Don Everly, of the harmonizing rock and roll duo of the Everly Brothers, dies at the age of 84

Everly died Saturday.

Don and his younger brother, Phil Everly, became pop idols in the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, beginning in the late 1950s, with notable hits such as “Bye Bye Love,” “All I Have to Do is Dream, “and” Wake up little Susie. “
The brothers were called “the most important vocal duo in rock” by Rolling Stone, as they influenced the musical giants of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and many others.
“As a singer, songwriter and guitar innovator, Don Everly was one of the most talented and impactful artists in the history of popular music,” said Kyle Young, executive director of the Country Music Hall of Fame. wrote on Twitter Sunday. “His influence reverberates in the ethereal songs and harmonies he conjured with his brother Phil.”
Phil (left) and Don Everly in 1962.
“His talent, the beauty of his voices, wasn’t entirely from this Earth. They were a miracle,” wrote writer and musician Bob Greene, who knew the Everlys after Phil’s death in 2014. at 74 years old.

The duo was first ranked at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and with Nashville roots and a style that embraced both country and rock, the Everly Brothers were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

The Everly Brothers “were one of the most successful acts in popular music between 1957 and 1962,” sold only by Elvis Presley, Pat Boone “and possibly Rick Nelson,” the Country Music Hall of Fame said in a biography of the two .
The brothers also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

Brian Wilson recounted the Everly’s influence on his group, the Beach Boys, another band known for their seductive harmonies.

“I’m sad to know what happens to Don Everly. The Everly Brothers greatly influenced us and we learned a lot from their beautiful harmonies.” Wilson tweeted. “Love and Mercy for Don’s Family.”

Paul Simon once said that he and his former musical partner Art Garfunkel “really learned to sing harmony by learning from the Everly Brothers.”

“Don and Phil, to me, are still the best of all duos, better than Artie and I, better than John and Paul, just surprisingly,” Simon told PBS.

Don Everly was born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, but his family soon moved to Chicago (where Phil was born), so that his father could pursue a musical career, and his mother and father, Margaret and Ike Everly, were Western country and singers.

The boys sang with their parents during live and radio programs and, as teenagers, moved to Nashville. There they found the song that took them to No. 2 on the popular charts: “Bye Bye Love,” written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.

After that, they had a hit song in the top ten every four months for years to come.

The Everly Brothers had a very public breakup in 1973, when Phil abruptly left the stage during a concert in California. They were reunited a decade later.

“The #EverlyBrothers were the founding architects of rock and roll,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said. he tweeted Sunday.

“As a big influence on everyone, from @thebeatles to the Byrds and beyond, their musical impact will live on forever,” the tweet said.

CNN’s Todd Leopold and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.

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