Music Monday ~ The Everly Brothers

Born a tad less than two years apart Don on 1 February 1937 at 2pm in Brownies Creek, Kentucky, Phil (his birthday tomorrow) on 19 January 1939 in Chicago, Illinois at 7.30pm (Data from Astrodatabank). These brothers had enough in common in their astrological natures to enable them to harmonize beautifully, and enough that's different to lead to their professional conflicts and eventual break-up.

The Everly Brothers shone their brightest in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They weren't the first duo or group of siblings to sing in harmony, but they were one of the best examples. It's said that their harmonies influenced many who came after: the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel for instance. Although this seems reasonable, and I think has been acknowledged by those involved, I can't help thinking that the Beatles and Art and Paul would have done what they did anyway, influence or no.

The Everlys sang straight pop ballads with a hint of country. Their songs seem very innocent now. Back then things were different. It was before hippies, psychedelia and the like - a simpler time. They wrote some of their own songs, one of their biggest hits, Cathy's Clown was their own composition. A few more titles to jog hazy memories: Bye Bye Love; Bird Dog; Wake up Little Susie; Walk Right Back.







Younger brother, Phil has Sun, Moon and Mercury in Earthy business-oriented Capricorn, with no planets in Air signs, Virgo rising, Taurus at midheaven, Jupiter in Pisces close to the descendant angle. Don, the elder brother has Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Libra giving him a much different, Airy, mentally driven nature in contrast to his more practical business-driven brother. Phil does have two Capricorn planets, however, Mercury and Jupiter, adding some definite grounding. Whereas Phil has three planets in Fire signs, Don has none.

The Airy Everly supplies what's lacking in his brother, and the Fiery Everly supplies what's lacking in his sibling, both have Earth and Water in ample supply.

I'd guess that Phil, the younger brother, would often have seemed like the elder of the two, more serious, more practical.

There are several similar placements in their charts. Both have Mercury in Capricorn and Mars in Scorpio, both have generational Neptune and Uranus in the same Earth signs, Virgo and Taurus; the other outer planet, Pluto, had moved into the first degree of Leo from late Cancer by the time Phil was born in 1939.

Venus, planet of music, in these charts is in helpful trine to Saturn, planet of work and business for Phil; Don's imaginative Venus in Pisces trines Phil's Mars in Scorpio.

Their natal Moons are in challenging square aspect from Libra and Capricorn though, which could be the seat of their eventual conflicts. The two split up professionally in 1973

By then the brothers' personal lives had gone through serious upheavals. Both were addicted to speed for a while, and Don was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Their relationship became increasingly acrimonious until it blew up at the John Wayne Theater at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, on July 14, 1973. Phil smashed his guitar and stalked off stage, leaving Don to announce the duo's obvious breakup. Subsequent solo attempts by both were largely unsuccessful. From a Rolling Stone biography.

They reunited on stage around ten years later and continued to perform together into the decade just past.

Love is Strange- from their early days:

And some 20-ish years later during a UK tour in 1985:
Bye Bye Love