Don Everly (guitar, vocals; born February 1, 1937) and Phil Everly (guitar, vocals; born January 19, 1939)

Phil and Don transformed the Appalachian folk, bluegrass and country sounds of their Kentucky boyhood into a richly harmonized form of rock and roll. The sons of entertainers Margaret and Ike Everly, a traveling country and western team, the Everly Brothers performed as part of the family act on radio and in concert. On their own, they sang beguilingly of adolescent romance in crisp, shimmering voices. With Don taking the melody and Phil harmonizing above him, the Everlys released a steady string of hit records between 1957-1962 that crossed over from country to pop and even R&B charts.

The duo rose to prominence on the Cadence label, cutting songs written for them by the husband and wife team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The Bryants wrote and the Everlys sang eloquently of teenage devotion and heartbreak, as well as tragicomic situations. The Bryant-penned Everlys hits include such timeless favorites as “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Devoted to You,” “Bird Dog,” “Poor Jenny” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.” The brothers themselves became accomplished songwriters, authoring such original hits as “Cathy’s Clown,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “(‘Til) I Kissed You.”

In 1960, the duo signed a 10-year contract with Warner Bros. and recorded prolifically during the following decade. Even though the hits stopped flowing in the U.S. in 1962, the Everly Brothers continued to make the charts in the U.K., including nine Top 40 hits between 1963 and 1965. Their close-harmony singing directly influenced a rising tide of musicians that included the Beatles, the Hollies, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Byrds. The duo broke up somewhat acrimoniously in 1973, only to come together 10 years later at an emotional reunion concert on the stage of London’s Royal Albert Hall. Subsequently, they resumed their partnership onstage and in the studio. In 1984, the duo returned to the U.S. charts with "On The Wings Of A Nightingale," a song written by Paul McCartney.