"E" IS FOR EVERLY BROTHERS

In the beginning of Rock and Roll there were not a lot of duo acts. Most of the pioneering acts were soloists and bands. My first "E" subject is an exception. They were a duo that blazed the trail for others to follow. I am talking about the Everly Brothers.

Don and Phil Everly were born in Kentucky, grew up in Iowa and Tennessee. They come from a musical family. Their father Isaac played guitar and their mom sang. Isaac Donald Everly "Don" is named after his father. Don was born in February 1937 and Phil was born two years later in January 1939.

Don and Phil got their start singing together on their dad's radio show in Shenandoah, Iowa. There were called "Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil." Their first commercial success was in 1957 "Bye Bye Love." Some of their other hit songs are "Wake up Little Susie," All I Have to Do is Dream," I'll Do My Crying in the Rain," and "Till I Kissed You," to name a few. 

Don and Phil toured with Buddy Holly, spent a couple of years in the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves, and then went through a series of tough times. They fought with song publishers, drug addiction and became estranged from each other, off and on, for many years. Phil died in 2014 at the age of 72  from lung disease. 

The Everly Brothers were one of the first ten acts to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. They were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.