Don Everly, star of rock and roll country duo The Everly Brothers, died Saturday. He was 84 years old.
His attorney and family spokeswoman Linda Adele Howard died Saturday at home in Nashville, Tennessee told the Associated Press.
“Don lived according to what he felt in his heart. Don expressed his appreciation for sharing his soul and ability to live his dreams and music with wife, Adela, the family said in a statement, Which made him an Everly Brother.
Everly was born in 1937 in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky to a coal mining father and a mother who loved to sing. Everly and his brother Phil began making music with their parents, originally singing as the Everly Family.
In the 1950s, the two brothers began making music on their own and moved to Nashville. Their first hit, “Bye Bye Love”, reached number one on the country charts and sold over one million copies.
From there, the brothers’ careers soared, touring with Buddy Holly in the 1950s and signing with Warner Bros. in 1960. Soon, their songs “Cathy’s Clown,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “Cryin’ in the Rain” became major hits. And they cemented their place in the world of rock and roll.
The two went solo in the 1970s, where Don Everly had little success, and the pair broke up repeatedly and then got back together. The brothers were among the first to be inaugurated in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“As a singer, a songwriter and a guitar innovator, Don Everly was one of the most talented and influential artists in popular music history,” Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum CEO Kyle Young told the AP in a statement.
Following the death of his brother Phil in 2014, Don Everly endorsed Hillary Clinton for the presidency in 2016, saying he had previously been held back by Phil’s anti-political beliefs.
Everyone’s family consists of his mother, his wife, his son and his daughters. According to the Los Angeles Times.
The Associated Press has contributed.