A musical influence on the Beatles, The Beach Boys and Simon and Garfunkel, I’ve always thought that the music of the Everly Brothers is timeless. They were one of the first artists I recognized on the radio as a kid (Daddy listened to the Oldies station a lot) 
Any Love For Don and Phil in here?
I saw them here in Austin, a few years ago, as “special guests” of Simon and Garfunkel.
Unlike many oldies acts, Phil and Don still sound wonderful.
They’d still be remembered if they’d recorded only two songs: *All I Have to Do Is Dream *and Let It Be Me.
The first record I ever bought was an Everly Brothers record. I got it in the early 90’s at a second hand store in Maryland. I had it all through my years in foster care, until I was just about to move out on my own and some bitch broke it.
DJ said today or yesterday that, when they signed with Warner Bros, it was the first million-dollar contract in rock.
Nazareth’s version of “Love Hurts” is lovely, but the line, “Love is like a flame–it burns you when it’s hot,” is not as evocative of a bygone era as, “Love is like a stove–it burns you when it’s hot.”
There are women of a certain age, for whom Cathy’s Clown is an anthem
Sigh. I wasn’t going to out myself, but I have perhaps 300 Everly Brothers records and have been to perhaps 30 concerts. I should start an "Ask the . . . " thread.
Bye Bye Love and Wake Up Little Suzy are easy songs that should be part of any starting guitarist’s repetoire. And most folks know them - they’ve really endured.
Such wonderful close-in harmonies.
Yes. Yes, you should.
Well, let’s consider this it. What do you want to know?
Is it true that, even though they still perform together and still sound wonderful together, they still hate each other as much as they did that memorable night at Knotts Berry Farm, and barely speak to each other offstage?
No. They have a kind of arms-length understanding; they live separate lives and after they reunited, it was on a new, and better, status – they no longer have to be yoked together. Don lives in Nashville and Phil in L.A., and when they see each other, it’s because they want to. They are mostly retired now. Phil and his son Jason own a company that sells guitar strings.
Sigmagirl
How do you know so much about The Everly Brothers? how did you get into their music, and if you don’t mind me asking, approximately how old are you?
On SamCookeChannel.com there is a clip of them singing “Lucille” with Sam. It was impromptu and so cool.
I have actually been listening to one of their CDs lately that is a greatest hits compilation–So Sad to Watch Good Love Go Bad, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Claudette, Cathy’s Clown, Walk Right Back–great, great songs.
Well, OK. This is going to take a while. 
I apologize in advance.
I guess it was 23 years ago on Wednesday, because it was my 27th birthday, August 19, 1986. Because I will be 50 on Wednesday which hurts my fingers to type. My father totally forgot my birthday, and I went to work and had a crappy day. My friend Elizabeth called me to wish me a happy birthday, and I told her it was for shit. And she called me back a little later, and said she and our other friend Victoria were taking me to a concert that night and I should go home after work and wait for them to pick me up. So I did.
They took me to Blossom Music Center, which is an outdoor amphitheatre about four miles from my house. The Everly Brothers were playing. The girls had brought a picnic with cake, champagne and caviar. Blossom has a capacity of 13,500 on the lawn and 5700 in the pavilion, and I don’t think there were 3000 there total. It was really pathetic. A little bit before the show was to start, some usher-types came around and told us to move down into the pavilion so it wouldn’t look so bad that there were so few people there. I think we were in the third or fourth row, and with nobody on the lawn, still the pavilion was only a little more than half full. I don’t remember an opening act.
Of course they did all their oldies, and they were wonderful. Then they said they were going to perform some of their new stuff, and I thought, “oh, crap.” You know, who wants to hear new stuff, play Freebird! But they played On the Wings of a Nightingale from EB84, and it was a great song, and then – they played this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rD6qiffsIA. It really was one of the most divine moments ever. I was totally blissed out and I didn’t care if it was my birthday or the pope’s birthday. *I bought the CD and I didn’t even have a CD player yet. *
And it was about that time I realized just how dumb I really was. I have posted before that I have a pair of cousins who were entertainers in the Cleveland area in the ‘60s. They played in small venues and knew a lot of semi-famous folks (Eric Carmen and the like – I think one of them sat in with the James Gang for a bit, but I may be misremembering). That was all part of my life from childhood, and it was nothing to me when I was 10 to sit in a cocktail lounge until 3 a.m. to listen to six hours of pop and rock standards, all of which I knew by heart and who wrote them. I knew where all the bands hung out after their shows, which promoters were assholes, and the difference between a B-3 and a Farfisa.
