Don Everly, the eldest of the Everly Brothers and the duo’s last surviving member, died on Saturday at the age of 84, the Los Angeles Times reports. A representative for the family confirmed that the rock-and-roll pioneer died at his home in Nashville but did not give a cause. “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,” the family said in a statement following his death.
Don Everly and his younger brother Phil were country and rock-and-roll artists who exploded into popularity in the late 1950s, known for their distinctive harmonies that went on to influence the sound of everything from the Beatles to Simon and Garfunkel. From 1957 to 1958, the Everly Brothers toured with Buddy Holly, and from then through 1962, the duo had a string of top-ten hits, including “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Bye Bye Love,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” and “When Will I Be Loved.” After a decade of separation beginning in the 1970s, the Everly Brothers reunited in the 1980s, and in 1986 were among the inaugural inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Buddy Holly. Phil Everly died at the age of 74 in 2014, at which time Don said, “I loved my brother very much …. I always thought I’d be the one to go first.”
