Don Everly of the Everly Brothers dies at 84

Phil Everly and Don Everly.
(Image credit: D. Morrison/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Don Everly, half of the pioneering rock 'n' roll duo the Everly Brothers, died Saturday at his home in Nashville, his spokesman said Sunday. He was 84.

In a statement, Everly's family said he "lived by what he felt in his heart. Don expressed his appreciation for the ability to live his dreams ... with his soulmate and wife, Adela, and sharing the music that made him an Everly Brother."

Born in Kentucky in 1937, Everly and his younger brother, Phil, first sang in a group with their parents, before striking out on their own in the 1950s. From 1957 to 1962, the duo had 15 hits in the Top 10, including "Bye Bye Love," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," and "(Til') I Kissed You." They toured extensively, and after breaking up as a duo in the 1970s and not speaking for a decade, reunited in the 1980s.

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In 1986, the Everly Brothers were among the first artists inaugurated in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. On his own, Don Everly was voted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2019, with Keith Richards declaring that he was "one of the best rhythm guitar players I've ever heard."

Don Everly is survived by his wife, mother Margaret, son Edan, and daughters Venetia, Stacy, and Erin. Phil Everly died in 2014.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.