4.2 WORKSHEET 4

As we continue Worksheet 4,  we will be looking at The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, and Ricky Nelson.

THE EVERLY BROTHERS

The Everly Brothers are significant, because they contributed country harmony to rock music. Their story is a very interesting one, and starts in the hills of Kentucky. Let's look at this short trailer that will introduce them to us:

THE EVERLY BROTHERS TRAILER Links to an external site.

Many of their songs were written by Boudleaux & Felice Bryant. They were the first professional songwriting team in Nashville, and like the Brill Building writers, wrote hundreds of hits. Watch:

FELICE AND BOUDLEAUX BRYANT - SONGWRITERS Links to an external site.

Watch these 2 videos that cover the Everly Brothers' career:

EVERLY BROTHERS C&W HALL OF FAME Links to an external site.

LIFE AND TIMES OF THE EVERLY BROTHERS Links to an external site.

A guitarist who was crucial to the Everly Brothers' career, was Chet Atkins. He was not only one of the world's greatest guitarists (his nickname was "Mr. Guitar"), but was a producer, and had a gift for finding talent in others. He was described by those who knew him as a very nice, modest man. He had a very harsh childhood, which perhaps made him sympathetic to others. Here he is in performance:

ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL - CHET ATKINS Links to an external site.

The Everly's first big hit, written by Boudleaux & Felice Bryant, had been turned down by 30 different artists, before the Everlys recorded it. Don Everly, influenced by Bo Diddley, came up with the catchy guitar intro, that became something of a trademark.

JOURNAL:

29. BYE BYE LOVE - THE EVERLY BROTHERS Links to an external site.

A well known ballad, also written by Boudleaux & Felice Bryant.

JOURNAL:

30. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM - THE EVERLY BROTHERS Links to an external site.

One of the big surprises to most people is that the brothers did not get along. In fact, they had a breakup that lasted 10 years! When they got back together, with touring and new album, their first hit was a gift from Paul McCartney, who wrote this song for them

JOURNAL:

31. ON THE WINGS OF A NIGHTINGALE -  THE EVERLY BROTHERS Links to an external site.

Snapshot: Paul was a big fan of the Everlys, and mentioned them in one of his hits, "Let 'Em In."

Snap shot: read this memory of a phone call I had with a drummer who recorded with the Everly Brothers:

I have always been interested in the behind-the-scenes people. The writers, producers, session musicians, etc. Years ago, I tracked down Buddy Harman, a wonderful drummer, who had been on literally thousands of recordings, and hundreds of hits. He had recorded with almost everyone Tennessee based: Patsy Cline, Elvis, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee, etc. I always thought he was a tasteful, underrated drummer, who should have been on the drum magazine covers. Tracking him down was a story of its own. I didn’t know if he was even alive, but I thought if anyone would know, it would be the Nashville Musician’s Union. So I called from my Southern California home, and the battle of the regional accents began. “Hello, Nashville Musician’s Union, may I help you?” Yes, I’m calling from California, and I’m trying to track down a musician who may or may not be active. “Well, wuut’s his name?” His name is Buddy Harman. “Buddy Harman?” Yes, Buddy Harman. “You mean Buuuddy?” Yes. “Well, he works right here.” Great, can I talk to him? “No, he’s not here right now.” Is he going to be there later? “I imagine.” I’ll call back.

I called back, and a wonderful conversation followed. Little things, like do you still have that sizzle cymbal you used on Roy Orbison’s “Crying?” Yes he did. He told me he went on tour with Jerry Lee Lewis, but had to quit midpoint, because he literally could not be in the same time-zone as Jerry Lee. Too much drama. So he went back to Nashville, and got a nice drum gig at the Grand Ol’ Opry. Lots of talk, and then we got around to the Everly Brothers. Many people who enjoy the Everly Brothers would be surprised that there was quite a bit of friction between them. The brother thing, or Don doing all the leads, I don’t know. This escalated to their breakup at Knotts Berry Farm, with Phil smashing his guitar on stage, saying, “I want a divorce.” The breakup lasted 10 years, and good things happened when they got back together.

So, I mentioned this to Buddy, and he laughed, saying they were fighting years before that! He told me this story, which is pure gold. Buddy and the other musicians were in the studio (Chet Atkins too?) ready to record with the brothers. They had flown down a fancy famous producer from New York City (where they don’t make Pace Picante Sauce!) to do the Everly Brothers. Mr. Producer was in the control booth, Buddy and the musicians were at their instruments, and they were all waiting. The reason they were all waiting, was Phil and Don were on the floor, having a knock-down fist fight! The musicians were patient (having seen this show before?), but Mr. Producer just stared, incredulously. Buddy said the producer, after several seconds, NEVER SAID ONE WORD, but got his briefcase, got up, went through the back door, got in his car, drove to the airport, and flew back to NYC! Not even goodbye. The kicker: the brothers finished their fight, got ready to sing that sweet heavenly harmony, was told of the producer’s exit, and thought, what was wrong with that guy! Watch those NYC people.

Footnote: Buddy told me that after recording with hundreds of stars, and thousands of wanna-be’s, there were two singers that actually made the musicians look up and take notice: Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison. I asked why. He said they both came from nowhere (Patsy: Camden, TN and Roy: Wink, TX), and didn’t sound like anyone else.

