Music Blog

He Ain’t Heavy….

Nancy's Notes šŸ–ŠļøšŸŽ¶

Written for Glynā€™s Mixed Music Bag #12 …. “Future Islands” …. Monthly Challenge Week 12 where we are asked to write about a song by a group or solo singer beginning with the letter E or F.

This is something that I canā€™t say very often so Iā€™m going to say it loud and clear:

Iā€™M A LITTLE TOO YOUNG to remember sitting around the radio listening to the tunes of my featured group but Iā€™m well familiar with them and their many songs just the same. They were extremely important in the development and acceptance of R&R music; itā€™s a known fact this group strongly influenced the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, the Hollies, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees and other groups; in fact, their records are included in John Lennonā€™s personal juke box.

Iā€™m talking about the Everly Brothers, the American rock duo known for their steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. The duo, consisting of Don and Phil, grew up in a musical family in Knoxville, Tennessee; they combined elements of R&R, country and pop, becoming pioneers of country rock.

The brothers began writing and recording their own music inĀ 1956 and their first hit song, “Bye Bye Love”, came in 1957, written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. That song hit #1 later in the year and additional hits quickly followed, including ā€œWake Up, Little Susieā€ and ā€œAll I Have To Do Is Dreamā€. Ā When Phil and Don enlisted in the US Marine Corps Reserve in 1961, their output dropped off; additional hit singles continued through 1962, with ā€œThatā€™s Old Fashioned (Thatā€™s The Way Love Should Be)ā€ being their last top-10 hit.

No need to drag out your old transistor radio; Iā€™ve got those top three Everly Brothers tunes right here. Letā€™s go in order, starting with ā€œBye, Bye Loveā€. Here are Phil & Don, the Everly Brothers.

ā€œWake Up, Little Susieā€

ā€œAll I Have To Do Is Dreamā€

Thanks for joining me today and thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag.

See you on the flip side. šŸ˜Ž

NARĀ©2024

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 12 – Future Islands

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantā€™s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NARĀ©2017-present.

32 thoughts on “He Ain’t Heavy….”

  1. Each of those songs I believe are known by all. A permanent fixture in the soundtrack of people of a certain generation. Songs where the chorus play on repeat in our minds and we don’t mind. We just sing along.

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  11. I love the three songs you spotlighted. I used to listen to All I Have to Do is Dream practically on repeat. (It was on my favorite cassette tape of a collection from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I’d play that side, rewind it, then play it again. Did that for hours, seldom playing a different tape in between.) Great selection today.

    I hope all is well, Nancy.

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