Margaret Everly, the 102 year old mother of the Everly Brothers is still with us. God Bless her. Son Don just died on August 21, 2021. The internet is full of tributes. Here's what I wrote over 7 years ago when brother Phil passed.
January 07, 2014
The Everly Brothers - So Sad
Phil Everly died on January 3rd, about 2 weeks shy of his 75th birthday. You can read the obits from Rolling Stone, the New York Times, the L.A. Times and many other on-line sources. Artists like the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel have acknowledged the influence of the Everly Brothers on their music. Older brother and lead singer Don will turn 77 on February 1st. The Everly Brothers were one of the first singers I liked as a kid. I was 11 in 1957 when first I heard them sing Bye Bye Love on one of the rock radio stations in NYC. Their harmonies were incredible. For 5 years, 1957 - 1962, the brothers were one of the top hitmakers with songs like Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Til I Kissed You, Cathy's Clown, When Will I Be Loved, Let It Be Me, Walk Right Back and Crying in the Rain.
The brothers also did some songwriting. A check of BMI shows that Phil had 154 "work titles" and Don had 69. Phil was the sole writer for When Will I Be Loved. Together they wrote Gone Gone Gone and Phil co-wrote Up In Mabel's Room and God Bless Older Ladies with Terry Slater. Don was the sole writer for Cathy's Clown, Til I Kissed You, So Sad, Born Yesterday, I Wonder If I Care As Much, Maybe Tomorrow, Oh What a Feeling and Since You Broke My Heart. (BMI is a PRO - Performing Rights Organization, along with ASCAP & SESAC. See my post of 4/14/10, Searching the PRO's.)
Here are some of my favorite Everly songs among their album tracks and lesser known singles. The names of the writers appear in parenthesis after the song title followed by a lyric reminder and maybe a comment:
Mention My Name in Sheboygan (Bob Hilliard, Sammy Mysels & Dick Sandford) "but please don't tell them where I am". Written in 1947, it sounds like it could be from the Roaring 20's or the Gay Nineties (the 1890's). A frantic pace for 1 minute and 48 seconds.
Up in Mabel's Room (Phil & Terry Slater) - "winner or dud you feel like a stud, up in Mabel's room".
The Bryants, Felice and Boudleaux, wrote a ballad in which the guy winds up in jail and an uptempo song in which the girl winds up in jail. The songs were released on the same 45 rpm record. The "A" side was "Take a Message to Mary" and the "B" or flip side was "Poor Jenny". I have the Cadence 45. It was rare that the flip side of a 45 was any good but Everly 45's flip sides were better than most.
the Mary song:
"Take a message to Mary but don't say I'm in a jam
You can tell her I had to see the world or tell that my ship set sail
You can say she better not wait for me but don't tell her I'm in jail
Oh, don't tell her I'm in jail"
the Jenny song:
"Jenny has a brother and he's hot on my trail
Her daddy wants to ride me out of town on a rail
I hope I'll be around when Jenny gets out of jail
Poor Jenny"
Two more ladies (we've already dealt with Susie, Cathy, Mary & Jenny):
Claudette (Roy Orbison) the flip side of All I Have to Do Is Dream.
"She's the greatest little girl that I've ever met
I get the best lovin that I'll ever get
From Claudette, pretty little pet Claudette
Oh oh Claudette".
Lucille (Albert Collins & Richard Penniman)
"Lucille,
Please come back where you belong
I've been good to you baby,
Please don't leave me alone".
a few more Everly songs:
Like Strangers (Boudleaux Bryant)
"Let's forget that we've been angry.
Let's be lovers like before.
And swear not to be like strangers anymore".
Don't Say Goodnight (Jim Photoglo & Brian Neary)
"One more hour, if we could;
You make me feel so good
Say it's all right
Darlin', don't say goodnight".
Don't Blame Me (Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields) "for falling in love with you", a standard from 1932, covered over 100 times but I can't imagine a better version.
That's Old Fashioned (Bill Giant, Berbie Baum & Florence Kaye) mid-tempo ode to old fashioned love.
"I'm the kind who loves only one
So the boys say I'm old fashioned
Let them laugh, honey I don't mind
I've made plans for a wedding day for you and me
That's old fashioned, that's the way love should be".
Torture (John D. Loudermilk) the flip side of Gone, Gone, Gone (which was most recently covered by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.)
"You know that I'm crazy about you
Yet you make me do without you
Do you mean to hurt, or don't you see
You're torturing me, torturing me"
How Can I Meet Her (Gerry Goffin & Jack Keller)
"I hate that stuck-up so-&-so
But there's one thing I gotta know
Where 's she live, what's her number & how can I meet her?"
Stories We Could Tell (John Sebastian - of Lovin' Spoonful fame)
"So if you're on the road a-trackin' down your every night
And singin' for a livin' 'neath the brightly colored light
And if you ever wonder why you ride this carousel
You did it for the stories you could tell".
The Brand New Tennessee Waltz (Jesse Winchester)
"At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
You're literally waltzing on air
At the brand new Tennessee Waltz
There's no telling who will be there".
and finally,
Bowling Green (Terry Slater)
"Way down in Bowling Green
Prettiest girls I've ever seen
A man in Kentucky
Sure is lucky
To live down in Bowling Green".
What are your favorite Everly songs besides their big hits?
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