New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On January 3, 2014, Phil Everly of the
Everly Brothers died in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank at the age of 74. The cause of his death was complications attributed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (a combination of emphysema and bronchitis).
The
Everly Brothers had 35 Billboard Top 100 singles, 26 in the top 40. They hold the record for the most Top 100 singles by any duo, and trail only Hall & Oates for the most Top 40 singles by a duo.
In the UK, the
Everly Brothers had 30 chart singles, 29 in the top 40, 13 top 10 and 4 at No. 1 between 1957 and 1984. They have had 12 top 40 albums, between 1960 and 2009.[citation needed]
In 1986, the Everlys were among the first 10 artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During the ceremony, they were introduced by Neil Young, who observed that every musical group he belonged to had tried and failed to copy the Everly Brothers' harmonies. That year on July 5, the Everlys returned to their boyhood home of Shenandoah to a crowd of 8,500 for a concert, parade, street dedication, class reunion and other activities. Concert fees were donated to the Everly Family Scholarship Fund which gives scholarships to middle and high school students in Shenandoah every year.
In 1997 the brothers were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, they were inducted into the Country
Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. Their pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The
Everly Brothers have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked The
Everly Brothers No. 33 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Times.
They are also No. 43 on the list of UK Best selling singles artists of all time.
They were also songwriters, penning "Till I Kissed You" (Don), "Cathy's Clown" (Don and Phil), and "When Will I Be Loved" (Phil). "Cathy's Clown" and "When Will I Be Loved" later became hits for
Reba McEntire and
Linda Ronstadt, respectively; (for the latter, the
Everly Brothers sang the chorus). Also, the Norwegian band a-ha covered "Crying In The Rain" in 1990 for their fourth album, East of The Sun, West of The Moon.
Paul McCartney paid tribute by mentioning "Phil and Don" in his 1976 million-seller, "Let 'Em In."
They still performed occasionally, despite having declared their retirement. They joined
Simon & Garfunkel as the featured act in
Simon and Garfunkel's 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. The live album of the tour Old Friends: Live on Stage contains
Simon and Garfunkel discussing the Everlys' influence on their career, and features all four performers joining in on "Bye Bye Love" (The subsequent DVD features two extra solo performances by the Everlys). For Paul Simon, it was not the first time he had performed with his heroes. In 1986, the Everlys sang background vocals on the title track of Simon's album Graceland.
On Labor Day Weekend 1988, Central City Kentucky began the
Everly Brothers Homecoming event to raise money for a scholarship fund for Muhlenberg County students. The Homecoming became a popular annual event for fourteen years, ending in 2002. Don and Phil toured the United Kingdom in 2005 and Phil appeared in 2007 on recordings with
Vince Gill and Bill Medley. Also in 2007, country singer
Alison Krauss and former
Led Zeppelin frontman
Robert Plant released "
Raising Sand" which included a cover of the 1964 hit single, "
Gone, Gone, Gone" produced by T-Bone Burnett.
Throughout the 1950s, the
Everly Brothers used Gibson J-200 guitars, some with dual white pickguards. In 1962, Gibson Guitar Corporation collaborated with the brothers to produce the Gibson
Everly Brothers Flattop, a signature acoustic guitar.
Until his death in 2014, Phil Everly was involved with his own musical instrument accessories company. Everly
Music Company produces products designed by Phil and Jason Everly, Phil's eldest son, for guitar and bass.
The
Beatles based the vocal arrangement of "Please Please Me" upon "Cathy's Clown".
Keith Richards called Don Everly "one of the finest rhythm players."
On November 25, 2013, Billie Joe Armstrong and
Norah Jones released Foreverly, an album inspired by Songs Our Daddy Taught Us.
