The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - Thursday, March 2, 1995 - 9 The Everly Brothers break hearts By Tom Erlewine Daily Arts Editor Of all the rock 'n' roll pioneers, the Everly Brothers are often the most un- derrated by critics. As Rhino's four- disc box set "Heartaches and Harmo- nies" shows, the duo has had an immea- surable impact on rock, pop and coun- try. Of course, considering their musi- cal heritage, the impact of the Everlys' music isn't surprising. Don and Phil Everly's father, Ike, was a miner in Kentucky who spent his spare time playing guitar. One of Ike's disciples was the legendary Merle Travis; during the '40s and '50s, Travis popularized the thumb-picking techniques he learned from Ike and the style revolutionized country guitar-playing. IkeEverly never had the luck to be as popular as Travis, yet he had the opportunity to leave mining and perform music for a living. Moving from Kentucky to Chicago af- ter Don's birth, Ike began performing full-time on the radio and in concert halls. Soon afterward, the Everlys relo- cated to Iowa, where Ike became a regular on a local radio station. When Don and Phil reached theirpreteen years, they became regulars on the show. "Heartaches and Harmonies" begins with the brothers singing "Don't Let Our Love Die" from a 1951 broadcast; their harmonies aren't as accomplished as they would be just a few years later, yet their raw talent is readily apparent. By the time the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, Don and Phil Everly were show-biz professionals. It washere thatChet Atkins first heard the duo. Atkins was impressed by Don's songwriting and had Kitty Wells record "Thou Shalt Not Steal;" the song be- came a moderate chart success. En- couraged by Wells' success, the duo moved to Nashville when Don gradu- ated from high school with dreams of stardom. Another handful of Don's songs were recorded by other country artists, leading the way for the duo's record contract with Columbia in 1955. As theirsole Columbia single, "Keep A'Lovin' Me," shows, theEverlys were smooth, professional singers. The only thing they were lacking was any sort of spark. "Keep A'Lovin' Me" is an en- joyable, competent tune, but lacks any spontaneity or sign of craftsmanship. Accordingly, the record was a stiff. The next year was painful for the duo, as they couldn't get another record contractor many gigs. Just as they were about to move to Chicago, the Everlys were introduced to Wesley Rose, head of the enormous Acuff-Rose song pub- lishing company. Rose managed to get the brothers a contract with the fledg- ling New York independent label Ca- dence Records in 1957. Staff writers Boudleaux and Felice Bryant supplied a song for the'Everlys' first session - "Bye Bye Love." Many other artists attempted to record "Bye Bye Love" before, yet none of the versions ever worked out; the Everlys' version turned out to be a monster hit. Before "Bye Bye Love," mostcountry radio stations stayed away from rock 'n' roll, believing it was too dangerous. With their clean-cut image and obvious respect for their elders, the Everly Brothers were safe enough for country. Yet, the duo appealed to the rock audience more. With their good looks, they had a certain sex appeal, but they also had the musical goods. The Everlys rocked - hard. "Bye Bye Love" may not have been their song, but the arrangement was theirs. In fact the most distinctive element of the single - the intense acoustic strumming of the introduction- was tacked-on from Don's own song, "Give Me A Future." After "Bye Bye Love," the Everlys recorded a string of hit singles that followed and expanded their formula. These songs - including "Wake Up Little Susie," "Problems," "Let It Be Me,""('Til) I Kissed You" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream" - form one of the most influential catalogsin rock 'n' roll. The brothers' harmonies, taken from the close harmony singing of blue- grass groups like the Louvin Brothers, became the standard way of harmoniz- ing in rock; along with the rest of the British Invasion, the Beatles learned nearly all of their harmonies from the Everlys. That part of the Everlys' his- tory is commonly acknowledged. What isn't acknowledged is how the duo - and Don in particular-revolutionized rock rhythm guitar playing. Essentially, the intro to "Bye Bye Love" was the birth of thepowerchord; play the intro on an electric instead of an acoustic and it becomes a Who song. Don's playing was muscular and rhyth- mic, making the bashing acoustic chords set the rhythm of the entire song. Within those early Cadence singles is the groundwork for hard rock and heavy metal. The Cadence material also helped form country rock. During the '60s, country rock innovators like Gram Par- sons, the Byrds and Mike Nesmith ex- panded on the hybrid of country, R&B, rock and pop that the Everlys pioneered with their Cadence and early Warner Brothers material. At the beginning of the '60s, the Everly Brothers signed with Warner Brothers for a reported $1 million; at that point in history, it was the largest record deal ever signed. Some of the Everlys' biggest hits were recorded in their first two years at Warners-"Walk Right Back," "Crying in the Rain," "Love Hurts" and "Cathy's Clown." These songs expanded and perfected the brilliant pop of their Cadence work. As they were sitting on the top of the charts, the hits stopped without warn- ing. Nothing had changed in the duo's music, but the hits were no longer there. The Everlys didn't makrean effort to regain their prominent position on the charts; instead, they explored new mu- sical avenues, digging deeperinto coun- try, orchestrated pop, R&B and even psychedelia. From this era, there are many forgotten classics including the hard-rocking "Man WithMoney,""The Price of Love," "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "The Ferris Wheel." As the end of the '60s approached, the Everlys continued to delve deeper into folk and country. Coincidentally, country was becoming more popular in the musical mainstream and the band was back in the charts with "Bowling