# Don and Phil- who was the top and who was the bottom??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708 "2007-09-19T04:23:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2007, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/1 "2007-09-19T04:23:55Z")
The Everly Brothers, that is. And, no, I’m not asking about their bunk beds. When they sang, who sang the top parts and who sang the bottom parts. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/2 "2007-09-21T16:35:14Z")
\ Really??? All the popular music experts on the SDMB, and no one knows??? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/3 "2007-09-21T16:59:11Z")
Not sure. On the Beatles song “Two of Us”, Paul says to John, “Take it, Phil”. Paul nearly always sang high harmonies. If he really identified himself with Don Everly, as this quip suggests, then I’d guess that Don sang the upper parts, too. I’m sure some Doper has more direct evidence one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/4 "2007-09-21T17:16:57Z")
On the other hand, I was just googling around trying to find an answer and came across a couple of references to “Phil’s harmonies”, and Don’s the older one, so my WAG is Phil took the high part. When I get home, I’ll check out some of their YouTube clips to see if I can discern which does which. It might be difficult, because a lot of the time, they sang in harmonic thirds and stayed at that interval, and since they’re brothers, they sound a lot alike. Definitely have my curiosity up, though! ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/5 "2007-09-21T17:33:38Z")
Don sang lower, Phil sang higher. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/6 "2007-09-21T17:50:56Z")
[QUOTE=bienville] The Everly Brothers, that is. And, no, I’m not asking about their bunk beds. [/QUOTE] That’s not what _I_ was thinking! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/7 "2007-09-21T18:14:32Z")
The Louvin Brothers were a big influence on the Everlys. And their harmony style was far from simple. From Amazon’s entry for [The Bear Family’s massive Louvin Brothers collection](http://www.amazon.com/Close-Harmony-Louvin-Brothers/dp/B000001AY6/ref=sr_1_1/103-5197758-6337457?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190398191&sr=8-1): > [@](#): > > Of all the great harmonies in country music, the greatest belong to Ira and Charlie Louvin. Born three years apart on a red-clay Alabama farm, the Louvin Brothers took the sisterly harmonies of the Carter Family and the brotherly tightness of the Monroe and Callahan brothers to new, chilling heights. They redefined duo harmony by interweaving and switching tenor and alto parts, finding fresh, undiscovered colors along the way. Hear some [Brother Acts](http://www.rhapsody.com/country/traditionalcountry/brotheractscloseharmony) here… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/8 "2007-09-22T11:37:00Z")
Don is clearly taking the lead/low part on these two: [Bye Bye Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFoIdxLBm_A) [Wake Up Little Suzie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvJJN5MuKfM) …and in the couple of other clips (as well as these two), Phil is a bit farther from the mike, kind of standard practice for one doing high harmonies. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/9 "2007-09-22T14:03:52Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] Don is clearly taking the lead/low part on these two: [Bye Bye Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFoIdxLBm_A) [Wake Up Little Suzie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvJJN5MuKfM) …and in the couple of other clips (as well as these two), Phil is a bit farther from the mike, kind of standard practice for one doing high harmonies. [/QUOTE] Also on [Bird Dog](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb-4cmjTA1s&mode=related&search=). ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/10 "2007-09-22T16:35:33Z")
I have no idea of the answer. Just wanted to say that “On the Wings of a Nightingale” is the most underrated recording of all-time. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/don-and-phil-who-was-the-top-and-who-was-the-bottom/419708/11 "2007-09-22T18:17:50Z")
John Sebastian claims that, decades ago, when Stephen Stills and David Crosby were seeking a high harmony singer, he told them, “There are really only two high harmony singers- you’ve got Phil Everly and you’ve got Graham Nash.” Phil mustn’t have been available.