THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

799-The Everly Brothers-Walk Right Back.

1961-Number 1 single.

Best Bit-At 0.07. Phil and Don in perfect harmony, at least when they were singing.

The Everly Brothers were the duo of Isaac Donald Everly, and his brother Phillip Everly, they are considered to be one of the most important acts in the development of popular music in the late 1950’s, through till the early 1960’s. Don Everly who was the older brother, was born on February 1st, 1937, in Brownie, Kentucky, United States, he died on August 21st, 2021, from undisclosed causes, at the age of 84. Phil Everly was born on January 19th, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, he died on January 3rd, 2014, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, at the age of 74. The Everly Brothers were born in to a musical family, and first appeared on radio singing with their parents Ike Everly, (1908-1975) and Margaret Everly, (1919-2021) in the 1940’s on ‘KMA,’ and ‘KFNK,’ in Shenandoah, Iowa, where the brothers were known as ‘Little Donnie,’ and ‘Baby Boy Phil.’ It was while performing on radio in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1956, that the brothers came to the attention of a family friend, Chet Atkins, (1924-2001) who at that time was manager at ‘RCA Victor,’ studios in Nashville. It was Atkins who introduced the Everly Brothers to Wesley Rose, (1918-1990) of ‘Acuff-Rose’ music publishers, Rose told them he would secure them a recording deal if they signed to ‘Acuff-Rose’ as songwriters.

The Everly Brothers were making their way in the music business at the same time as the onset of the ‘Rock ‘N Roll’ era, and they are considered an important part in it’s development, particularly for their ‘close harmony’ singing, which heavily influenced the next generation, including, the Beatles, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Bee Gees. Paul McCartney has stated that the Everly Brothers were a major influence on the Beatles, and has said,’When John and I first started to write songs, I was Phil, and he was Don.’

The Everly Brothers were active as a duo between 1951-1973, and then again between 1983-2005. Shortly after the death of Phil Everly in 2014, Don Everly admitted that he had lived ‘A very difficult life’ with his brother, and that they had become estranged again in later years. Don put many of the brothers disputes down to, ‘Their vastly different views on politics and life,’ with the music being the one thing they shared closely, saying, ‘It’s almost like we could read each other’s minds when we sang.’ Don has also said that he never got over his brothers death, ‘I always thought about him every day, even when we were not speaking to each other. It still just shocks me that he’s gone.,’ In a 2016 interview, Don Everly said that he would pick up his brothers ashes every morning, and say ‘Good morning,’ admitting that it was a peculiar ritual.

The discography of The Everley Brothers includes 21 studio Albums released between 1957-1988, and 75 singles issued between 1956-1998, there are also 29 official compilation Albums, and two live Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, 26 of those songs reached the top 40, with three of those tracks making the Number 1 spot, while in the UK, they have had 33 top 40 hits, with four of those songs reaching Number 1.

‘Walk Right Back’ was originally released in America in 1961 as the ‘B’ side to ‘Ebony Eyes,’ which reached Number 8 on Billboard, it was later changed to the ‘A’ side, and peaked at Number 7. In the UK, the two tracks were issued as a double ‘A’ side, reaching Number 1. ‘Walk Right Back’ was written by Sonny Curtis, with the production credited to Wesley Rose. Sonny Curtis who was born on May 9th, 1937, in Meadow, Texas, United States, was a member of the ‘Crickets,’ and played on some of Buddy Holly’s earlier 1956 ‘Decca’ sessions. Curtis joined the ‘Crickets’ as a full time member in late 1958, and took over as lead vocalist, and lead guitarist, after the death of Holly. Among the other notable songs written by Curtis are ”I Fought the Law,’ which was covered by the Bobby Fuller Four and the Clash, ‘More Than I Can Say,’ a hit for Bobby Vee, and also for Leo Sayer, and ‘Love is All Around,’ the theme song for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The Everly Brothers recorded ‘Walk Right Back’ without hearing the songs original second verse, in order to fill out the song they repeat the first verse twice. Sonny Curtis has said,’The joke is that Perry Como (UK Number 33-1973) and Andy Williams, and a whole bunch of others including myself, recorded the song with the second verse included, but when Anne Murray did it in 1978, she just did the same as the Everly’s, just the one verse, and that was a big hit all over again, so maybe the second verse was never meant to be!’

These are the lyrics to the second verse:
‘These eyes of mine that gave you loving glances once before, change to shades of cloudy grey. I want so very much to see you, just like before. I’ve got to know you’re coming back to stay. Please believe me when I say, ‘It’s great to hear from you,’ but there’s a lot of things a letter just can’t say, oh, me.’