Rock and Roll Loses a Legend

04 Jan, 2014

Phil Everly, whose high, close-harmony singing with his older brother Don made the Everly Brothers one of the biggest rock and country acts of the 1950s and early 1960s, died on Friday at the age of 74, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Everly died in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife Patti told the Times for a story on the paper’s website.

“We are absolutely heartbroken,” Patti Everly told the paper. “He fought long and hard.”

Representatives for Phil Everly could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday evening.

The Everly Brothers profoundly influenced 1960s-era artists ranging from Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who early in their careers called themselves the Foreverly Brothers, to Simon and Garfunkel, the Byrds, the Hollies and the Beach Boys.

“Perhaps even more powerfully than Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers melded country with the emerging sound of Fifties rock & roll,” Rolling Stone magazine said in placing the duo at No. 33 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists.”

Phil and Don had an onstage breakup in 1973 that led to a decade-long estrangement, but Phil later told Time magazine their relationship had endured.

“Don and I are infamous for our split,” Phil said, “but we’re closer than most brothers. Harmony singing requires that you enlarge yourself, not use any kind of suppression. Harmony is the ultimate love.”

Phillip Everly was born on January 19, 1939, in Chicago, the son of two country musicians, Ike and Margaret Everly.

Their breakthrough hit, “Bye Bye Love,” came in 1957 and rose to No. 2 on the U.S. charts. It was their first million-seller and the first of numerous Everly tunes written by Boudleaux Bryant and his wife Felice, including, “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Devoted to You.”

“Wake Up Little Susie,” also released in 1957, was their first No. 1 hit.

Reuters

Mentioned In This Post: