The Everly Brothers’ Final Top 20 Single Became the Perfect Ending to a Historic Career

Few acts in any genre of music are as successful as The Everly Brothers. The duo, made up of brothers Don Everly and Phil Everly, had their first hit in 1957 with “Bye Bye Love”. The song, their second single and first No. 1 hit, kicked off an almost unprecedented career.

Videos by American Songwriter

In 1986, The Everly Brothers released “Born Yesterday”. The song, written by Don Everly, became their final Top 20 single and a perfect bookend to their astonishing career.

The title track of an album that was also released in 1986, “Born Yesterday”, says, “They lost their minds today / They threw their love away / They act as if they were born yesterday / They lost their love today / They threw it all away / They act as if they were born yesterday.”

“I guess that’s life experience I’m writing from now,” Don Everly tells Time. “‘Born Yesterday’ took me three to four years to write.”

“That song points out that we’re all like children,” adds Phil Everly. “Do any of us really grow up?”

The Significance of The Everly Brothers’ “Born Yesterday”

The success of “Born Yesterday” is significant for more reasons than just The Everly Brothers’ longevity. In 1973, the duo split, with Phil Everly famously smashing his guitar during a concert and walking off stage in anger. For the next decade, they both worked on solo projects, which could have meant a permanent end to the award-winning duo. 

But in 1983, The Everly Brothers reunited to perform together in London. They released their EB 84 album, a record that includes “On The Wings Of A Nightingale”, their final Top 10 hit. EB 40 was followed by Born Yesterday. 

“Don and I are infamous for our split,” Phil Everly later says. “But we’re closer than most brothers. Harmony singing requires that you enlarge yourself, not use any kind of suppression. Harmony is the ultimate love.” 

The Everly Brothers remained close after they reunited, until Phil Everly passed away in 2014 (Don Everly passed away in 2021).

“I’d love to snip those years out of my life,” Don Everly admits, speaking of their break. “Re-edit my life, rearrange it if I could, reassemble my life like a film. I’d like to put those ten years on another planet.”

“We needed the distance to grow, Don,” Phil Everly adds. “That was a positive period when the seeds were planted. We’re reaping the harvest of it now.”

Don Everly ultimately concurs with his brother’s sentiment.

“We needed to be apart,” he admits. “At least we got it over with. We had five really good years, and the ones after that weren’t so bad. Probably made better people of us. We didn’t suffer any brain damage. We didn’t die.”

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images