Born on February 1, 1937 in Brownie, Muhlenberg
County, Kentucky, Isaac Donald "Don" Everly, guitarist, singer with The
Everly Brothers, the older of the two brothers. In their teens, the brothers,
who had been singing on their father Ike's radio show for years, caught
the attention of family friend Chet Atkins, manager of RCA Victor's studio
in Nashville. They became a duo and moved to Nashville. Despite affiliation
with RCA, Atkins arranged for the Everly Brothers to record for Columbia
Records in early 1956. Their "Keep a-Lovin' Me," which Don wrote and composed,
flopped, and they were dropped from the Columbia label.
Atkins introduced them to Wesley Rose, of Acuff-Rose music
publishers. Rose told them he would get them a recording deal if they signed
to Acuff-Rose as songwriters. They so signed in late 1956, and in 1957
Rose introduced them to Archie Bleyer, who was looking for artists for
his Cadence Records. The Everlys signed and made a recording in February
1957. "Bye Bye Love" had been rejected by 30 other acts. Their record reached
No. 2 on the pop charts, behind Elvis Presley's "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy
Bear," and No. 1 on the country and No. 5 on the R&B charts. The song,
by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, became the Everly Brothers's first million-seller.
Working with the Bryants, they had hits in the United
States and the United Kingdom, the biggest being "Wake Up Little Susie,"
"All I Have to Do Is Dream," "Bird Dog," and "Problems." The Everlys, though
they were largely interpretive artists, also succeeded as songwriters,
especially with Don's "(Till) I Kissed You," which hit No. 4 on the United
States pop charts. After three years on Cadence, the Everlys signed with
Warner Bros. Records in 1960, with which they remained for 10 years. Their
first hit for Warner Brothers, 1960's "Cathy's Clown," which Don and Phil
wrote and composed themselves, sold eight million copies and became the
duo's biggest-selling record. "Cathy's Clown" was number WB1, the first
selection Warner Bros. Records ever released in the United Kingdom. Other
successful Warner Brothers singles followed in the United States, such
as "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)" (1960, pop No. 7), "Walk Right
Back" (1961, pop No. 7), "Crying in the Rain" (1962, pop No. 6), and "That's
Old Fashioned" (1962, pop No. 9, their last top 10 hit). From 1960 to 1962,
Cadence Records released Everly Brothers singles from the vaults, including
"When Will I Be Loved" (pop No. 8), written and composed by Phil, and "Like
Strangers."
Succeeding years saw the Everly Brothers sell fewer records
in the United States. Their enlistments in the United States Marine Corps
Reserve in October 1961, rather than being drafted into the Army for two
years of active service, took them out of the spotlight. One of their few
performances during their marine service was on The Ed Sullivan Show, in
the middle of February 1962, when they performed "Jezebel" and "Crying
in the Rain" while outfitted in their respective Marine Corps uniforms.
Though their U.S. stardom had begun to wane two years
before the British Invasion in 1964, their appeal was still strong in Canada,
the United Kingdom and Australia. The Everlys remained successful in the
UK and Canada for most of the 1960s, reaching the top 40 in the United
Kingdom through 1968 and the top 10 in Canada as late as 1967. The 1966
album Two Yanks in England was recorded in England with the Hollies, who
also wrote and composed many of the album's songs. The Everlys's final
U.S. top 40 hit, "Bowling Green," was released in 1967.
As Phil said in 1970: ‘We only ever had one argument.
It’s been lasting for 25 years.’ That feud reached its peak in 1973 when
Don triggered a bitter ten-year separation by turning up drunk at a gig
in California. After mangling the lyrics of Cathy’s Clown, soon he and
Phil were arguing on stage.
As adults, they weren’t more able to enjoy the gift they
shared is sad, and perhaps there’s some truth in the suggestion that Don
always felt he was upstaged by Phil’s sweet lilting tenor voice. ‘I’ve
been a has-been since I was ten,’ he is alleged to have said. They were
at the very peak of their fame, but soon disastrous business decisions
and the rise of The Beatles, who had learned so much from them, were making
them look old fashioned.
By the end of the 1960s, the brothers had returned to
country rock, and their 1968 album, Roots, was hailed by some critics as
"one of the finest early country-rock albums." Phil and Don pursued solo
careers from 1973 to 1983. The brothers' reunion concert at the Royal Albert
Hall in London on September 23, 1983, a musical re-junction of forces between
them which ended both of their ten-year-long solo periods.
In November 2017, Don Everly sued the widow and sons of his late brother
Phil claiming sole writing credit and royalties to their #1 hit "Cathy's
Clown".
