been getting into them very recently.  In fact, I recently downloaded "The Very Best of the Everly Brothers" (1964) as a way of getting all of their hits on one album.

When I started listening to the album, I noticed something wasn't quite right. I didn't realize until after my purchase that I was a victim of what might be considered false advertising.  I guess I should have dug a little deeper and did some research before purchasing the album, as I discovered that 6 of the album's 12 songs were actually re-recorded by the Everlys in 1964 specifically for this album, including Bye Bye Love, Til I Kissed You, Bird Dog, All I Have to Do is Dream, Wake Up Little Susie, and Devoted to You.

Although the 1964 versions were pretty close to the originals, there weren't what I had expected.  So, I found the original versions on other albums.  It was actually difficult to find those original versions, and I had to resort to searching in movie soundtrack albums and miscellaneous compilations.  I don't know if is an issue with the record label or not as to why some of their best known songs are so hard to come by.

Anyway, I now have all of the original versions of the songs I intended to buy on the "Very Best" album.

A radio station over here always plays the re-recorded "All I have to do is dream" for whatever reason (probably because it's stereo). I was surprised when I heard it the first time.
I like those re-recordings mostly. They are by and large just as good as the originals. In case of All I Have To... I like the new one even better because it is slower. The original is too fast for my taste.


Here's the Everly's singing a Merle Haggard tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYPPG6vsWA

Great pick Rocker.  I like every song on that album.  It was such a neat idea as a concept.

pass the chicken and listen...

Actually, those Cadence recordings are by far the easiest to track down. They have been reissued countless times by countless labels. Most Everly "best of's" are JUST the Cadence recordings, no Warners stuff.

That's always an interesting thing when they re-record the songs, I think they usually do it so that they can get a piece of their big hits, for instance just before he died John Denver did a 2 cd record with all of his greatest hits, re-recorded over a couple days at his studio.  If any of those versions get played on the radio, he'd get half the royalties since he owned the performance (but no longer owned the songs... or the original performances).  If you ever listen to that album it's kind of sad, he's of course in fine voice and everything but the songs are missing his happy, optimistic sound.

I've got one Little Richard did in the late 90's, re-recording all his original hits, I swear to god a couple of them are almost indistinguishable from the originals, and he's in his late 60's then!  Of course I still prefer the originals though...

Another interesting guy was Merle Haggard, I prefer several of his rerecordings, he has several versions of "Okie from Muskogee" and there's this awesome later version where it's got more of a shuffle going on. 

I'm not familiar enough with the Everly Brothers to know which are the originals and which are the re-recordings, are the redos better than the original?

Here's All I Have To Do Is Dream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxWZT0PXkGg

Bye Bye Love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9YMXXXh8BM


Tthere was some change on Wake Up Little Susie on the recording that kinda took the drive a little out of it. I think they waited a bar or half a bar longer than the original to start singing again after the famous riff. Don't remember exactly....

But as mentioned, I think the re-recordings realy stand up to the originals except for some small parts (Bye Bye Love). In case of Dream, I think that one is even better than the original.

If we're talking about the same Little Richard recordings (I guess we are) I think nearly all of them are at least as good as the originals. Some probably even better (Long Tall Sally). And I have to say that I really dislike the idea of artists re-recording their stuff. These Little Richard recordings, the mentioned Everly's and some of Jerry Lee's (especially the fantastic GBOF soundtrack) are really just exceptions to me.

I can't think of any Little Richard re-recordings that stand up to the originals, except for a remake of Good Golly Miss Molly he did for the movie King Ralph. Chuck Berry's remakes of his Chess hits for Mercury were similarly disappointing. The Evs, though, did great with the remakes on The Very Best of The Everly Brothers. Some fans wouldn't even notice the difference - glad you guys could tell.

Huh.   I'd have to say I prefer the originals, but probably mainly just because I've heard them my entire life that way. 

here's the original "long Tall Sally"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1FNveyqgRQ

And here's what I believe is the re-recording from the 90's.  Incredible that he was able to pull that off that old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZypYBWBQR-o

I guess I should have clarified my comment that my search was limited to ITunes.  I probably would have had more success if I had performed a wider search.

Yes, there are dozens of cd's with the Cadence stuff - Laser Light and several other labels have done them, and there's lots of stuff coming over from EU now because of the copyright laws - or lack of. I have finally started getting some of the Warners albums in recent years. It's Everly Time and A Date with the Everlys in particular are just as strong as the Cadence albums.

This will air on BBC 4 tomorrow.


The Everly Brothers: Harmonies from Heaven


Documentary which celebrates, over the period covering the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 60s, the phenomenon of The Everly Brothers, arguably the greatest harmony duo the world has witnessed, who directly influenced the greatest and most successful bands of the 60s and 70s - The Beatles, The Stones, The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel to name but a few.

Don and Phil Everly's love of music began as children, encouraged by their father Ike. Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil sang on Ike's early morning radio shows in Iowa.

After leaving school, the brothers moved to Nashville where, under the wing of Ike Everly's friend, the highly talented musician Chet Atkins, Don and Phil signed with Cadence Records. They exploded onto the music scene in 1957 with Bye Bye Love, written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant.

After Bye Bye Love came other hits, notably Wake Up Little Susie, followed by the worldwide smash hit All I Have to Do Is Dream and a long string of other great songs which also became hits.

By 1960, however, the brothers were lured away from Cadence to Warner Bros with a $1,000,000 contract. Their biggest hit followed, the self-penned Cathy's Clown, which sold 8 million copies. Remaining at Warner Bros for most of the 60s, they had further success with Walk Right Back, So Sad and the King/Greenfield-penned track Crying in the Rain.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b077x1fh

Thanks for that, Rocker!!!  Everly Brothers are incredible, gotta get their "Roots" album if you want to hear them at their best.

I'm not too fond of the "Roots" album. It features some great songs, a cool cover of "You done me wrong" (one of my favorite country songs), but imo it's trying too hard. I rather listen to "Pass the chicken & listen" and some of the earlier things like "Rock'n Soul", "Beat 'n Soul" and "Sing great country hits".

Pass the Chicken and Listen is also great, I agree.  And that's a great title for an album!  But nobody bought the darned thing...

"Roots" is one of those albums - like POB - that was praised to the skies by a lot of writers, but when i finally heard it, it didn't live up to expectations. In fact, i bought it at Tower Records in 1990 as an import, along with "Two Yanks In England", and it was the latter album that impressed me more. There was this myth perpetrated by the rock historians that the Ev's made great records until they moved over to Warners in 1960, but as i began collecting the albums, i found much to like about the music they made in the years they were eclipsed by the British Invasion.
'Pass the Chicken and Listen" is another great album that i didn't expect much from. I figured, from all i had read, that Don and Phil were tired of each other by that time, but if they were, it doesn't show on the album.