Posted on 01/03/2014 7:11:35 PM PST by Carriage Hill
Phil Everly, half of one of the most popular and influential music duos of the 1950s and '60s, the Everly Brothers, died Friday at age 74, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Times quoted Everly's wife, Patti, as saying Everly died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after decades of smoking.
NBC News couldn't immediately reach Patti Everly to confirm the Times report, which quoted her as saying, “We are absolutely heartbroken.”
At their peak, the Everly Brothers — Phil, who was born in 1939, and Don, who was born in 1937 and survives his younger brother — hit it big in 1957 with "Bye Bye Love."
With its soaring, tight harmonies expressing dejection at lost love in an anomalously chirpy manner, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts. It has been covered by dozens of other prominent artists as wide-ranging as Ray Charles, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Trini Lopez and Simon & Garfunkel.
That was quickly followed by two more monster hits, "Wake Up Little Susie" and "All I Have to Do Is Dream."
Hits in the 1960s included "Carly's Clown," "When Will I Be Loved" and "Cryin' in the Rain."
(Excerpt) Read more at today.com ...
Walk Right back was on Warner and they moved from Cadence to Warner with a $1 million dollar contract (largest ever at the time) in 1960.
Smooth and sweet.
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