On This Day in 2014, We Lost One Half of the Most Beloved (and Complicated) Musical Duo of the Early 1960s

Rock and roll wasn’t dead by the time the 1960s rolled around. It was evolving in big ways, but it was far from coming to an end. The Everly Brothers were one group that made sure of that. 

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The outfit, made up of brothers Phil and Don Everly, had been active in rock and roll and rockabilly music since the 1950s, but their beginnings in music went even further back to their childhood as singers “Little Donnie” and “Baby Boy Phil.” They would go on to be one of the most famous duos in rock music history, though their time in the spotlight would be marred by a descending career and drug abuse. And, on this day in 2014, we lost one half of that duo. Phil Everly passed away on January 3, 2014, at the age of 74.

Let’s take a walk through music history and celebrate the legacy of Phil Everly on the anniversary of his passing.

The Legacy of Phil Everly

Phillip “Phil” Everly was born on January 19, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois. Along with his older brother, Don, Phil formed The Everly Brothers in 1951. The duo first signed to a record label in 1957 and scored a hit with the song “Bye Bye Love”. Their music spanned countless genres, from rock and roll to rockabilly to country music. They enjoyed several more high-charting crossover hits and enjoyed quite a career through the early 1960s. Sadly, the duo’s relationship and career ran into several difficult situations, from a sharp downturn in their popularity during the rest of the 1960s to drug abuse problems. They would eventually disband in 1973, and not on the best of terms.

Phil Everly would pursue his solo career from the 1970s through the 1980s. He sang backup for Roy Wood and Warren Zevon. Everly famously wrote and performed “Don’t Say You Don’t Love Me No More” in 1978 and “One Too Many Women In Your Life” in 1980. He also had hefty success in the UK during the early 1980s.

To the shock of many, The Everly Brothers reunited in 1983, effectively ending a 10-year hiatus. They would continue to perform together until 2005, after which they would (much more quietly) break up for the final time. Phil Everly would retire from performing in 2007.

Phil Everly passed away on this day in 2014 at 74 from complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His wife, Patti, would blame his death on his smoking habit and noted that he was on an oxygen tank for some time before his death. In the wake of his death, countless contemporaries praised Everly’s work and celebrated his life in memorium, including Paul McCartney.

“Phil Everly was one of my great heroes, with his brother Don, they were one of the major influences on The Beatles,” said McCartney. “When John and I first started to write songs, I was Phil and he was Don. Years later, when I finally met Phil, I was completely star-struck and at the same time extremely impressed by his humility and gentleness of soul. I will always love him for giving me some of the sweetest musical memories of my life.”

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