New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Don Everly, the last of the silken-voiced
Everly Brothers music duo known for their harmonies, has died, according to an announcement on the group's official Instagram. He was 84 years old. Everly died Saturday.
Don and his younger brother, Phil Everly, became pop idols in the early days of rock 'n' roll, starting in the late 1950s, with chart-topping hits like "Bye Bye Love," "All I Have to Do is Dream," and "Wake Up
Little Susie."
Don was born in Brownie, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, on February 1, 1937, and Phil in Chicago, Illinois, on January 19, 1939. Their parents were Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly, Jr. (1908-1975), a guitar player, and
Margaret Embry Everly (born 1919). Actor
James Best (born
Jewel Guy), also from Muhlenberg County, was the son of Ike's sister.
Don Everly claimed in a 2014 interview with the Los Angeles Times that he had given up smoking in the late 1960s and that Phil had stopped too, but started again during their breakup and had continued until 2001. Don said that weak lungs ran in the family, as their father, Ike, had died of black lung disease. He admitted that he had lived "a very difficult life" with his brother and that he and Phil had become estranged once again in later years, something that was mainly attributed to "their vastly different views on politics and life", with the music being the one thing they shared closely, saying, "it's almost like we could read each other's minds when we sang." However, Don also stated he had not gotten over Phil's death, saying, "I always thought about him every day, even when we were not speaking to each other. It still just shocks me that he's gone." Don added that he had always firmly believed he would die before his brother, because he was older. In a 2016 interview Don said he was still coping with the loss of Phil and that he had kept some of his brother's ashes in his home. He added that he would pick up the ashes every morning and say "good morning", while admitting that it was a peculiar ritual.
On August 21, 2021, Don Everly died at his home in Nashville, aged 84.
