Post by cenydd on Jan 4, 2014 10:34:04 GMT
Phil Everly - who with his brother, Don, made up the revered US rock and country duo - has died aged 74.
He passed away in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank following complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, Patti, told the LA Times.
His wife told the newspaper that the disease was contracted through a lifetime of smoking and that the family was "absolutely heartbroken".
The Everly Brothers, with their high, close-harmony singing, had 19 top 40 hits during their heyday between 1957 and 1962.
Their songs include Bye Bye Love, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Cathy's Clown, and Wake Up Little Susie.
They profoundly influenced 1960s-era groups and singer-songwriters ranging from Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who early in their careers called themselves the Foreverly Brothers, to Simon and Garfunkel, the Byrds, the Hollies and the Beach Boys.
"Perhaps even more powerfully than Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers melded country with the emerging sound of Fifties rock & roll," Rolling Stone magazine said in placing the brothers at No.33 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists.
news.sky.com/story/1190092/phil-everly-half-of-pioneer-rock-duo-dies
The Everly Brothers were a favourite of my mother, and a huge influence on my childhood musical taste and its subsequent development. I saw them on their 1991 UK tour, and they were excellent.
RIP Phil Everly. A true legend.