Who invented country rock? Maybe it was the Everly Brothers.
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Artist:
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Album:Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers on Warner Bros. 1960-1969
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Track:
Of course it's not just one artist. But amid all the usually mentioned suspects, from Elvis to Gram Parsons. the Everlys are too seldom mentioned, maybe because there's a certain amount of teen idol residue still clinging to their boots. Which is deeply unfair - they're the Louvin Brothers with a backbeat.
To be honest, the question posed in the title of this post is only interesting to me out of a sort of perverse historical curiosity. There is, of course, absolutely nothing wrong with real country music (though some of you may disagree), and rock music with country elements can be wonderful. But somehow the more self-conscious the attempt to bring a rock "attitude" to country, or to bring country's "authenticity" to rock, the more pallid and...phony the music seems to me. Just as Hemingway was brilliant but spawned at least one generation of bad imitators, so the great Gram Parsons may be responsible for an epidemic of mediocre "Americana." (Before the hate mail starts, it's not all bad, but not very much of it strikes me as good.)
But all the hairsplitting over genres is, finally, a disservice to good music. And my take on this is pretty simple - I love where the Everlys' voices take me. Plus, it's hard to dispute that, in addition to possessing those voices, they were blending rock and country elements in their records so seamlessly that, decades later, most people don't recognize the massive contribution they made to pop music. (Though the liner notes to this uneven but mostly brilliant compilation notes that they hung out with later L.A. country-rock scene stalwarts as Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds.)
"The Price of Love" dates from 1965. It's by no means the most explicitly country-influenced cut they did around this time, and that harmonica sound was as much a part of rock by '65 as it was of country. But those guitars owe a great deal to C and W, and the harmonies are pure Appalachia. I remember seeing them sing this on "Shindig" back in the day - and long after they had been consigned to a sort of post-Beatles pop irrelevancy. But this song riveted me back then, and it seems to have worn exceedingly well.
These guys deserve more love.
Comments (34)
From me they get endless love. You're right of course about their blending of country/pop/rock before pretty much anyone, and that they transcend genres altogether. And about their influence (without them, no Lennon-McCartney, no S&G, etc.). .. It's the blending of those voices that slays me, though, that brother-ness (I'm always taken, or almost always taken, by family voices in harmony); it's sweet but tough, and it's a beautiful thing.
Love em, always loved em. When I get home I'm posting "Don't Blame Me." Super hip changes.
good stuff! :)
deedee, isn't it interesting how many of the best close harmony duets are siblinge? Can't be coincidence....
mully, you always know what's what. Always.
Cinful, isn't it, though?
Always good to hear them. I think you are right about the teen label. They probably never got as big as they could have because of it. I'll take county, I'll take rock, or I'll take coutnry-rock- it's all good to me.
But, I think the group that opened the door to the blending of those genres the most, for me, was The Eagles. When they came on the scene, everything changed. They were able to go from very country to very rock and did both very well- no doubt influenced by these brothers, to some degree. Sample these.
Opps, it double commented. You can delete one of the 2 and this, if you like.
Thanks, MRX. I like both those Eagles cuts. I've never been among their legions of rabid detractors, but I have to confess I've never really fallen in love with them either. To me they're professional, with everything good and less good that that implies.
I think in the case of The Eagles, I think professional = tight. They are tight in their vocals and polished as musicians-even live. Towards the first end of the group, just before hell froze over, they weren't near as professional.
I was once in a band that played a couple of songs off teh first Eagles album. I liked that one a great deal...
They are definitely in the fermament of harmony singing. They had such a great ear. I am always amazed at the way they slide through a passage and at every point they are exactly in that satisfying relationship. Yes, it's country. Yes, it's rock and roll. And it's damn good. I don't recall hearing this song before. I should have watched Shindig more. In '65 I think I was pretty busy with homework and other teenage pursuits.
MusicRX: I don't know if it's your age that's showing. Some of us just had our first experience with any particular genre at different times. Check out Rick Nelson, for example. Even before his Stone Canyon band days, he realy was country in a rock n roll teen idol suit.