But all the stuff I knew was in a great big clot; I had no linear knowledge. I didn’t know how Louis Jordan –> Chuck Berry –> Creedence Clearwater Revival or Woody Guthrie –> Bob Dylan or especially Merle Travis –> The Everly Brothers –> The Beatles/Simon and Garfunkel. So I decided, not in a solemn-vow sort of way, but just as in a “I don’t have anything else to do” way, to find out. And I got books, and I bought records. I got greatest-hit records by each of the founding members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and listened to them. I went to concerts by Chubby Checker and Dion and Carl Perkins and everybody else who came to town. I read and read and read.
And I bought lots of Everly Brothers records, because they were the ones I liked the best. This was before I had internet access and before eBay, so I got them from auctions in Goldmine magazine. Most of them were only a couple of bucks. The rarer ones, I paid $15-$20 for. They’re not like Elvis rarities. I went to record shows and bought them really cheap, while everybody else was swarming over New Kids on the Block bootlegs. I have dozens of EPs and picture sleeves, and lots of foreign issues. Unfortunately, they are not worth much more than I paid for them. But the knowledge I have now is worth every penny to me, and it certainly pays off well in trivia games.
So that is about it; sorry it is so long. I will second the OP by saying that the Everly Brothers are the greatest duo ever and fuck the Judds.
Thanks for posting that YouTube link – I’m a huge Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits fan, and it’s always fun to hear alternative versions of their songs. “Why Worry” is simply beautiful, and I enjoyed Phil and Don’s interpretation quite a lot (and I had to laugh at your Judds comment, because Wynonna did a [solo] version of Dire Straits’ “The Bug” that paled in comparison to the original).
I have very fond memories of a high school friend and me sitting in his basement listening to his parents’ Everly Brothers records – that was in 1986 or so. Incredible harmonization.
About the time “Brothers in Arms” came out, there was a special on Cinemax, I think, called “Chet Atkins - Ceritfied Guitar Player.” There were many special guests - Mark Knopfler was the first introduced. He did “Walk of Life” with Chet playing along. Next were the Everly Brothers." The first time I heard “Why Worry” on “Brothers in Arms,” I thought what a perfect song for the EB. And they performed it with Knopfler and Atkins doing the guitars. It remains one of the single most beautiful things I’ve ever heard.
They were new when I first heard them, and they knocked me out. I’d never heard that sort of harmony before and was fascinated by it. I always try to do harmony when singing along with the radio, but basically I suck at it (no formal training). It seemed so effortless for them. I think I may have had a guy crush.
I saw 'em a few years back, I think it was with Simon & Garfunkel. Man, are they still good. Such harmony! I may be wrong, but I believe this concert was one of their first “back together” after the Big Break-up.
I saw them on that same tour. When the marquee said “Special Guests: The Everly brothers,” I assumed they’d be the opening act. Instead, Simon and Garfunkel took the stage right on time, at 8 PM, and played for 30 minutes or so.
Then, they performed the first hit single they ever had: “Hey Schoolgirl,” which they’d recorded under the name Tom and Jerry. Immediately after, Paul Simon said, “Well, it’s pretty obvious when you hear that song that we were just a couple of kids trying to sound like the Everly Brothers.” and with that, they brought on Phil and Don. The Everly boys did 4 of their old hits, unaccompanied, and then did “Bye Bye Love” with Paul, Art and their band. At that point, the Everlys left the stage, and the S & G show resumed.
Too often, “oldies” acts sound horrible, and we have to struggle to bestow SOME kind of compliment. Frequently, we’re inclined to applaud guys just for being alive at this point. But the Everlys really did still sound wonderful. Not “wonderful for their age,” just plain wonderful.