The Everly Brothers: an inspiration for a generation

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/04/phil-everly-appreciation-neil-spencer

Version 0 of 1.

To witness the formidable imprint the Everly Brothers made on pop, simply listen to the Beatles' first No 1 hit, Please Please Me. As the song surges into its title chorus, there are the sibling harmonies of Phil and Don in action, with Don's lower vocal part taken by John Lennon and Phil's higher part by Paul McCartney.

The Beatles were not alone in imitating the Everlys' sound; Britain's Hollies and America's Simon and Garfunkel also owed the Kentucky brothers a substantial debt. But there were reasons to admire the Everlys other than their vocal harmonies: with their giant quiffs and Hollywood smiles, Phil and Don exuded American cool, while their songs (many written by Nashville husband and wife team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant) mixed sweet ballads like Devoted To You with sly high-school tales (Poor Jenny) and teen angst wails such as When Will I Be Loved.

Nor did you need to be a band or have an electric guitar to emulate the Everlys. On their jumbo acoustic guitars the brothers perfected a scything strum that drove along catchy versions of rock'n'roll standards including Keep a Knockin' and Be-Bop-a-Lula; an easy route for Brit skiffle groups and US folkies to follow. A generation of American country-rockers, including the Byrds and Linda Ronstadt, cut their teeth on Everlys hits.

At the heart of the duo's appeal, however, was their seamless vocal interplay, which was striking in an age when studio double-tracking was still a novelty. It was often hard to know where one voice ended and another began, though the resulting meld was in part shaped by the tension between the darker strains of Don's personality and Phil's sunnier outlook.

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.