23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
The Everly Brothers, shocking talents whose sound was usurped by the 1960s
Somewhere near the end of Barry Mazor's fascinating 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story,' the long-retired and increasingly frail Phil Everly finds himself at a concert by Rosanne Cash at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theater in 2009. Introducing the Boudleaux Bryant standard 'Love Hurts,' first made famous by the Everlys' incandescent version, Cash remarked that she had learned the song from Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. She didn't mention that their rendition was itself an inspired imitation of the Everlys' take. As so frequently happened, history had skipped a step and the Everly Brothers had been overlooked again. Spontaneously, Phil struggled up in his seat, hands held upright, his face wearing a wry 'Aren't you forgetting something?' expression. The audience, as if recovering from collective amnesia, burst into applause.
