What was Don Everly’s cause of death? How did his brother Phil die - and what were their biggest hits?

The Everly Brothers were credited as being one of the biggest influences for 60s bands like The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Beach Boys
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Rock ‘n’ roll star Don Everly has died aged 84, a family spokesperson has confirmed.

Everly was the last surviving member of the music duo The Everly Brothers, who had success in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with hits ‘Bye Bye Love’ and ‘All I Have To Do Is Dream’.

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A statement from his family said: “Don 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.”

Here is everything you need to know about him.

Who was Don Everly?

Don Everly was born on 1 February 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky.

He moved with his family to Chicago in the late 1930s, and there he played music alongside his parents - Ike and Margaret Everly - in a band called The Everly Family.

Phil and Don continued on as a duo when the group dissolved in 1953, with the pair eventually breaking on stage in 1973.

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The duo had 15 US top 10 hits between 1957 and 1962, and were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year in 1986, alongside the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

Rolling Stone magazine described them as “the most important vocal duo in rock,” and the band were considered one of the biggest influences for late 60s bands like The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and the Beach Boys.

Following the Everly Brothers’ split in 1973, the duo had a decades-long estrangement.

Despite the much publicised fractiousness of their relationship, Phil Everly - who passed away in 2014 at the age of 74 - said it had survived the tumultuous period.

What were the Everly Brothers’ biggest hits?

Don Everly arrives at the wedding of his brother Phil in Las Vegas in 1999 (Photo: DAN CALLISTER Online USA inc)Don Everly arrives at the wedding of his brother Phil in Las Vegas in 1999 (Photo: DAN CALLISTER Online USA inc)
Don Everly arrives at the wedding of his brother Phil in Las Vegas in 1999 (Photo: DAN CALLISTER Online USA inc)
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The Everly Brothers began writing and recording their own music in 1956, and their first hit song came a year later with ‘Bye Bye Love’.

The song hit Number 1 in the spring of 1957, and additional hits would come in the following year, including ‘Wake Up Little Susie’, ‘All I Have to Do Is Dream’, and ‘Problems’.

In 1960 they signed with Warner Bros. Records and recorded Cathy’s Clown’, which became their biggest selling single.

A year later the brothers enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, and though their output dropped off, additional hit singles continued with ‘That’s Old Fashioned (That’s the Way Love Should Be)’ being their last top-10 hit in 1962.

What did Don Everlu die of?

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Don’s death comes seven years after sibling Phil died from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A family spokesperson confirmed Everly’s death to the Los Angeles Times, but did not disclose the cause.

Don is survived by his mother, Margaret, wife Adela, son Edan and daughters Venetia, Stacy and Erin.

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