The Everly Brothers were first-generation pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll’s first golden era, but they always stood apart from many of their contemporaries due to their roots in rural Southern white music traditions rather than the blues and R&B that drove Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard et al. Bob Dylan was a fan (“We owe those guys everything; they started it all”), whilst John Lennon and Paul McCartney modelled their own vocal blend on Don and Phil’s tight harmonies. Simon & Garfunkel were clearly inspired, as were the Byrds, the Hollies, and the Eagles who all acknowledged their debt to the brothers’ unique sound.
They were born (Don in 1937 and Phil in 1939) into a family already steeped in country music. Ike Everly, their father, was a well-respected guitarist who landed a show on radio station KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, in 1944, and he moved the family there. Shortly after that, Don and Phil began appearing on his program, and by 1949 they were regulars on the show, lending their angelic harmonies to traditional mountain tunes popularized by the likes of the Blue Sky Boys, the Stanley Brothers and the Louvin Brothers (there were a lot of family-based groups in those days!).
In 1953, the family moved to Kentucky, and the following year Don and Phil got their first break when a family friend, guitarist Chet Atkins, picked one of Don’s early compositions for Kitty Wells to record. Atkins further convinced the brothers to move to Nashville to try to break into the business as a duo, and they were soon picked up by Archie Bleyer, the owner of New York label Cadence Records, who was suitably convinced by what he’d heard to make a record with them.
The first song Bleyer cut with the Everlys was Bye Bye Love, recorded at RCA Studios in Nashville on 1st March 1957. It became an instant national smash and over the next six years, the Everlys would land a staggering number of tunes on the upper reaches of the charts — including Wake Up Little Susie, Bird Dog, and All I Have to Do Is Dream (all written by husband and wife songwriting team, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant), as well as a handful penned by Don or Phil, such as (’Til) I Kissed You, When Will I Be Loved and Don’s lovely paean to teenage romantic angst, Cathy’s Clown.
By the time the Everlys recorded Cathy’s Clown in early 1960, their recording style was already very well-established. As always, the recording session was live with no overdubs, and the instrumentation was simple: acoustic and electric guitar, Floyd Cramer on piano, Floyd Chance on bass and Buddy Harman on drums. Released on 4th April 1960, it hit number one and remained there for five weeks.
For the next three years, the Everlys scored more hits, but by the end of 1964 the British Invasion was sweeping America and the brothers’ look and sound started to seem a bit dated; their staggering success began to subside. Nevertheless, the Everly Brothers’ place in pop history is secure, and this song remains a fabulous reminder of their wonderfully complementary vocal harmonies.
