Everly One Of These A Classic

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:28 am

When talking about classic compositions the Everly Brothers are certainly toward the top of my list. The influence of these masters of harmony can be seen over the music of more than four decades.

The list from 1957 to 1960 is extensive and includes such great numbers as Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Bird Dog, Devoted To You, 'Til I Kissed You, Let It Be Me, When Will I Be Loved and my favourite Cathy's Clown.

Remember Cathy's Clown. Oh the humility of it all, being the laughing stock of the town. The nightmare of the adolescent. But sung so beautifully it almost made the difficult pill easier to swallow.

These brothers certainly had my attentin when they came on the radio. Their style became the benchmark against which all other harmony was measured. Their influence can be heard in so many groups that would follow them.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:42 am

CATHY'S CLOWN
(Don and Phil Everly)[/size]

Don't want your love any more
Don't want your kisses that's for sure
I die each time I hear the sound
Here he comes, that's Cathy's clown

I gotta stand tall
You know a man can't crawl
For when he knows he's telling lies
And he lets them pass on by
He's not a man at all

Don't want your love any more
Don't want your kisses that's for sure
I die each time I hear the sound
Here he comes, that's Cathy's clown

When you see me shed a tear
And when you know that it's sincere
Don't you think it's kind of sad
That you're treating me so bad
Or don't you even care

Don't want your love any more
Don't want your kisses that's for sure
I die each time I hear the sound
Here he comes, that's Cathy's clown

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:49 am

Who can disagree with that Peter....

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 2:00 am

I remember, when "Wake Up, Little Susie" was at the top of the charts, columnist Ann Landers campaigned to have it banned due to "obscene content" and voiced her concern that American teenagers would emulate the song's plot by staying out all night...

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 2:07 am

A great comment Paul on the perceived danger of popular music.

Music is clearly an emotional experience and there has been this perception that music causes such a biochemical disturbance that irrational behaviour must follow.

I have always been amazed that such proponents of the Ann Landers' hypothesis didn't thoroughly consider that the thoughts and emotions convenyed in music may have first stemmed from everyday life experiences. The chicken or the egg?

bill_yantz · Post by **bill_yantz** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 2:40 am

Great subject Peter. The Everlys are everything you said about harmony. They happened to have been two of the best individual singers ever. But together, they were pure magic, tone and perfection in the highest degree. The quality of there voices were exceptional as individuals but the magic occurred when they sang togther. Phil was a master at following every nuance of Don's vocal lines in the sweetest harmony of all time. It just doesn't get any better - period. John and Paul are in a class of their own for more reasons than just their ability to sing together. But, the edge that the Everly's had was that they were brothers. Their voices were a perfect match; Don the perfect lead with incredible depth and articulation and Phil with the higher voice and uncanny ability to hit every harmony perfectly. They sang like identical twins look, joined in a rare musical bond. I can't think of anyone on the Pop charts before or after that comes close to them. I can think of other acts that were siblings that had the same vocal tightness; The Andrews Sisters and the Lennon Sisters come to mind. However, the Everly's were able to touch a young generation with songs sung with impeccable brilliance and soulful feeling.

My alltime favorite Everly Brothers song is; "Crying in the Rain."

A perfect combination of vocal and words that hits the core of your feelings about "boyfriend & girlfriend." This one is about the sad part of either losing someone you love or loving someone you will never have. It might be viewed as kind of corny but all so true in any event no matter what the age. That's why they were so popular - they stirred emotions of romance. Read the words, they are killer. If you have never heard the song, try to find it and listen. The music & vocal arrangement are masterful.

I’ll never let you see
The way my broken heart is hurting in me
I’ve got my pride and I know how to hide
All my sorrow and pain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

If I wait for stormy skies
You won’t know the rain from the tears in my eyes
You’ll never know that I still love you so
Though the heartaches remain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

Raindrops falling from heaven
Could never take away my misery
Since we’re not together
I pray for stormy weather
To hide these tears I hope you’ll never see

Someday when my crying is done
I’m gonna wear a smile and walk in the sun
I may be a fool but till then, darling, you'll never see me complain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

I’ll do my crying in the rain
I’ll do my crying in the rain
I’ll do my crying in the rain

apollo11 · Post by **apollo11** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 2:56 am

And, Peter, let's not forget Walk Right Back, one of my all-time favorite songs and my favorite EB song. It was recorded after their real heyday, so it is not often found on greatest hits packages, but it is one of those songs that is 100% perfectly crafted, and one that sounds as good today as it did the day it was recorded.