Green." Following that hit, the Everlys released a country-rock classic with 1969's "Roots" and the duo gained more respect and sales. However, it was the last great pe- riod of music-making the brothers would have for a long time. Though they re- corded many fine songs until 1972, tensions between the duo were escalat- ing; the tensions snapped onstage in 1973. Years of half-hearted solo records followed before the brothers made a startling comeback in 1984 with "EB 84," produced by their most loyal fan, Dave Edmunds. Edmundsproduced two other records for the Everlys; while all three suffer from some dated produc- tion, the brothers sound marvelous. The Everly Brothers haven't made arecordsince 1988,yetthey continueto tour sporadically. Even though they haven't recorded in seven years, the duo has left a recorded legacy that few other artists could match. "Heartaches and Harmonies" is an essential intro- duction to that music; it captures all the highs and lows, without being tedious. It's simply one of the best, most enjoy- able, box sets ever released. The Everly Brothers are young guns in this photo. . Who's in, what's hot: A Broadway notebook By Melissa Rose Bernardo Daily Theater Editor Here's the status report - what's hot, what's not, who's in, who's out and what University grads are doing on Broadway. There's exciting stuff going on, and it'll do you good to check some of it out. "Sunset Boulevard" ... This is the toughest ticket on Broadway, and will be for quite a while. So, the big question: Is it worth the hype? The big answer: Yes. It is, quite simply, amazing. The music is among Andrew Lloyd-Webber's best - let's rank it second, after "Requiem" and just be- fore "Song and Dance." The scenery is unbelievable - wait until you see the mansion John Napier has designed. The effects are mind-boggling - bet you never thought you'd see through the bottom of a swimming pool on stage, did you? Sigh. And then there's Glenn Close. Don't even bother nominating anyone else for that Tony Award - just give it to her. Now. She deserves it for those costume changes alone. She is positively entrancing. When she's on stage, you won't be able to take your eyes off her. Two other performances stand out - that of Alan Campbell as Joe Gillis and George Hearn as Max. Campbell projects just the right combination of gullibility and cynicism (the title song, especially), glossed over with a quali- fied sexiness. Hearn is triumphant in what in anyone else's hands would be a forgettable role. The only sore spot in the show - other than the sometimes trite and usually misaccented lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton - is Alice Ripley's performance as Betty, Joe's love interest. The girl is sup- posed to be a young, impressionable 22, not an annoying 30, as Ripley's performance suggests. But even one bad performance cannot begin to eclipse the grandeur that is "Sunset Boulevard." Here's hoping the show sees many sunrises and sunsets, and becomes a fixture on Broadway. Maybe once "Cats" uses up its nine lives... Tip: The box office holds $25 stu- dent and senior tickets the day of the show - get there about 30 minutes before the box office opens and you're practically guaranteed a seat. It'll be in the last row of the mezzanine, but the rake is steep enough to accommo- date. (On second viewing, I preferred my last-row mezz seat to my fourth- row side orchestra seat.) Plus, from up there the proscenium looks like a movie screen, which is an extra bonus for this film-noir musical. Other amazements ... Vanessa Williams in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." She's only there through March 18, and then Maria Conchita Alonso takes over. Williams' perfor- mance is gorgeous. The show itself is quite a piece of work, a tightly-woven web of intrigue and struggle in a South American prison. It won seven Tonys in 1993, including Best Musical and one for each of the three principals, Chita Rivera, Brent Carver and An- thony Crivello. Williams, I would wager, sur- passes Broadway veteran (and pos- sible "Sunset Boulevard" star in Toronto) Chita Rivera in the title role. She sings, she dances, and has what Rivera doesn't - sex appeal, which, on second viewing, I found to be an integral aspect of the role. What is the movie heroine if not sexy? I cannot report on Howard McGillin as Molina, but can sing the praises of his understudy, Bob Stillman. Stillman has made the role his own - not a rip-off of Carver, as Carver's successor Jeff Hyslop was guilty of - and his clean-cut, hand- some, leading-man appearance was a surprisingly pleasant contrast to the role of the gay window dresser. Brian Mitchell as Valentin is not as consis- tent in his acting, but still has a gor- geous voice. Williams, Stillman and Mitchell were an electrifying trio. "Love! Valour! Compassion!" ... Looking ahead to the Tony Awards: Nathan Lane for Lead Actor in a Play, John Glover for Featured Actor in a Play. This play abounds with fine performances - especially Lane, Glover and Stephen Bogardus. "L! V! C!" opened in November off-Broadway at the Manhattan The- atre Club, and just recently moved to the Walter Kerr Theatre (former home of "Angels in America"). Eight gay men on holiday in upstate New York may not seem like an exciting premise for an evening of theater, but play- wright Terrence McNally ("Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," "Kiss of the Spider Woman") turns it into magic. A little help from director Joe Mantello (Tony-nominated for his role as Louis in "Angels in America") doesn't hurt, either. There are echoes of McNally's earlier works - most loudly "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" - but clearly McNally is getting more confident with experimentation. As he did in "A Perfect Ganesh," he's toying a lot with time and place. For example, four different characters will be in four different places of the house, but they're all sharing the same stage space. In "L! V! C!" McNally is also breaking the fourth wall more often and more effectively than he ever has. 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