The Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Rabon and Alton Delmore, and Ira and Charlie Louvin have long since stopped performing as duos. The Everly Brothers would always be seen as the youth of America when compared with these earlier sibling harmony groups, but they honored the past with grace and style while also recounting their own important legacy during a concert stop in Milwaukee.
One might think that the Everly Brothers would try to make their show into a living jukebox, including as many of their numerous hits as possible. Doing so might be especially tempting just then, since a musical based on their lives was currently playing at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. But almost the opposite occurred at this Oct. 30, 1998 concert. Instead of a program comprised of their own hits, the Everlys sang songs that emphasized the specific musical traditions that been influential on their music.
The 70-minute set began with two songs honoring their home state, with “Kentucky” melting into a fine rendition of “Bowling Green.” The performance that followed was long on ballads, as Don and Phil Everly knew what still best suited their voices and what their audience most wanted to hear.
Tradition aside, the reason the Riverside Theater was filled for this show was that fans wanted to experience the Everly Brothers’ peerless harmony in person. Like the Louvins and the Delmores before them, the Everlys had their own distinct sound. Whether performing as a duo with only two acoustic guitars or with a full backing band, the inimitable harmonies remained intact.
It’s true that they no longer tried for the long, sustained notes of “Cathy’s Clown.” And they paced themselves, interspersing the upbeat numbers with less challenging, yet equally satisfying numbers. But if the brothers, then on the cusp of 60, had lost some stamina, they made up for it by their talent as mature singers. In amazement, one watched Don and Phil simultaneously hit the most intricate of harmony patterns without once glancing at one another for visual articulation cues.
Don was the front man for the night, singing lead and giving a bit of background at various junctures. He spoke of their father Ike’s ability with the guitar, and how these skills led Chet Atkins to take an interest in Don and Phil, inviting them to Nashville. In fact, the middle of the show featured a brief acoustic medley of country and folk tunes from the great Songs Our Daddy Taught Us LP.
Albert Lee had been playing guitar with the Everly Brothers for some time. In Milwaukee, he added instrumental lines to the harmony without stealing focus from the brothers. Buddy Emmons made an unexpected appearance as the backing group’s steel guitar player; he was warmly received by this northern audience. Don and Phil briefly left the stage late in the set to let Emmons and Lee each have a featured instrumental number. And while a longer night from the brothers themselves would have been welcome, who could complain about an intermission such as this?
Everyone knows that the Everly Brothers recorded many hit singles. But the most important aspect of their legacy remains their breathtaking, uniquely influential harmonies. Charlie Louvin once remarked that he and brother Ira only saw their idols, the Delmore Brothers, perform live once, late in the Delmores’ career. “And they sounded just like the records of decades before — the harmonies still fresh and pure,” Charlie marveled. “Neither Ira or I were let down in the least.”
Charlie Louvin could just as well be describing the performance of Don and Phil Everly on this stop in Milwaukee. Nobody was let down.
Tom Wilmeth is a freelance writer who lives in Grafton, Wisconsin – former home of the Paramount Records label. He has a podcast called The Vinyl Approach, available on Spotify, and is the author of the book ‘Sound Bites: A Lifetime of Listening’ (Muleshoe Press, 2016), available on Amazon.
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