An infinite number of tracks can each be THE greatest record ever made, as long as they take turns. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!
THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Gone, Gone, Gone
I was born in 1960, so I didn't know a world without the Everly Brothers. We had the A Date With The Everly Brothers LP in the family record collection, with "Cathy's Clown" and "Love Hurts," so I was at least aware of Don and Phil in the midst of the Beatlemania they helped to inspire. It would fall to TV ads for oldies records in the early '70s to introduce me to "All I Have To Do Is Dream" well after the fact, but no matter; great pop music has no expiration date. A world without the Everly Brothers? Not this world, not ever.
Each period of the Everly Brothers' recorded legacy is a treasure trove of A-1 pop music. You know the '50s and early '60s stuff--"Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "Claudette," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," and more, into "Cathy's Clown" and "Crying In The Rain"--and I wish more folks were aware of their records for Mercury in the '80s.
But my favorite Everly Brothers material would have to be the sublime sides they did for Warner Brothers in the '60s, tracks like the Mod classic "Man With Money," albums like their 1966 Hollies collaboration Two Yanks In England, and, especially, a powerhouse track called "Gone, Gone, Gone."
"Gone, Gone, Gone" is a British Invasion song made in America. Its rhythm bops and pops, its acoustic guitars sound as loud as John Lennon's Rickenbacker, and the pre-Beatles brothers produce a fiery level of pissed off directed at a faithless lover.
Everyone that you meet, baby
As you walk down the street, baby
Will ask you why you're walking all alone
Why you're on your own
Just say I'm gone
Gone gone gone
Done moved on
'Cause you done me wrong
When it comes to romantic recriminations, the Rolling Stones have nothing on the Everly Brothers.
The Everly Brothers' own story did not have the happy ending it deserved. It's said that the Everly Brothers became estranged again; Phil's death in 2014 made that divide permanent. Don Everly passed in 2021.
THE EVERLY BROTHERS: Gone, Gone, Gone
Written by Don and Phil Everly
Single, Warner Brothers Records, 1964
So sad to watch good love go bad. I have three older siblings, two brothers and a sister. I can't say we've always gotten along perfectly, but the few times we didn't were, frankly, my fault entirely, and occurred a long, long time ago. The idea of family discord is alien to me, and I know how fortunate I am in that regard.
Such discord was not alien to the Everly Brothers. I have no idea when the exquisite on-stage harmonies of Don and Phil Everly diverged so sharply from any hope of filial harmony in real life. We do know that Phil smashed his guitar and walked away during an Everly Brothers show in 1973, and that was the bitter, messy end of one of rockin' pop's all-time greatest acts.
So sad to watch good love go bad. I have three older siblings, two brothers and a sister. I can't say we've always gotten along perfectly, but the few times we didn't were, frankly, my fault entirely, and occurred a long, long time ago. The idea of family discord is alien to me, and I know how fortunate I am in that regard.
Such discord was not alien to the Everly Brothers. I have no idea when the exquisite on-stage harmonies of Don and Phil Everly diverged so sharply from any hope of filial harmony in real life. We do know that Phil smashed his guitar and walked away during an Everly Brothers show in 1973, and that was the bitter, messy end of one of rockin' pop's all-time greatest acts.
I was born in 1960, so I didn't know a world without the Everly Brothers. We had the A Date With The Everly Brothers LP in the family record collection, with "Cathy's Clown" and "Love Hurts," so I was at least aware of Don and Phil in the midst of the Beatlemania they helped to inspire. It would fall to TV ads for oldies records in the early '70s to introduce me to "All I Have To Do Is Dream" well after the fact, but no matter; great pop music has no expiration date. A world without the Everly Brothers? Not this world, not ever.
But I also didn't know that the Everlys ever ceased being a plural.
And then, they re-united: a concert in London in September of 1983. Could bygones become bygones? We don't know, and we can't say. Whatever backstage tension or day-to-day drama may or may not have still existed, when they sang, Don and Phil retained the angelic voices that made us dream, dream, dream. The reunion concert was an enormous success. The Everly Brothers were back!
The 2-LP document The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert led to new studio recordings by this band of brothers. EB 84 showed the Everly Brothers attempting to work together on an ongoing basis, highlighted by "On The Wings Of A Nightingale," a new song written by their disciple Paul McCartney. It was the first of three albums they recorded in the '80s, followed by the moving Born Yesterday in 1986 and the final album Some Hearts in 1988. I am so grateful that I had an opportunity to see the Everly Brothers (with guitarist Albert Lee!) in the late '80s/early '90s.
And then, they re-united: a concert in London in September of 1983. Could bygones become bygones? We don't know, and we can't say. Whatever backstage tension or day-to-day drama may or may not have still existed, when they sang, Don and Phil retained the angelic voices that made us dream, dream, dream. The reunion concert was an enormous success. The Everly Brothers were back!
The 2-LP document The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert led to new studio recordings by this band of brothers. EB 84 showed the Everly Brothers attempting to work together on an ongoing basis, highlighted by "On The Wings Of A Nightingale," a new song written by their disciple Paul McCartney. It was the first of three albums they recorded in the '80s, followed by the moving Born Yesterday in 1986 and the final album Some Hearts in 1988. I am so grateful that I had an opportunity to see the Everly Brothers (with guitarist Albert Lee!) in the late '80s/early '90s.
Each period of the Everly Brothers' recorded legacy is a treasure trove of A-1 pop music. You know the '50s and early '60s stuff--"Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "Claudette," "All I Have To Do Is Dream," and more, into "Cathy's Clown" and "Crying In The Rain"--and I wish more folks were aware of their records for Mercury in the '80s.
But my favorite Everly Brothers material would have to be the sublime sides they did for Warner Brothers in the '60s, tracks like the Mod classic "Man With Money," albums like their 1966 Hollies collaboration Two Yanks In England, and, especially, a powerhouse track called "Gone, Gone, Gone."
"Gone, Gone, Gone" is a British Invasion song made in America. Its rhythm bops and pops, its acoustic guitars sound as loud as John Lennon's Rickenbacker, and the pre-Beatles brothers produce a fiery level of pissed off directed at a faithless lover.
Everyone that you meet, baby
As you walk down the street, baby
Will ask you why you're walking all alone
Why you're on your own
Just say I'm gone
Gone gone gone
Done moved on
'Cause you done me wrong
When it comes to romantic recriminations, the Rolling Stones have nothing on the Everly Brothers.
The Everly Brothers' own story did not have the happy ending it deserved. It's said that the Everly Brothers became estranged again; Phil's death in 2014 made that divide permanent. Don Everly passed in 2021.
Bye bye love.
Gone, gone, gone.
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