Background

Don Everly, born Isaac Donald Everly, was born on February 1, 1937, in Brownie, Kentucky, United States. Son of Ike and Margaret Everly. He was the son of Isaac Milford and Margaret Everly. He was two years older than his brother, Phil. Don's father was a Kentucky coal miner who became a musician and moved the family to Chicago. They later moved to Iowa.

He and his brother, Phil, joined their parents on his father's Iowa radio show, and the Everly brothers continued to grow and develop as musical artists. They also had a talent for songwriting, with Don even writing a song that was recorded by Kitty Wells.

Education

Don and his brother attended West High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Career

When the Everly moved to Knoxville Tennessee, Don and Phil transitioned to a duo, they caught the attention of Chet Atkins, who became an early champion of the brothers. He arranged for them to record for Columbia Records in early 1956. Their first and only single 'Keep a Lovin' Me' flopped and they were dropped from the label.

Atkins kept up his encouragement and introduced them to Wesley Rose of Acuff-Rose music publishers who were impressed with their songwriting talents. Rose told them that if they signed as songwriters they would also get a recording deal. By early 1957, Rose introduced them to Archie Bleyer, who was looking for artists for his Cadence Records label. Their first session in the recording studio for Cadence was in February 1957.

'Bye Bye Love,' their first single, had already been rejected by 30 other acts, but the Everlys saw the potential in the song and reached number 2 in the pop charts behind someone called Elvis Presley singing 'Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear.' They hit number 1 in the country charts, and number 5 in the R&B charts.

They toured extensively with Buddy Holly during 1957 and 1958 and were responsible for the change in style for Holly and the Crickets from Levis and t-shirts to sharp Ivy League suits. Don claimed Holly was a generous songwriter. He wrote 'Wishing for the pair.' Phil later about Holly and themselves that they "were all from the South. We'd started in country music."

After signing the new contract with Warner Brothers, they went on to have a string of top 10 hits and by the end of 1962, they had earned $35 million from record sales.

However, signing with Warner led to a fall out with their manager Wesley Rose, and his music publishing company, so they were shut off from the Acuff-Rose songwriters, particularly Felice and Boudleaux Bryant who had written the majority of their hits up to that point, as well as not being able to write themselves, as they were still contracted to the company. They recorded a mix of covers and songs by other writers in order to avoid paying royalties to Acuff-Rose, and also used the collective name Jimmy Howard on a couple of tracks, a move which backfired when it was discovered and Acuff-Rose legally assumed the copyrights.

Their last United States top ten hit was 1962's 'That's Old Fashioned,' which had been previously recorded but unreleased by the Chordettes. They also enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in late 1961 for 6 months rather than being drafted into the Army for two years active service, which took them out of the spotlight for a while. While on-leave they performed Jezebel and Crying in the Rain on the Ed Sullivan Show, but from there on their United States chart success was limited, although they remained popular in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

The Hollies backed them on the 1966 album 'Two Yanks in England' and also wrote many of the album's songs.

Their album 'Roots' has been critically acclaimed as one of the finest early country-rock albums, but the 1970s would see their popularity wane even more, in spite of being the summer replacements for Johnny Cash's television show in 1970. Don released his solo album that same year, but it was not a success. Their final performance together during the 70s was on July 14th, 1973. Tensions began to surface during the show when the band skipped several songs, and the brothers started arguing on stage. Phil smashed his guitar, said "I’m through being an Everly Brother" and stormed off the stage, while Don went on playing the numbers by himself. He ended up telling the crowd "The Everly Brothers died ten years ago." They reportedly didn't speak to each other for almost a decade, save for at their father's funeral in 1975.

Don embarked on a solo career and collaborated with notable artists such as Emmylou Harris and Albert Lee. In 1983, the Everly Brothers got back together and played a reunion concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Don and Phil continued to perform together periodically over the years. They even released another album, 1989's 'Some Hearts.' They also received more honors for their role in music history. In 1997, the pair received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. A few years later, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Don Everly attended the Annual Music Masters as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid homage to the Everly Brothers on October 25, 2014.

Achievements

• 

  Don Everly is known as a member of The Everly Brothers, which became one of the most acclaimed duos in rock music history. They were responsible for such classic hit songs as "Bye Bye Love" (1957), "Wake Up Little Susie" (1957), and "All I Have To Do Is Dream."
  
  Don Everly received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, as a part of The Everly Brothers. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1986), Country Music Hall of Fame (2001), Vocal Group Hall of Fame (2004), and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame (2009). Don and Phil Everly were awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
  
  Don and his brother Phil were voted the 33rd Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artists of all time by Rolling Stone.
  
  The Everly Brothers were inducted into the International Guitar Hall of Fame as a team. Don was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 with his brother Phil Everly. The Everly Brothers were inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame in 2008.
  
