Phil Everly, One Half of the Famed Everly Brothers, Dies at Age 74

Phil Everly, Dead at the age of 74 … Rest in Peace.

Phil Everly, the legendary singer, who along with his brother Don, made up the iconic singing duo, The Everly Brother died Friday at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California  from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease brought on after a lifetime of cigarette smoking. He was 74. The music icons, the Everly Bothers, were highly influential with other such recording acts as the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and countless other rock, folk and country singers.  Phil Everly also wrote Linda Ronstadt’s biggest hits of her career in 1975 with her recording of “When Will I Be Loved.” Rolling Stone named the Everly Brothers are the most important vocal duo in rock. The  The Everly Brothers were among the first 10 performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Phil Everly will truly be missed and so will the fantastic sound of the Everly Brothers. They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Thank you so much for the music.

Singer Phil Everly Dies but his Music will live on Forever … Rest in Peace

VIDEO – CNN

Legendary pop singer Phil Everly, who together with his brother, Don, formed one of the 1960s most popular pop duos, died Friday, his wife, Patti Everly, told the Los Angeles Times. He was 74.

“We are absolutely heartbroken,” she told the newspaper, adding that Everly’s death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was brought on after a lifetime of cigarette smoking. “He fought long and hard.”

The Everly Brothers charted nearly three dozen hits in their heyday from the late ’50s through the early ’60s. Some of their most notable songs – “Cathy’s Clown,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Bye Bye Love,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “All I Have to Do is Dream” – have become pop staples and influenced major acts such as the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Byrds, the Times reported.

In all, their career spanned five decades, although they performed separately from 1973 to 1983. In their heyday between 1957 and 1962, they had 19 top 40 hits.

The two broke up amid quarrelling in 1973 after 16 years of hits, then reunited in 1983, “sealing it with a hug,” Phil Everly said.

And the song that launched their career … The Everly Brothers: Live – Bye Bye Love, 1957

Dick Clark presenting his top 10 from July 1960 … One of my favorites, “Cathy’s Clown”

The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert Live at the Royal Albert Hall in London, 1983