Don Everly, half of the singing/guitar-playing duo, The Everly Brothers, passed away Saturday. Many of his fans have likely played such smash hits as "Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up, Little Susie," and "Cathy's Clown" since hearing the news. There are three Everly Brothers tunes, however, that I think deserve more recognition than they usually get. Two of them should have been hits, and the other one should have been a bigger hit:
- Gone, Gone, Gone (In my opinion, this is some of the duo's catchiest songwriting, vocal harmonizing, and forceful guitar playing. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was a minor hit in 1964 and isn't usually heard on the radio today. Fairport Convention played an excellent "Live At The BBC" cover of it, with Sandy Denny singing impressively commanding lead vocals.)
- Illinois (These Randy Newman-penned lyrics are an effective way to say, "This is a good place to be, and here's why..." The tune shows how smoothly the brothers harmonized with piano backing.)
- On The Wings Of A Nightingale (I've always thought this 1984 comeback tune was a pleasant anachronism. I remember it getting limited adult contemporary radio airplay for a short time and was chagrined that its shelf life wasn't longer. Still, for a moment, I was glad to hear such smooth throwback vocalists singing Paul McCartney's lyrics.)
