Don Everly

One half of one of the most successful duos in the history of rock and roll, Don Everly teamed with his younger brother Phil to form The Everly Brothers, whose soaring harmonies and ebullient pop tributes to young love sold millions of records and influenced such artists as the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and dozens of others. Steeped from an early age in the precise vocals of country music by their musician father, the Everlys captured the hearts of late '50s pop audiences with such gorgeously rendered songs as "Bye, Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do is Dream" and Don's "(Till) I Kissed Her." Their vocal prowess earned them 26 Top 40 singles, but the hits came to an end in the mid-1960s with the rise of the British Invasion. Don's struggles with addiction tore the brothers apart in the early 1970s, but the pair launched a dignified reunion a decade later that found their harmonies still pristine and deeply moving. Don's induction with Phil into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 solidified what millions of music fans had known for almost a quarter-century: that the Everly Brothers were among the most memorable and well-loved artists of rock and roll's early years.