Kent -
So sad to hear about Phil Everly's passing Friday. For
a primer on the roots of rock and roll go to "you tube" and listen to the Everly
Brother's reunion concert at the Albert Royal Hall, an hour well spent, as I
never got a chance to see them in person.
Mike De Martino
President of the Lovejoy Music
Club
Truly one of the great harmony
singers of the rock (or any other) era is gone. Phil Everly passed away at
a Burbank, CA hospital on Friday. He was 74.
I'm lucky to have seen them several
times, including 'live' in their KY hometown ten or twelve years ago -- and at
the California State Fair, Sacramento, in 1959. Between '57 and '60, their
record sales were only rivaled by Elvis and Pat Boone (even though the RRHOF
continues to snub Boone). They had four #1's in their first seven or eight
releases and over thirty Top 30 hit records -- at one time averaging a hit
single every three to four months.
There is simply nothing greater to
us music junkies than true sibling harmonies -- be it the Andrews Sisters of the
WW2 years, the McGuire Sisters in the early and mid-50's, The Beach Boys -- at
their height -- in the 60's, and the Bee Gee's in the late '60's and 70's. To be
fair, I'd have to add the Jackson Five and The Osmonds to the list, but there is
really no comparison in my opinion as some of their biggest singles featured
Michael and Donny.
Don may have gotten a lot of the
credit, being the older brother and lead singer, but if you take away Phil's
incredible harmonies, there simply wouldn't be that great 'sound.' (Note: Two
great country singers who were not related but whose sound 'fit like a glove,'
Buck Owens and Don Rich, also had great vocal harmonies, and their duel lead
guitar rifts pretty much made the Buck Owens 'sound.')
Whenever I give a tour of historic
RCA Studio "B," I always play two or more of Don and Phil's greatest hits,
including "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and "Cathy's Clown," both recorded there.
It just doesn't get much better than that. And to think all these artists of
that era -- including Elvis, Orbison, Cline, Brenda Lee --were recording two
tracks (an "A" and a "B" side) in less than three hours. No overdubs, no vocal
tuning, and mixing it on the fly. Now, we're typically spending 35 to 50 hours,
or more, per song, including a day and a half -- and upwards of six days -- to
mix it. It was strictly God-given talent that ruled the early rock era.
Rip, Phil. We're gonna miss ya --
but we are truly blessed by the great musical legacy you leave behind.
Fred Vail / Music City,
USA
The loss of Phil Everly is personal
one for me. Was there ever any singing duo greater or who achieved as much
musical perfection as Don an Phil Everly? I can close my eyes and still see us
all hanging back stage at the Alan Freed Shows swapping stories and guitars with
Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and others! Those are days I will
treasure until my life on this earth is finished. It was a magical time and none
of us kids really knew if R&R would last -- or if we'd have to eventually
leave the music industry and get a day job! Phil was a great talent and I will
sorely miss him. God Bless His soul!
Charlie Gracie
Charlie Gracie, standing second right with pal, Eddie Cochran, the
Everlys (Don & Phil) and Singer / pro-golfer, Don Cherry (Band of Gold,
fame) in Chicago in early 1957.
My heart is so incredibly saddened
by the passing of Phil Everly. The Everly Brothers' music was a huge inspiration
for me growing up. As brothers, those harmonies just sound so sweet and tender.
I think it's a family thing. I could never get enough of their
voices.
-- Brian Wilson
Vintage Vinyl News ran several other celebrity tributes on their site the
other day ... here are a couple ...
Phil Everly is gone. Touring with Phil and Don was one
of the thrills of my life. I love you Phillip - Godspeed.
Nancy Sinatra
Phil and Don were the most beautiful sounding duo I
ever heard. The Everlys were there at the crossroads of country and R&B.
They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock and roll.
Paul Simon
I always admired the Everly brothers. Now, Phil has
passed. He wrote "When Will I Be Loved". I'd say always!
Paul Williams
and you can read the rest here:
and you can read the rest here:
Kent,
With all the banter about Phil's passing and the Everly
Brothers, I'm surprised there wasn't a mention of their 1966 release titled
"GONE GONE GONE".
They performed it on Shindig and, for a moment, some
thought this would be a comeback song, but it didn't chart well, despite the
hint of Bo Diddly and other influences in the guitar work.
These are among several You Tube links that'll take you
there.
Enjoy!
Peace.
Bill Fortune
(Bussiere)
"Gone Gone Gone" has long been a Forgotten Hits favorite ... we've featured
it a few times and I agree, it felt like a "comeback hit" of sorts at the time
... but we were just too deep into The British Invasion to appreciate it at the
time. (It actually charted in '64, peaking at #31 but reaching #11 here in
Chicago.) I remember being completely blown away when they featured it on
"American Dreams" a few years ago as part of an American Bandstand segment ...
showed the musical staff to have a pretty deep appreciation for more than just
the usual "tried and true" hits. Betcha quite a few radio stations around the
globe featured it this weekend in Phil's memory. (kk)
A real fine blog post a out Phil that stretches further
from most of the obit write-ups:
musicisinmysoul
re: Some Great Up-Coming Shows:
Ron Onesti seems to have cornered the market when it comes to "must see" shows in the Chicagoland area. Just wait till you see who he's added to the agenda now!!!
FEB 6 & 7 CHEAP TRICK
FEB 14 GROOVIN THE SIXTIES starring Gary Puckett & The Buckinghams with a full orchestra
FEB 23 A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
(Beatles film) Sing-A-Long to Benefit Open Door Clinic
MAR 1 AIR SUPPLY
MAR 15 GORDON LIGHTFOOT
MAR 16 Former Members of ELO
MAR 28 THREE DOG NIGHT
MAR 29 EDDIE MONEY
MAR 30 Ricky Nelson Remembered (starring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson ... and a tribute to their father)
APR 12 LITTLE ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS*
APR 13 Paul Revere & The Raiders
APR 18 CTA Tribute to CHICAGO with Danny Seraphine, Billy Champlain and Larry Braggs (Tower of Power)*
APR 19 FOGHAT
APR 26 SURF CITY ALL STARS with Dean Torrence (of Jan & Dean) and the original Beach Boy band
MAY 2 THE MONKEES' MICKEY DOLENZ
MAY 3 ECHOES OF POMPEI (an incredible tribute to Pink Floyd)
MAY 17 BLUE OYSTER CULT
MAY 30 HERMAN'S HERMITS (starring Peter Noone)
JUN 7 LOU GRAMM (of Foreigner)
SEPT 13 EXILE
SEPT 20 FELIX CAVALIERE'S RASCALS WITH SPECIAL GUESTS THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
OCT 3 JOHNNY RIVERS
OCT 5 AL STEWART
OCT 24 GARY WRIGHT
OCT 25 TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELS
NOV 7 BJ THOMAS
NOV 15 LITTLE RIVER BAND
NOV 22 THE SPINNERS
Full details on the OShows Website:
