Early life, family, and education Don was born in
Brownie, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, on February 1, 1937, and Phil in
Chicago,
Illinois, on January 19, 1939. Their parents were Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly Jr. (1908–1975), a guitar player, and Margaret Embry Everly (1919–2021). Don and Phil were of mostly
German and
English descent and also had some
Cherokee ancestry. Actor
James Best (born Jewel Guy), also from
Muhlenberg County, was a first cousin, the son of Ike's sister. Margaret was 15 when she married Ike, who was 26. Ike worked in
coal mines from age 14, but his father encouraged him to pursue his love of music, and Ike and Margaret began singing together. The Everly brothers spent most of their childhood in
Shenandoah, Iowa. They attended Longfellow Elementary School in
Waterloo, Iowa, for a year but then moved to Shenandoah in 1944, where they remained through early high school. Ike Everly had a music show on
KMA and KFNF in Shenandoah in the mid-1940s, In 1955, the family moved to
Madison, Tennessee, while the brothers moved to
Nashville. Don had graduated from high school in 1955, and Phil attended
Peabody Demonstration School in Nashville, Both could now focus on recording.
Early career (1940s–1950s) '', July 13, 1957 As children, Don and Phil Everly sang on KMA and KFNF in Shenandoah as "Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil". While in Knoxville, the brothers found work performing on
Cas Walker's
Farm and Home Hour, a regional radio and TV variety program. The brothers caught the attention of family friend
Chet Atkins, manager of the
RCA Victor studios in Nashville. Shortly thereafter, their mother moved the family to Nashville. Despite affiliation with RCA Victor, Atkins somehow 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 the Everly Brothers to
Wesley Rose, of
Acuff-Rose music publishers. Rose told them he would secure them a recording deal if they signed to Acuff-Rose as songwriters. They 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. became the Everly Brothers' first million-seller. '' advertisement, August 17, 1959 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 number four on the US pop charts. The brothers toured with
Buddy Holly in 1957 and 1958. According to Holly's biographer Philip Norman, they were responsible for persuading Holly and the
Crickets to change their outfits from
Levis and
T-shirts to the Everlys'
Ivy League suits. Don said Holly wrote and composed "Wishing" for them. "We were all from the South", Phil observed of their commonalities. "We'd started in country music." Although some sources say Phil Everly was one of Holly's pallbearers in February 1959, Phil said in 1986 that he attended the funeral and sat with Holly's family, but was not a pallbearer. Don did not attend, saying, "I couldn't go to the funeral. I couldn't go anywhere. I just took to my bed." "Cathy's Clown" was number WB1, the first selection Warner Bros. Records ever released in the United Kingdom. {{Blockquote|We're not
Grand Ole Opry ... we're obviously not
Perry Como ... we're just pop music. But, you could call us an American
skiffle group!| – November of 1960 In the UK, they had 18 singles in the top 40 with Warner Bros. in the 1960s, including a string of top-10 hits through 1965 that featured "
Lucille"/"So Sad" (1960, number four), "Walk Right Back"/"
Ebony Eyes" (1961, number one), "
Temptation" (1961, number one), "Cryin' in the Rain" (1962, number six), and "
The Price of Love" (1965, number two). By 1962, records by the Everlys had reportedly generated $35 million in sales. In 1961, the brothers had a falling out with Wesley Rose during the recording of "Temptation". Rose was reportedly upset that the Everlys were recording a song that he had not published, hence for which he would not be paid any publishing royalties. Rose made efforts to block the record's release. The Everlys held firm to their position, and as a result, in the early 1960s, they were shut off from Acuff-Rose songwriters. These included Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who had written and composed most of their hits, as well as the Everlys themselves, who were still contracted to Acuff-Rose as songwriters and had written several of their own hits. From 1961 through early 1964, the Everlys recorded songs by other composers to avoid paying any royalties to Acuff-Rose. They used the pseudonym "Jimmy Howard" as writer or arranger on two selections they wrote and recorded during this time. This ruse, however, was ultimately unsuccessful, as Acuff-Rose gained legal possession of the copyrights once the deception was discovered. Around this time, the brothers also set up their own label, Calliope Records, for solo projects. Using the pseudonym "Adrian Kimberly", Don recorded a big-band instrumental version of
Edward Elgar's first "
Pomp and Circumstance" march, which
Neal Hefti arranged and which charted in the United States top 40 in mid-1961. Further instrumental singles credited to Kimberly followed, but none of those charted. Phil formed the Keestone Family Singers, which featured
Glen Campbell and
