Interview: Phil Everly

The Everly Brothers were among the most influential vocal groups of the late 1950s and early '60s. Starting with By e Bye Love in '57, the duo transformed the way rock and folk sounded through 1967 after their string of hits crossed over from country to the pop charts. What's especially remarkable about their widespread impact is that rock's primary influence at the time was R&B—expressive, big-beat music that helped white rock acts add energy and freedom to performances and recordings. [Photo of Phil Everly above by David Walter Banks for The Wall Street Journal]

Phil and Don Everly—with their close harmony and tight, rhythmic guitar-strumming—set the pace for many major groups that followed, including the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, the Byrds, the Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash. In today's Mansion section of The Wall Street Journal, I interview Phil Everly for “House Call" about his antebellum in Tennessee (go here or please pick up the paper).

As you might imagine from the Everly Brothers' music, Phil is a gentle, fun-loving guy who relishes jamming with friends in his music room. Speaking with him at length was a joy, especially since Phil and his brother Don are music legends and were among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's first inductees in 1986. When I asked if Phil if he and Don might get back together any time soon, Phil brushed it off, saying, “No, we're not. We're retired, and there's plenty of our music people can buy if they want it."

But let me illustrate with video clips. Perhaps the most influential of all of their songs was Cathy's Clown (1960). Phil is on the left, Don on the right...



Which influenced the Beatles' This Boy...



And the Beach Boys... 



And the Byrds...



And Simon & Garfunkel...



JazzWax tracks: The best box of the Everly Brothers is a four-CD set from the '90s called Heartaches & Harmonies (Rhino), but it's long out of print here. No worries. There are plenty of other collections that won't set you back as much.