Biography
Don Everly performed as one half of the Everly Brothers and ranked among the pivotal figures of rock & roll’s earliest period while also counting among the finest close-harmony pairings in American musical history. Between 1955 and 1973, with intermittent activity resuming from 1983 into the 2000s, the pair fused country-rooted sounds with pop craftsmanship and rock & roll drive, securing both widespread sales and esteem from successive generations of musicians. Working alone, Don attained comparatively limited commercial reach yet remained sought after as a composer, and the ensemble he led functioned as an early platform for players such as Lindsey Buckingham. The 2020 collection The Cadence Recordings and the 1993 anthology Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers on Warner Bros. together survey the duo’s most celebrated years, while the 1998 two-disc set Don Everly/Sunset Towers unites his 1970s solo albums originally issued by Ode Records.
Don Everly entered the world on February 1, 1937, in Brownie, Kentucky, two years before his brother Phil. Their father, Ike Everly, worked as a coal miner while also building a career as a musician. During the period the Everly family resided in Shenandoah, Iowa, Ike secured a daily radio program on a local station; in 1945, eight-year-old Don and six-year-old Phil joined the broadcast, harmonizing with their father at 6 A.M. before attending school. As the brothers matured they assumed larger roles on the show, and by 1955 the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where the siblings obtained a publishing agreement as songwriters; a composition written by Don, “Thou Shalt Not Steal,” reached the charts for Kitty Wells. Their decisive opportunity arrived once the Everly Brothers joined Cadence Records and began working with the songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. “Bye Bye Love,” a Bryant composition, became a major single that climbed to number two on the pop charts, and the follow-up, “Wake Up Little Susie,” advanced to number one. Throughout 1958 and 1959 the Everly Brothers placed twelve additional titles inside the Top 40, and their tightly knit vocal blend set the benchmark for pop harmony, influencing acts as varied as the Beatles, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Bruce Springsteen. Don maintained an active role in the duo’s songwriting, supplying the hits “(’Til) I Kissed You” and “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad).”
In 1960 the Everly Brothers negotiated a substantial new contract with Warner Bros., and their debut release for the label, the self-written “Cathy’s Clown,” again reached number one. The pair guided eight further singles into the Top 40 between 1960 and 1962, yet 1964’s “Gone, Gone, Gone” marked their final appearance in that tier. Changing tastes reduced their commercial visibility, although they continued to produce strong albums such as 1966’s Two Yanks in England, recorded with members of the Hollies, and 1968’s Roots, an early precursor of the country-rock style. A 1970 television variety series generated only modest renewed attention, and after two unsuccessful RCA albums, friction between the brothers intensified, worsened by a drug dependency Don had managed since the early 1960s. During a July 1973 performance at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, an onstage dispute prompted Phil to smash his guitar and walk off, leaving Don to conclude the concert alone; the split was promptly formalized.
Before the Everly Brothers disbanded, Don had already begun solo recording, issuing a self-titled album for Ode Records in 1970 that featured Ry Cooder and members of the Flying Burrito Brothers among the supporting musicians. In 1974 he completed a second Ode album, Sunset Towers, which likewise failed to achieve commercial traction. He next moved to the ABC-distributed Hickory imprint for the 1976 release Brother Juke-Box, which adopted a more contemporary country approach. During these years Don concentrated chiefly on songwriting and live work, appearing with his band Dead Cowboys and collaborating with guitarist Albert Lee; for a time he also toured with a solo group that included Lindsey Buckingham. Eventually both brothers concluded they functioned more effectively together than apart, and in 1983 they mounted a reunion concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall before a capacity crowd. They signed with Mercury, and the resulting album EB 84 contained “On the Wings of a Nightingale,” written by Paul McCartney, which became a modest hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The duo completed two additional albums—1986’s Born Yesterday and 1989’s Some Hearts—and resumed periodic touring, including a series of 2004 dates alongside longtime admirers Simon & Garfunkel. Don Everly died at his Nashville, Tennessee, residence on August 21, 2021, seven-and-a-half years after his brother Phil; he was 84.
Don Everly entered the world on February 1, 1937, in Brownie, Kentucky, two years before his brother Phil. Their father, Ike Everly, worked as a coal miner while also building a career as a musician. During the period the Everly family resided in Shenandoah, Iowa, Ike secured a daily radio program on a local station; in 1945, eight-year-old Don and six-year-old Phil joined the broadcast, harmonizing with their father at 6 A.M. before attending school. As the brothers matured they assumed larger roles on the show, and by 1955 the family had moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where the siblings obtained a publishing agreement as songwriters; a composition written by Don, “Thou Shalt Not Steal,” reached the charts for Kitty Wells. Their decisive opportunity arrived once the Everly Brothers joined Cadence Records and began working with the songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. “Bye Bye Love,” a Bryant composition, became a major single that climbed to number two on the pop charts, and the follow-up, “Wake Up Little Susie,” advanced to number one. Throughout 1958 and 1959 the Everly Brothers placed twelve additional titles inside the Top 40, and their tightly knit vocal blend set the benchmark for pop harmony, influencing acts as varied as the Beatles, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Bruce Springsteen. Don maintained an active role in the duo’s songwriting, supplying the hits “(’Til) I Kissed You” and “So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad).”
In 1960 the Everly Brothers negotiated a substantial new contract with Warner Bros., and their debut release for the label, the self-written “Cathy’s Clown,” again reached number one. The pair guided eight further singles into the Top 40 between 1960 and 1962, yet 1964’s “Gone, Gone, Gone” marked their final appearance in that tier. Changing tastes reduced their commercial visibility, although they continued to produce strong albums such as 1966’s Two Yanks in England, recorded with members of the Hollies, and 1968’s Roots, an early precursor of the country-rock style. A 1970 television variety series generated only modest renewed attention, and after two unsuccessful RCA albums, friction between the brothers intensified, worsened by a drug dependency Don had managed since the early 1960s. During a July 1973 performance at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, an onstage dispute prompted Phil to smash his guitar and walk off, leaving Don to conclude the concert alone; the split was promptly formalized.
Before the Everly Brothers disbanded, Don had already begun solo recording, issuing a self-titled album for Ode Records in 1970 that featured Ry Cooder and members of the Flying Burrito Brothers among the supporting musicians. In 1974 he completed a second Ode album, Sunset Towers, which likewise failed to achieve commercial traction. He next moved to the ABC-distributed Hickory imprint for the 1976 release Brother Juke-Box, which adopted a more contemporary country approach. During these years Don concentrated chiefly on songwriting and live work, appearing with his band Dead Cowboys and collaborating with guitarist Albert Lee; for a time he also toured with a solo group that included Lindsey Buckingham. Eventually both brothers concluded they functioned more effectively together than apart, and in 1983 they mounted a reunion concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall before a capacity crowd. They signed with Mercury, and the resulting album EB 84 contained “On the Wings of a Nightingale,” written by Paul McCartney, which became a modest hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The duo completed two additional albums—1986’s Born Yesterday and 1989’s Some Hearts—and resumed periodic touring, including a series of 2004 dates alongside longtime admirers Simon & Garfunkel. Don Everly died at his Nashville, Tennessee, residence on August 21, 2021, seven-and-a-half years after his brother Phil; he was 84.
Albums