Carole King. Their lone single, "Melodrama", failed to chart, and by the end of 1962, Calliope Records had gone out of business. The Everly Brothers' last United States top-10 hit was 1962's "That's Old Fashioned (That's The Way Love Should Be)", a song recorded but unreleased by
The Chordettes and given to the brothers by their old mentor, Archie Bleyer. One of their few performances during their Marine Corps service was on
The Ed Sullivan Show, on February 18, 1962, when they performed "
Jezebel" and "Crying in the Rain" while outfitted in their Marine uniforms. Following their discharges from active duty, the Everlys resumed their career, but with little success in the United States. Of their 27 singles on Warner Bros. from 1963 through 1970, only three made the
Billboard Hot 100, and none peaked higher than number 31. Album sales were also down. The Everlys' first two albums for Warner (in 1960 and 1961) peaked at number 9 US, but after that, of a dozen more LPs for Warner Bros., only one made the top 200 – 1965's "
Beat & Soul", which peaked at number 141. The Everlys' dispute with Acuff-Rose lasted until 1964, when they resumed writing and composing, as well as working with the Bryants. By then, however, both of the brothers were addicted to
amphetamines. Don's condition was worse, as he was taking
Ritalin; his
addiction lasted three years, until he suffered a
nervous breakdown and was hospitalized for treatment. The mainstream media did not report either brothers' addiction. When Don collapsed in England in mid-October 1962, reporters were told he had food poisoning; when the tabloids suggested he had taken an overdose of pills, his wife and his brother insisted he was suffering physical and nervous exhaustion. Don's poor health ended their British tour; he returned to the United States, leaving Phil to carry on with Joey Page, their bass player, taking Don's place. 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 United Kingdom 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 many of the album's songs. The Everlys' final U.S. top-40 hit, "
Bowling Green", was released in 1967. By the end of the 1960s, the brothers had returned to country rock, and their 1968 album,
Roots, was hailed by some retrospective critics as "one of the finest early country-rock albums". By the end of the 1960s, though, the Everly Brothers had ceased to be hitmakers in either North America or the UK, and in 1970, following an unsuccessful live album (
The Everly Brothers Show), their 10-year contract with Warner Bros. lapsed. They were the summer replacement hosts for
Johnny Cash's
ABC-TV television show in 1970; their variety program,
Johnny Cash Presents the Everly Brothers, featured
Linda Ronstadt and
Stevie Wonder. In 1970, Don released his first solo album, which was unsuccessful. The brothers resumed performing in 1971 and issued two albums for
RCA Records in 1972 and 1973.
Lindsey Buckingham joined and toured with them in 1972. The Everlys announced their final performance would take place on July 14, 1973, at
Knott's Berry Farm in
Buena Park, California, but tensions between the two surfaced and Don told a reporter he was tired of being an Everly Brother. During the show, Phil smashed his guitar and walked off. Don performed solo the following night, commenting to the audience, "The Everly Brothers died 10 years ago". The two did not reunite musically for more than 10 years. On a personal level, they rarely saw or spoke to each other through the rest of the 1970s, though they would be present at important family events—such as the funeral of their father
Ike Everly in 1975.
Solo years (1973–1983) Phil and Don pursued solo careers from 1973 to 1983. Don found some success on the US country charts in the mid- to late 1970s, in Nashville with his band, Dead Cowboys, and playing with
Albert Lee. Don also performed solo at an annual country music festival in London in mid-1976. His appearance was well received, and he was given "thunderous applause", though critics noted that the performance was uneven. Phil sang backup for
Roy Wood's 1975 album
Mustard and two songs for
Warren Zevon's 1976
self-titled album. While Zevon was part of Phil Everly's back-up band, Phil also suggested the title and subject matter for Zevon's breakthrough hit single "
Werewolves of London". Don recorded "Everytime You Leave" with
Emmylou Harris on her 1979 album
Blue Kentucky Girl. Phil recorded more frequently, but with no chart success until the 1980s. He wrote "Don't Say You Don't Love Me No More" for the 1978
Clint Eastwood comedy film
Every Which Way But Loose, which he performed as a duet with the film's co-star
Sondra Locke. Phil also wrote "One Too Many Women in Your Life" for the 1980 sequel,
Any Which Way You Can, and played in the band that backed Locke. In 1983, Phil had UK success as a solo artist with the album
Phil Everly, recorded mainly in London. Musicians on the LP included
Dire Straits guitarist
Mark Knopfler,
Rockpile and Dire Straits drummer
Terry Williams, and keyboard player
Pete Wingfield. The track "
She Means Nothing to Me", written and composed by
John David Williams and featuring
Cliff Richard as co-lead vocalist, was a UK top-10 hit, and "Louise", written and composed by
Ian Gomm, reached the top 50 in 1983.