These songs never go out of style. The Everly Brothers are rare in the regard that they never become dated. It is a testiment to their brilliance.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 2:59 am

Bill: How could I have forgot to mention "Crying In The Rain?" You are so right, a haunting melody and the harmony lines "All my sorrow and pain, I'll do my crying in the rain" is, as you well point out, "masterful."

Should this song not pull at the strings of your heart, I don't know what could. Walking in the rain has never been quite the same for me after listening to and singing this song.

When a young lover starts praying for stormy weather to cope, you know a life-experience has cut ever so deeply.

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 3:03 am

You'll get no argument from me and so eloquently put by all. However it somewhat ironic that their demise in chart terms with one exception Price Of Love was really brought about in the UK by the Beat Group boom virtually all of whom confessed to having been influenced to some degree by The Everlys, they came back with three fine albums in the eighties and did have a minor hit with On The Wings of A Nightingale written by Paul McCartney.

The three albums were The Everly Brothers, Born yesterday and Some Hearts, how many have heard tracks from those albums, I bought all of them.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 3:19 am

Roy: I am familar with some hearts, but confess to not owning any. I am intrigued by the McCartney connection. Is it possible for you to post a link to "On The Wings Of A Nightingale?"

Andrew: Right you are, "Walk Right Back" is another great number and one that I should have included. As you say, a reflection of their brilliance.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 6:27 am

You know, Paul's comment relates to the percieved danger of staying out all night, as well...the era of Little Susie was a golden age compared to the world kids inhabit now. Our fair city has a strict eleven p.m. curfew for anyone under 18, and enforces it with arrest and detention at designated neighborhood centers.

If that song were written today, it would have to have references to mug shots and fingerprinting. Treat every kid in town like a gangsta and you get more gangstas...you could substitute the word 'insurgents' if you like...

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:37 pm

I have just about every thing they ever recorded including their last three Lp's. I was not impressed by the McCartney tune "On the Wings of a Nightingale", they did "Why worry" by Mark Knofler on their 2nd comeback LP which was far superior. It sounded like vintage Everyly's and could have been a hit. I think McCartney's heart was in the right place but the song was kind of insipid.
I saw them perform in Boston about ten years ago and they were great. The song "Gone Gone Gone" has always been one of my favorites. The LP "Two Yanks in England" is also a good one, The Hollies did most of the back up tracks on it and wrote some of the songs. The Everly Bros. had a lot of bad luck as far as getting those elusive hits later in their career.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:53 pm

Bob: I think that "On The Wings Of A Nightingale" is a good vocal performance and the Everlys harmonies are reminiscent of the early days.

For me, the aspect that is either dull or monotonous is the instrumentation which is too loud, too persussive and varies little from one part of the song to the next. Almost a Karioke track.

I consider that in the hands of a different producer and with two acoustic guitars, minus the effects, this number could have been a classic as the melody and lyrics aren't bad at all. Perhaps the Blackbird tweet-tweet bird ending could have been dropped as well.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 5:00 pm

I lived in SoCal at the time and was busily completing the restoration of a black '57 Chevy Nomad wagon. The song comes out, and the MTV video for the song shows--you guessed it--a singing '57 Chevy restoration, except they compress it into about 3 minutes. I couldn't help thinking that they were cynically going for the nostalgia vote. The next week I went to see them at the OC Fairgrounds, and they did put on a good show. Seems like this must've been around August '84. Yikes. 21 years ago...

royclough · Post by **royclough** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:33 am

I agree Bob there were better tracks on that first comback album and on subsequent albums, Brown Eyes a latter day Crying In The Rain but one standout track was Always Drive A Cadillac, I gave this to John McNally of some liverpool band and he was blown away by it and wanted to put it in to the act, regretfully they could not get it right to John's satisfaction so it never happened.