I cannot add anything of substance to this most excellent post n thread...but I thought I'd stop by and say hi. Long time Everly Bro's fan.
Spike, everybody needed to watch "Shindig" as much as possible." Billy Preston, the Righteous Brothers, the Stri-Dex ads....
DMDM, just knowing you dug the track is good enough for me....
I too am an Everly fan. THey were hot when I was. (i.e. back in my teen days) Now, I just love 'em.
Wow, you too? For guys who are supposed to be so unhip, the Evs sure have a lot of cool fans around here. Could this be the second coming of the Vikki Carr wave? (No, because she actually wasn't nearly as cool as Don and Phil....)
Man, mention of the Everly Bros brings back beaucoup memories:
"Bye Bye Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFoIdxLBm_A
"Bird Dog"
and many others. It also brings back memory of that jugband group, "The Lovin' Spoonful" that came out of the mid-60s Greenwich Village scene. They provided a few country cross over tunes from the folk/rock direction like -
The time I lived in Nashville my preconception was that the music scene would be all country. Well of course there was a vibrant cross cultural music scene there. The various artists were perhaps drawn to the large number of corporate and mom & pop recording studios in the area. My guess is that many artists shared local studio musician talent and many musicians with various backgrounds ended up in a big gumbo pot of social evolution. Cross polination was inevitable.
have to agree, these guys should be getting more love but it is kind of nice to keep them a secret as well. Alaways nice to put a song of theirs on a mix and have a friend say, Who in the hell are these guys
She said, "disk stars." Alma Cogan, "the girl with the laugh in her voice." British singer. Died in '66. "Disk Stars." Cool. Guess it's a British thing. Though I just found an AP article from 1998 that calls Andrea Bocelli a "Disk Star." "Yella Sun Record" Never made out this line before. Thanks.
Looks like the EVB's might be becoming the new (critics) Beach Boys. Dismissed on the teen angle by some folks, but considered influential and transcendent by the knowing.
My vote goes to Dock Boggs...pre-rock and pre-country, but form the hills and with plenty of attitude. And then there's a grip of southern blues cats from back then..still though, I get what you are sayin' with the EVB's and it was an excellent post and thread you folks threw together here.
Ivy, I guess all the hate mail was PM'd..
The Everlys original hits were often written by John D Loudermilk, whose cousins Charles and Ira were of course the Louvin Brothers. Indeed, it was in part the success of the "Godless" Everlys with their good looks, electric guitars and pop songs that drove the ill-fated mandolin playing alcoholic Ira Louvin over the edge. The link hasn't been talkled about much, but I'm sure there was a BBC Radio Four documentary two years or so back that traced the Everlys line backwards through the Louvins and the Delmore Brothers.
It's funny, but I remember seeing the Everlys on Shindig! and such programs after the British invasion and they seemed so out-of-date. I'm sure that this was the nail in the coffin of their successful pop career.
I fell in love with them after watching the HBO "Reunion" special, and bought the box set of theirs shortly thereafter.
Fans of their early stuff should also make sure to check out their late album "EB84".
I saw them in concert at the now-extinct Valley Forge Music Fair, and it was a wonderful night.
Spike 1- it probably is my age showing. You guys may be a bit ahead of me.
Most of the acts that were popular in the late 50's and early 60's weren't as much on my radar as a kid. The ones that came mid to late 60's and later formed most of my musical impressions.
That's why I said, 'for me" The Eagles opened that door of blending the genres more than any other artist I can recall.
Yours results may, and probably do, vary.
Dabeef, you've hit one of the sweetest of sweet spots. "Bird Dog" was my favorite song when I was three. And I've always loved that Spoonful tune.
rawk, the fact that so many people don't know who they are is kinda heartbreaking, no?
Spike, I think we make the resurrection of the term "disk star" a special MOG initiative. Who's up for forming a committee?
