Walk Right Back With The Everlys 20 Golden Greats on Warner Bros record label 1975, value £40/50

THE harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Mamas and Papas and even The Beatles can all be traced back to one source, Don and Phil Everly, writes MICHAEL BROOKES. They were two brothers from Brownie, Kentucky, who influenced a generation of country and rock singers with their pure pop harmonies. Signed by Cadence records in 1957, they were offered a song that had been turned down by 30 other artists. Don and Phil didn't care because they knew they would be paid $64 just for recording it. Written by Felice and Bordleaux Bryant who went on to write many more songs for the Everlys; Bye, Bye Love became a massive hit selling eight million copies. After nine more consecutive hits on Cadence records the brothers embarked on a career that made them second only to Elvis Presley, and by the end of the fifties they were the world's number one vocal group.

In 1960 they signed to Warner Bros for $1,000,000 on a ten year contract. They debuted with Cathy's Clown written by Don, which became their biggest hit. It was also their most successful UK single. Of their five number ones, it was also the first to be number one simultaneously in the USA and UK.

What makes this album so collectable is that it is an exclusive UK release, issued shortly after the brothers split up and no one thought they would ever record together again. On July 14, 1973 at Knotts Berry Farm, Buena Park, California, tensions between the brothers surfaced. Don told a reporter he was tired of being an Everly brother. During the show, Phil smashed his guitar and walked off leaving Don to finish the show ending their collaboration. The fall out was mainly attributed to their vastly different views on politics and life, with the music being the one thing they shared. Don always claimed, "On stage it was almost like we could read each other's minds."

The Everlys continued to make solo albums with only minimal success, but in 1983 the reunion concert at the Albert Hall ended their ten year solo careers. They continued to perform together and had a top ten hit with On the Wings of a Nightingale written by Paul McCartney. Phil Everly's death in 2014 marked the end of their career. This collection of songs contain all their UK hit recordings not exactly in chronological order with the exception of Problems, which is missing. This is an album of music that will always brighten the darkest of rooms.