I just can’t remember ever hearing The Everly Brothers for a first time; put another way – I can’t remember not having The Everly Brothers in my mind or on the stereo…but I don’t think I know a single album of theirs; it’s just always been the radio hits, covers and compilations. My mum bought a greatest hits tape and that did the rounds in her car, and then in my car…
And I think of The Everlys as being the precursor to Simon & Garfunkel, an antecedent – at least in their vocal harmonies – to the Finn Brothers too. And then of course in their warring ways they became an antecedent to The Kinks, Oasis, again – The Finns, any fighting brother bands…or duos where a tension was part of the magic.
The music of The Everly Brothers is so good that even Billie Joe from Green Day couldn’t fuck it up.
One of my favourite collections of Everly-related material was a recent/ish collaboration between Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and Dawn McCarthy. Brilliant set of songs.
So, again, this challenge comes up trumps for me – A Date With The Everly Brothers is a classic from 1960 that I didn’t know. But I knew some of the songs, the biggie, I guess, is Cathy’s Clown at the end. But there’s a few great staples on here, some R’n’B and R’n’R covers (Jimmy Reed, Little Richard) as well as songs written by Phil or Don and Phil…
And just 27 minutes. I love a good short album.
I’m nine from nine. Nine albums I’d never heard previously that I dig a lot. Eight of the nine acts I already knew – so that helps. But great to find and hear (and share) this stuff.