March 1, 1957: The Everly Brothers Record "Bye Bye Love"

Phil (left) and Don

March 1, 1957: The Everly Brothers record "Bye Bye Love" at RCA Victor Records' studio in Nashville, Tennessee. It rises to Number 2 on Billboard magazine's Top 100, and becomes one of the most influential songs in music history.

Isaac Donald Everly was born on February 1, 1937 in Brownie, now part of Central City, in western Kentucky. It's 125 miles southwest of Louisville, and 95 miles north of Nashville. His brother Phillip Everly (no middle name) followed 2 years later, on January 19, 1939, while the family was living in Chicago. They spent much of their childhood in Shenandoah, Iowa, where their father, Ike, had a radio show.

They moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in 1953, and Nashville, already the capital of country music, in 1955. They signed with Archie Bleyer's Cadence Records, and "Bye Bye Love" was their first single. It was followed by their 1st Number 1 hit, "Wake Up Little Susie"; 2 more Number 1 hits in 1958, "All I Have to Do Is Dream" and "Bird Dog"; and another in 1960, "Cathy's Clown." They had several other hits, and their harmony lent itself well to both soft country ballads and rockers. They became TV favorites, with Don always standing to the viewer's right.

Both brothers enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1961, and that curtailed their careers. The revival of interest in 1950s music in the early 1970s brought them back into demand, but Don became a bit of a control freak, and Phil left him in mid-concert in 1973. Peace was made in 1983, and they continued to perform together until Phil died in 2014, almost 75 years old. Don followed in 2021, at 84. Each was still married to his 1st wife at the time of his death. Phil had 2 sons, while Don had 3 daughters and a son.

In 1986, they were charter inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the only 1 of the 10 charter acts that was not a soloist. They were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Rolling Stone magazine named them 33rd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and the greatest duo in 2015.

Without the Everly Brothers, there would have been no Beatles. There would have been no Simon & Garfunkel -- who recorded "Bye Bye Love" for their last album, Bridge Over Troubled Water. There might not have been a Beach Boys -- who, it should be noted, included among their original lineup 3 brothers and a 1st cousin. Consider all the acts that those acts influenced, and there's a huge part of rock and roll that flows out of those two brothers. It's worth noting that each of those acts was also heavily influenced by Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, also charter inductees.

Giving their Hall of Fame induction speech in 1986, Neil Young said that every musical group he had ever belonged to had tried, and failed, to copy the Everly Brothers' harmonies. When Phil died, Paul Simon said, "Phil and Don were the most beautiful sounding duo I ever heard. Both voices pristine and soulful. The Everlys were there at the crossroads of country and R&B. They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock and roll." The great New York disc jockey Bruce Morrow, a.k.a. Cousin Brucie, called "All I Have to Do Is Dream" his favorite song of all time.

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March 1, 1957 was a Friday. Baseball was entering Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were no games scheduled in the NHL.

There were 2 games in the NBA, and they were a doubleheader at the Boston Garden. In the opener, the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Rochester Royals, 125-117. In the nightcap, the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 90-80.