ROY ORBISON

Roy grew up in the West Texas town of Wink:

Roy Orbison, like his Texas neighbor, Buddy Holly got started playing country music. His first big hit, "Only The Lonely," was written by Orbison and his writing partner Joe Melson, and was offered first to Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers, who turned it down. Orbison then recorded it himself,  and became a star. 

JOURNAL:

32. ONLY THE LONELY - ROY ORBISON Links to an external site.

Just as the Everly Brothers brought something to rock music (country harmony), Orbison brought an orchestral splendor to rock. His dramatic voice was unique, and many of his songs were about dreams. When Orbison became a big star, he toured the world. When he toured England, there was an up and coming British band that played on the same show: The Beatles!

His biggest hit: "Pretty Woman"

Backstory: Roy Orbison was now living in Henderson, Tennessee. Roy and his writing partner, Joe Melson, were in the living room, trying out song ideas. Roy's wife, Claudette, walked through the room, and said she was going shopping. Roy asked if she needed any money. Joe, trying to be funny, said a pretty woman doesn't need any money. When she got back, they had written his biggest hit.

JOURNAL:

33. PRETTY WOMAN - ROY ORBISON Links to an external site.

Snapshot. You have to listen to Roy Orbison cover his own earlier hit, joined by Canadian sing k.d. lang. This really showcases Roy's dramatic voice. Elvis called him the "greatest voice of all time," and the ending can give you chills.

CRYING - ROY ORBISON & k.d. lang Links to an external site.

Snapshot: Here's a funny story about Roy Orbison, told by Bobby Goldsboro.

ROY ORBISON STORY - BOBBY GOLDSBORO Links to an external site.

Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson's parents were professional musicians. Ozzie Nelson was a big band leader back in the day, and Harriet was a singer. They had a radio show, and then a television show, where sons David and Ricky literally grew up on. Do you remember the first documentary we saw: Rock and Roll - The Early Years? Do you remember that skit at the beginning, with Ricky upstairs, listening to "Hound Dog?" And his brother downstairs, listening to "proper" music? Well, that's who we are talking about now!

When rock and roll came about, Ricky joined in, and had many hits. He was particularly impressed and influenced by Fats Domino. Here is a great story about one of his earlier hits, "Travelin' Man," by the writer, Jerry Fuller:

TRAVELIN' MAN - STORY BY JERRY FULLER Links to an external site.

Here it is, for our JOURNAL:

34. TRAVELIN' MAN - RICKY NELSON Links to an external site.

Our next journal entry was written by Gene Pitney (the guy who wrote "He's A Rebel," the Crystals' hit) And if you want more cowbell, here it is.

JOURNAL:

35. HELLO MARY LOU - RICK NELSON Links to an external site.

The British Invasion (we'll look at that soon) totally turned the music business upside down. Many artists struggled to stay on the charts. Ricky Nelson was one of them. In the meantime, he changed his whole music direction. He became "Rick" instead of "Ricky," got a new band (The Stone Canyon Band) and started doing music with a folk/country accent. He was ahead of the curve here, because the country-rock trend was just around the corner. 

The Story behind "Garden Party":

Rick Nelson was booked to play a rock and roll reunion concert at Madison Square Garden, in New York, among other early R&R stars. When he came on,  he played his old hits, then moved to his new material. Well, the crowd wasn't into that, and started booing. They booed him off the stage! That would put anyone into a real depression, but guess what happened? He wrote a song about it, and it became a hit! You know that saying, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade? This is an example. I love the verse: "Ya gotta play at garden parties?/I wish you a lotta luck/But if memories were all I'd sing/I'd rather drive a truck."

JOURNAL:

36. GARDEN PARTY - RICKY NELSON Links to an external site.

Snapshot: When I first started teaching this class, a student came up and told me her dad was Rick Nelson's sound man! What do you think her music memory was about? I wanted to share it with you:

MY MUSIC MEMORY

There are many stories that bring back memories, but when I hear Ricky Nelson's version of "My Bucket's Got A Hole In It" (an old folk song), I have two specific memories.

My father was Rick's sound man for many years. I was very young at the time, five or six, and Rick and the band were just like uncles to me. Being so young, I could not understand why grown women would faint and offer me money and toys for my backstage pass.

One time, we were in a city, for a concert that night. I lost one of my baby teeth, in an apple. Well, I went and told the band as soon as I could. They were all happy for me, and said I should go to Rick's trailer and show him too. Now this made me a little nervous, because Rick was actually very shy. But I went anyway, and knocked on the door. He said "Come on in," and he was a little surprised to see me. He asked me to sit down, but I was too excited to do that, so he asked me what's up. I told him I lost my tooth. He took my tooth and held it up in the gap in my mouth, and then said, "Yep, that's your tooth." He gave me a hug, found some flowers and gave them to me. I felt very special.

We were in San Francisco, staying at the Fairmount Hotel, when we went out shopping. We came upon flavored popcorn, which was a new thing to us, so we bought a lot of it to share with the band. It was a new thing for them too.

Later that day, we got a call from Rick, telling us to come to his room. When we knocked on the door, he opened it, and the whole room was filled with birds! He had spread the popcorn over the room, opened the windows, and let in a ton of birds. After we ate some popcorn, he played with us for a few hours.

These are just a few of the memories I have when I hear that song.

Wasn't that a great story?
Now let's move on to Module 4.3, our last section: