Cadence Records
All Hits; No Misses as far as I’m concerned
It’s tough for me to pick just one favorite here. There really is no one number one. Virtually of them are number ones for me. And all are classics. All of them need no explanation. If they are not part of your record collection, go out and get them. These are examples of musical history at its finest.
• Bye Bye Love
• All I Have To Do Is Dream
• Wake Up Little Susie
• Bird Dog
• (Til) I Kissed You
• Let It Be Me
• When Will I Be Loved
Warner Brothers
Some Hits; Some Misses
When they signed a mega-million dollar deal with Warner Brothers in 1960, it seemed as though their creative well would never run dry. “Cathy’s Clown” went right to # 1 followed by “Walk Right Back” that made it up to #7, “Crying In the Rain” hit # 6 and then “That’s Old Fashioned” followed by charting to #9. And after that, it just sort of stopped. These tunes all qualify as “Hits.”
Since record companies are in the business of turning music into money, the lack of success after an initial string of hits must have been perplexing to the executives at the record company. Marketing and promotions departments at companies like Warner Brothers records are tasked with creating a buzz that will cause the public to buy the music currently being touted by the company.
Some such marketing ploy occurred when I had purchased a special 45 record marketed by the Warner Brothers label which advertised “4 Songs for the Price of 2.” What a deal! I thought. The record company packaged the Everly Brothers songs, “Muskrat” and “Don’t Blame Me” on side 1 and “Lucille” and “Walk Right Back” on side 2. What they neglected to tell you was that all four songs were shortened so as to fit all four songs on the one record. That kind of annoyed me since I had a 45 of the full 6:02 version of “Light My Fire” by the Doors on one side of a record. Space on the record should not have been an issue, but I guess someone in the marketing department didn’t seem to think so. Anyway, the picture sleeve of the Everly Brothers was nice and the songs no matter the length were good. This qualifies as a combination “Hit/Miss” because the songs are great but they are all too short in length and shame on Warner Brothers records.
As the British Invasion enveloped the U.S. in the middle to late 60’s, the imitators of the Everly’s were more successful than their idols. So as to link the brothers to the British Invasion to sell more records, Warner Brothers released an album called “Two Yanks in England.” The cover of the album shows the brothers taking in the sights and sounds of trendy London. Only one song on the album is written by the Everly’s. Most of the songs in on the LP are written by someone named L. Ransford. Apparently, L. Ransford was the pseudonym used as the name of the writer who in actuality was a combination three people including Graham Nash, Tony Hicks and Allan Clarke better known as the core of song writers called The Hollies.
While the intent to associate the boys with England’s new music was fine and to capitalize on the Hollies was also a good idea, the selection of the tunes presented left much to be desired. I give it a “Hit” for concept, but have to call it a “Miss” on execution. There were far better Hollies tunes that could have been chosen.
RCA Victor
Six years after the ill-fated “Two Yanks…” album, the Phil and Don turn up on RCA Victor records with an LP called “Stories We Could Tell.” Produced by veteran producer Paul A. Rothchild whose work with The Doors and Butterfield Blues Band was legendary, a truly memorable album by the Everly Brothers hits the market. The difference between this one and the “Two Yanks” album is extraordinary.
Supported by such music luminaries as John Sebastian, Ry Cooder, Waddy Wachtel, Warren Zevon, Graham Nash (remember him from the Two Yanks album?) and a list too numerous to mention, the album remains as one of my favorites of my entire collection. It qualifies as one of the albums you would take with you if you were stranded on a desert island. The title tune, “Stories We Could Tell” written by John Sebastian and recorded at his home is as close to being a perfect song as possible.
By assembling such a stellar cast of supporting musicians, the music lays the perfect foundation for Don and Phil’s voices. The great music arranger, Nelson Riddle was unique in that his arrangements never overshadowed the performer and in fact complemented the singer. So whether you listened to a Nelson Riddle arrangement for Frank Sinatra or Linda Ronstadt, the singers’’ voice always magnificently glided over the music to meld into a most enjoyable listening experience whether you liked the song or not.
So too, with the Stories album is that the musicians’ who are totally cognizant of the vocal music royalty represented by the Everlys play their instruments flawlessly while allowing Don and Phil to glide over the music marrying voice and harmony to perhaps one of the great assembled multitude of Hall of Fame musicians.
I also like the Don Everly tune, “I’m Tired of Singing My Song in Las Vegas.” Here, all the years of frustration and pain from singing the same songs endlessly over that time are voiced. Also of note included on this album is the Rod Stewart song, “Mandolin Wind.” It’s not hard to understand that this album was truly an alert that this was the last gasp of a musical duo that was ready to retire. It was and is a fitting end to two men who gave so much to our musical heritage.
This album is a “Hit +++”
Mercury Records
Sixteen years after the “Stories We Could Tell” album was released, “Some Hearts…” by the Everly Brothers hit the market. Interestingly, there are songs written by Phil and there are songs written by Don on this album. But no songs are on the album written together by the brothers. Sadly, this was the last studio album ever released by the brothers.
There are too few moments of greatness on this album. Their long-time keyboard player Pete Wingfield is prominently featured on most of the selections. For me, the interpretation of the Beach Boys classic “Don’t Worry Baby” needs to be heard, especially because the Beach Boys are the backing vocals on this tune. “Some Hearts” the title song of the album is Everly Bothers at their best, but unfortunately, the rest of the album lacks the magic that once catapulted the Everly Brothers to their revered place in music history.
We take great pride in our individual heroes. Rock stars, professional athletes, actors, actresses all occupy a special place in our hearts and minds. For me, the Everly Brothers will always be special and their music will always live on as a testament as to how two voices can blend as one. And although, with the passing of Phil Everly there will be no more talk of a reunion concert, we can all listen to and enjoy the songs they sung as part of music history. And quite frankly, it is better to enjoy the history which is in abundance through recorded music and good memories than to experience a product that simply does not live up to the past.
No Comments comments associated with this post