  Don Everly has been listed as a notable composer, musician by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

More photos

• music

  • The Everly Brothers 1957
  • Songs Our Daddy Taught Us 1958
  • It's Everly Time! 1960
  • Date with the Everly Brothers 1960
  • Both Sides Of An Evening 1961
  • Instant Party 1962
  • Christmas With The Everly Brothers And The Boys Town Choir 1962
  • The Everly Brothers Sing Great Country Hits 1963
  • Gone Gone Gone 1964
  • Rock 'N Soul 1965
  • Beat & Soul 1965
  • In Our Image 1966
  • Two Yanks In England 1966
  • The Hit Sound Of The Everly Brothers 1967
  • The Everly Brothers Sing 1967
  • Roots 1968
  • Stories We Could Tell 1972
  • Pass The Chicken & Listen 1973
  • EB 84 1984
  • Born Yesterday 1986
  • Some Hearts 1988
  • Brother Jukebox 1976
  • Don Everly 1971

Politics

Don Everly endorsed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016. Everly said he decided to support Mrs. Clinton because of her foreign policy experience from her stint as secretary of state.

"She has the expertise," said Everly. "She's met all the world leaders. She knows it pretty well, better than anybody. And I know she knows it better than anybody. She's been there - she's traveled that road as secretary of state. Obama picked the right person to do that. She's never fumbled the ball - she's always been there."

"From afar, I've followed her career," said Everly. "I really think that she will be good for us. She believes in equal rights, and equal pay for equal work. And in education, she believes in free community college, which would be good. A lot of the things that she believes in, I believe in."

It was the first time when Don ever endorsed a political candidate. While Don and his late brother, Phil Everly, made great music, Don indicates they were polar opposites, politically.

"Phil and I were so different," he said. "He was a Republican, and I've been a Democrat all my life. He was a Republican all his life, so we could never really get together and endorse anybody because we were on two different sides of everything. So now that he's no longer with us, I can come out and say what I feel."

Views

Both Don and Phil were competent guitarists, they used a style of close-harmony singing, in which each brother sang a tune that could often stand on its own as a plausible melody line. This was in contrast to 'classic' harmony lines which, while working well alongside the melody, would sound strange if heard by themselves. One of the best examples of their close-harmony work is their recording of "Devoted To You."

Quotations: "That's the one part where being brothers makes a difference. It's just instinct. That's the charm of what the Everly Brothers are: two guys singing as one."

"They say shock therapy is good for some things, but it didn't do me any good. It was a pretty primitive treatment at the time - once they gave it to you, you couldn't remember how long you'd been there. It knocked me back for a long time. I thought I'd never write again."

"When Phil and I started out, everyone hated rock n' roll. The record companies didn't like it at all - felt it was an unnecessary evil. And the press: interviewers were always older than us, and they let you know they didn't like your music, they were just doing the interview because it was their job."

Personality

Don was the frontman and lead singer of The Everly Brothers. He had a singing voice of wide range, and in the early years, he sang many solos in a tenor voice infused with a baritonal warmth. Don's voice moved into the baritone range smoothly and seductively.

Don's artist's eye developed the visual look for the act, taking it from their Country casual clothing to an Ivy League look and impeccable tailoring. The brothers were among the early rock era's sharpest dressers. They took the stage looking as though they had prepared for a formal event or a very special date.

Most of all, it was Don's talent that developed the music: he did most of the arranging, created the signature riffs that introduced the initial hits and wrote some of the act's best-known songs and best-selling recordings. He played an excellent acoustic rhythm guitar that attracted the attention and the praise of his contemporary musicians.

Quotes from others about the person

• Phil Everly was one of my great heroes. With his brother Don, they were one of the major influences on The Beatles. When John and I first started to write songs, I was Phil and he was Don. Years later when I finally met Phil, I was completely starstruck and at the same time extremely impressed by his humility and gentleness of soul. I will always love him for giving me some of the sweetest musical memories of my life." - Paul McCartney

Interests

• Music & Bands

  Rock and roll, Louvin Brothers

Connections

Married several times, Don Everly has four children. He has a daughter, Venetia Ember Everly, from his first marriage to Maryn Sue Ingraham from 1957 to 1961, and son Edan and daughters Stacy and Erin from his second marriage to Venetia Stevenson from 1962 to 1970. In 1975 Don married Karen Prettyman. The couple separated in 1983.

On March 22, 1997, Don married Adela Garza. They are still together.

Edan has followed in his father's footsteps, and the two have even performed together. Erin was once married to Guns N' Roses frontman, Axl Rose.

Father:

Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly

Mother:

Margaret Everly

ex-wife:

Venetia Stevenson

ex-wife:

Maryn Sue Ingraham

ex-wife:

Karen Prettyman

Brother:

Phil Everly

Wife:

Adela Garza

Daughter:

Venetia Ember Everly

Son:

Edan Everly

Daughter:

Stacy Everly

Daughter:

Erin Everly

colleague:

Paul McCartney

colleague:

Roy Orbison

colleague:

John Lennon

colleague:

Buddy Holly

colleague:

Jerry Lee Lewis

colleague:

Bo Diddley

colleague:

Ray Charles

colleague:

Paul Simon

References

• Everly Brothers: Diamond Anniversary
  2019