Bye-bye

My year-end post on notable deaths of 2023 started it all. It was David Crosby, actually—who died last January at age 81; the harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young) were so distinctive. Singing any of their songs solo just doesn’t do justice to the impact they made.

So I’ve been revisiting unique harmonies. And that brought me to The Everly Brothers. Phil and Don Everly straddled country, pop and rock from the 50s through the 70s, when they broke up and pursued solo careers for 10 years, reuniting in 1983.

Many of their early hits were written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, a husband/wife team. I’m truly hard pressed to choose among them for today’s earworm, so I’m giving you two.

First up, “Bye-Bye Love”, which has that driving beat of true rock and roll.

And “All I have to Do Is Dream”, credited solely to Boudleaux (and I do love writing that name), a classic Everly ballad.

Crank up the volume.