Cody, Dock Boggs is a great name to bring up the context of this discussion, and exactly the reason this question will never be adequately answered. Country is so thoroughly woven into rock and roll that picking out the individual strands is a fascinating academic exercise, but not much more than that. Not that this stops people like me....
Baudolino, I don't doubt that story for a second. And man, would I love to hear that documentary...
DM, the interesting thing about the Everlys' career in the Sixties is that, while they were more or less forgotten here, they remained very popular in England. "The Price Of Love," for instance, got to Number 2 in the British charts, and did bupkis here. One of the things that has struck me very strongly in my recent listenings to the Everlys is that the Hollies' celebrated vocal harmonies are taken almost whole from Don and Phil.
MRX, one of the things I love about being a (very) amateur musicologist is tracing lines like this both backward and forward. It's exciting to discover a musician who inspired someone whose music you love, and just as exciting to hear someone who has absorbed influences that you enjoy and taken those influences somewhere new and inspired.
And then there's the whole rockabilly thing..
What are your thoughts on Gillian Welch? Ivy/Anybody..
I'd forgotten about this gem. Whew!
Another "tribute" to their genius was by The Faces, who covered 'When will I Be Loved'. I've just been rummaging around YouTube and both The Faces and the Everlys are sorely under-represented. One of the greatest things J.D. brought to the songwriting (IMO) is the cadences he threw like a smooth curve ball. 'Wake Up Little Susie' is good through the choruses, but then the way this staccato verse slams in makes it one of my favourite ever:
The movie wasn't so hot
It didn't have much of a plot
It's 2AM
We fell asleep
Our reputation is shot
The economy of words isn't bad either
Fun post and comments -- It seems to me that Carl Perkins had a big influence on a bunch of "teen stars" like the Everlys. Ricky Nelson (Hello Mary Lou) turned into a full bore country rocker with Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band. (Garden Party is a great song!)
Another influence the Everly Brothers had was on the Ramones' sometimes strumming quickly between different chords the way the Everly Brothers did on songs like "Bird Dog."
Cody, you're reinforcing the point - where does country end and rock begin, rock end and blues begin, and so on...Gillian Welch is more pop than rock to me, but that's splitting hairs...
Jonh, an excellent point you make. For concision, there's also Boudleaux Bryant's "Love Hurts":
Love hurts,
Love scars,
Love wounds and mars
Any heart not tough nor strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud, holds a lot of rain
In thirty-some words, of which only one is more than one syllable, a story that speaks volumes is told. I suspect Leonard Cohen would have been proud to author it.
Funoka, Ricky Nelson is a great person to bring into this conversation. While not as innovative as the Everlys, he was a very solid musician with excellent taste and a reputation that was tough to shake....
Spike, I thought you were messing with me about the Ramones until I did a little research and discovered that Dee Dee Ramone covered "Cathy's Clown" on his solo album....
I was mostly trying to see if anybody knew if Gillian Welch was gonna put out a new record anytime this millenium..it's been like forever.
Later this year, I read somewhere. I hear it's called "Chinese Democracy."
O Gillian! Where Art Thou?
Way too many great Everlys cuts to do anything but dig 'em - and I've always loved those fraternal harmonies, BTW, I love that you selected "The Price of Love" to make your audio point, ivy. It's inspired me to click on the amazing Bryan Ferry cover of the same song, complete with Chris Spedding's guitar at its most tuh-wanging, a bull-ring trumpet fanfare, and a bone-rattling rhythm section. A "wow" track by any standards. (Oh yeah. No quibbles here on the subject of the Eagles' music, other than blaming them for inspiring a slew of bland, mush-minded imitators in Nashville 25 years later - a bunch of idjits that consider themselves the heart and soul of what they laughingly refer to as modern country music. Ecch.)
MTK, Ferry's version is unknown to me. A SUTC selection, perhaps? He is known to have a way with a cover version. (I am a big fan of his version of "It's My Party.")
Yeah, ivy. Ferry is a masterful, if idiosyncratic interpreter, and I should SUTC his version, complete with castanets, handclaps and wailing female back-up singers. Be on the lookout.