Today we mark a sad day in history of music in my lifetime. Don Everly, of harmonizing rock ‘n’ roll pioneers the Everly Brothers, died at 84.
Isaac Donald Everly was born Feb. 1, 1937, and shared a first name with his formidable father, “Ike” Everly. Ike was a coal miner in Brownie, Ky., and Don was born in Brownie’s coal camp. Ike also was a guitar player, taught by Arnold Schultz, the Black musician who taught Bill Monroe. And when the coal was gone, Ike moved the family to Chicago in the late 1930s in search of a career in music.
A second son, Phil, was born there, and the family moved to Shenandoah, Iowa, where Ike had a radio show in the mid-1940s. “Little Donnie” sang the theme, “Free as a Little Bird as I Can Be,” and then Phil was brought in, and with that the Everly Family was on the air.
My brother Nihal (Neil) and I first started harmonising in our very early teens, singing such “Pop” songs, as Bye Bye Love, Poor Jenny, Like Strangers, All I have to do Is Dream, and many many more
This is a little tribute I put together in memory of our musical heroes, Don & Phil Everly
Hope you enjoy hearing these songs again
Vocal: Gehan & Nihal Gunasekera
Musical Arrangement: Vil
