Don Everly, one half of The Everly Brothers, died on Saturday at his Nashville home at the age of 84.
While his family has not said how he died, they issued a statement saying, "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.”
Predeceased by his younger brother Phil in 2014, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo had a string of 15 Top 10 pop and country hits starting in 1957 with "Bye Bye Love." Others that followed included “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Cathy’s Clown,” “(‘Til) I Kissed You” and “So Sad (to Watch Good Love Go Bad)."
And among the artists they influenced are The Beatles, The Hollies, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and many others.
Commenting on his death, Graham Nash tells us, "Those two souls changed my life for the better. Both gone... sad indeed."
In 2014, at a tribute to The Everly Brothers in Cleveland, Graham got to share the microphone with Don.
Don had a rough go in the '60s with drug addiction, a suicide attempt and undergoing shock therapy.
In 1973, struggling to fit into the ever evolving musical landscape since the early '60s, the brothers broke up on stage when Phil smashed his guitar and stormed off, and an inebriated Don told the crowd, “The Everly Brothers died 10 years ago.”
Phil and Don were estranged for 10 years, but Don reached out in 1983 and they reunited for a concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which resulted in three more studio albums in the '80s.
In 2003, they were special guests on Simon & Garfunkel's tour, their last high-profile appearances.
Don was also, briefly, Axl Rose's father-in-law as his daughter Erin married the Guns N' Roses singer in 1990. They annulled their marriage less than a year later and Erin filed a suit accusing him of physical and emotional abuse throughout their relationship. The lawsuit was settled out of court. Guns' signature song, "Sweet Child o' Mine," was written for her.
Also remembering Everly is Jerry Lee Lewis. who says, "The Everly Brothers are integral to the fabric of American music. Very few of us can say we were around at the beginning, and even fewer can say we’re still here. With my friend Don’s passing, I am reflective… reflective on a life full of wonderful friends, spectacular music and fond memories. There’s a lot I can say about Don, what he and Phil meant to me both as people and as musicians, but I am going to reflect today. God Bless Don Everly and long live Rock and Roll music."
With Everly's passing, Lewis is now the only living member of the inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 1986.