Reunion and later career (1983–2005) The brothers' reunion concert at the
Royal Albert Hall in
London on September 23, 1983, which ended their 10-year-long solo careers, was initiated by Phil and Don alongside Terry Slater, with Wingfield as musical director. This concert was recorded for a live LP and video broadcast on cable television in mid-January 1984. The brothers returned to the studio as a duo for the first time in over a decade, recording the album ''EB '84'', produced by
Dave Edmunds. The lead single, "
On the Wings of a Nightingale", written by
Paul McCartney, was a success (top 10 adult contemporary) and returned them to the US Hot 100 (for their last appearance) and the UK charts. McCartney made his esteem for the duo explicit, saying, "When John and I started to write songs, I was Phil and he was Don." Their final charting single was 1986's "
Born Yesterday", from the album of the same name. They collaborated with other performers, mostly singing either backup vocals or duets, including additional vocals on the title track of
Paul Simon's 1986 album
Graceland. In 1990, Phil recorded a duet with Dutch singer
René Shuman. "On Top of the World" was written and composed by Phil, who appeared in the music video they recorded in Los Angeles. The selection appeared on Shuman's album
Set the Clock on Rock. A 1981 live
BBC recording of "
All I Have to Do Is Dream", which featured Cliff Richard and Phil sharing vocals, was a UK top-20 hit in 1994. In 1998, the brothers recorded "Cold" for
Andrew Lloyd Webber and
Jim Steinman's musical
Whistle Down the Wind, and the recording was used in stage versions as
source music. It was the final studio recording the Everly Brothers made as a duo. The brothers joined
Simon and Garfunkel in their "
Old Friends" reunion tour of 2003 and 2004. As a tribute to the Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel opened their own show and had the Everlys come out in the middle of it. The live album
Old Friends: Live on Stage contains Simon and Garfunkel discussing the Everlys' influence on their career and features all four on "Bye Bye Love"; the subsequent DVD features two extra solo performances by the Everlys. This was not the first time Paul Simon had performed with his heroes; in 1986, the Everlys had sung background vocals on the
title track of Simon's album
Graceland. Simon and Garfunkel's 1981
Concert in Central Park featured their interpretation of the Everlys' "Wake Up, Little Susie". The Everly Brothers, though they made no formal announcement of a break-up, made no further appearances as a duo after about 2005. Don Everly later revealed that the two brothers had once again become estranged in their 70s, and that they never reconciled before Phil's death in 2014. Phil Everly sang "Sweet Little Corrina" with country singer
Vince Gill on his 2006 album
These Days. Everly had previously supplied harmony vocals on
JD Souther's "White Rhythm and Blues" on his 1979 album ''
You're Only Lonely''.
Later developments Don Everly attended the Annual Music Masters as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid homage to the Everly Brothers on October 25, 2014. Don took the State Theater stage and performed the Everlys' classic hit "Bye Bye Love". His final performance was a guest appearance with Paul Simon on Simon's 2018 farewell tour in Nashville. Don and Simon performed "Bye Bye Love", with Simon on Phil Everly's original tenor harmony. Don Everly publicly endorsed
Hillary Clinton for the 2016 presidential election in January of that year. This marked the first time he had ever publicly supported a political candidate. Don stated that after his brother Phil's death, he felt free to express his views more openly, noting that the brothers' opposing views had made lending active support to political candidates impossible for them.
Deaths Phil Everly died at
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in
Burbank, California, on January 3, 2014, aged 74, of
lung disease. In a 2014 interview with the
Los Angeles Times, Don Everly said that he had given up smoking in the late 1960s and that Phil had stopped, too. However, Don indicated that Phil had resumed smoking during their breakup and had continued until 2001. Don said that weak lungs ran in the family, as their father, Ike, had died of
black lung disease. Don admitted that he had lived "a very difficult life" with his brother and that Phil and he had become estranged once again in their later years. Don attributed their estrangement to "their vastly different views on politics and life", with music being the one thing they shared closely. Don said, "it's almost like we could read each other's minds when we sang". However, Don also stated that he had not gotten over Phil's death: "I always thought about him every day, even when we were not speaking to each other. It still just shocks me that he's gone". Don added that because he was the older brother, he had always believed he would die before Phil. Don Everly died at his home in Nashville on August 21, 2021, at the age of 84. His death preceded the death of his mother Margaret by four months; she died in December 2021, just 10 days after her 102nd birthday. ==Style and influences==