They began writing and recording their own music in 1956, and their first hit song came in 1957, with "Bye Bye Love", written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The song hit No. 1 in the spring of 1957, and additional hits would follow through 1958, many of them written by the Bryants, including "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", and "Problems". In 1960, they signed with the major label Warner Bros. Records and recorded "Cathy's Clown", written by the brothers themselves, which was their biggest selling single. The brothers enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1961, and their output dropped off, though additional hit singles continued through 1962, with "That's Old Fashioned (That's the Way Love Should Be)" being their last top-10 hit.
Long-simmering disputes with Wesley Rose, the CEO of Acuff-Rose Music, which managed the group, a growing drug usage in the 1960s, as well as changing tastes in popular music, led to the group's decline in popularity in its native U.S., though the brothers continued to release hit singles in the U.K. and Canada, and had many highly successful tours throughout the 1960s. In the early 1970s, the brothers began releasing solo recordings, and in 1973 they officially broke up. Starting in 1983, the brothers got back together, and would continue to perform periodically until Phil's death in 2014. Don died seven years later.
The group was highly influential on the music of the generation that followed it. Many of the top acts of the 1960s were heavily influenced by the close-harmony singing and acoustic guitar playing of the Everly Brothers, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Bee Gees, and Simon & Garfunkel. In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked the Everly Brothers No. 1 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of 1986, and into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Don was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019, earning the organization's first Iconic Riff Award for his distinctive rhythm guitar intro to the Everlys' massive 1957 hit "Wake Up Little Susie".
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Everly_Brothers
Nancy
The Everly Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Acting just like a a clown
I know I'll never be free
I'm just a puppet on a string
I've lost my pride and everything
It began on the day we met
She'd kiss me once and I was lost
Dancing the Nancy's Minuet
I'm dancing round and round
Acting just like a a clown
I know I'll never be free
The music's deep within my heart
She looks at me and the dancin' starts
I'm just a foolish marionette
I'll never break a single string
To stay with her means everything
Dancing the Nancy's Minuet
I'm dancing round and round
Acting just like a a clown
I know I'll never be free
The Everly Brothers' "Nancy's Minuet" is a beautiful song about a man who is deeply in love with a woman who has complete control over him. He feels like he's just a puppet on a string and is completely helpless to her. The song's lyrics are full of mixed emotions where the man is acting like a clown while dancing around and is aware that he will never be free from his love for her. The song starts with the man's lamenting that he is circled round and round, dancing to the rhythm of the Nancy's minuet, feeling like he's making a fool of himself. He can't help himself and he's aware of it; he's lost his pride and everything that he held dear.
From the beginning of the relationship, he was smitten with her, and he lost any semblance of control over himself when she kissed him. He knows he's in deep and will pay the price for it. The music of the Nancy’s Minuet is the music of their love, and he can't stop himself from feeling the thrill every time she looks at him. He's aware that he's like a fool, acting like a puppet on a string, and that's how the Nancy's Minuet makes him feel. Like a marionette whose every move is controlled by his partner, he's never going to break faith.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm dancing round and round
I'm spinning aimlessly without direction or purpose.
Acting just like a clown
I'm behaving foolishly, entertaining others without actually making them happy.
I know I'll never be free
I'm aware that I can't escape the constraints of my current situation.
I'm just a puppet on a string
I'm being controlled by outside forces, unable to make my own decisions.
I've lost my pride and everything
I no longer have self-respect or anything else of value.
It began on the day we met
This all started when we first encountered each other.
She'd kiss me once and I was lost
Her touch has an irresistible hold on me.
She thrills me now, I'll pay the cost
Despite knowing the price, I can't resist the rush she brings me.
Dancing the Nancy's Minuet
I am fully engrossed in this dangerous and inescapable dance with her.
The music's deep within my heart
The rhythm of this relationship is embedded in my very being.
She looks at me and the dancin' starts
Her gaze can launch me into this toxic cycle of infatuation and heartbreak.
I'm just a foolish marionette
I'm a deluded and powerless figure, manipulated by external factors.
I'll never break a single string
I can't bring myself to sever ties, no matter how destructive they may be.
To stay with her means everything
Sticking with her is the only thing that matters to me now, even if it's wrong for me.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DONALD EVERLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Everly Brothers International
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Geraldine Fields
LOVE the Everlys.
V-G-Z
Where do you always get these great rare recordings from? This channel is wonderful!
IanRob2011
Love them, their music. Good memories. Love Don’s beard!!
Kathryn Kathryn
I bless the day I found Everly Brothers International Archives on YouTube. They are extraordinary. Thanks so much for such special memories!
Kathryn Kathryn
@Everly Brothers International Thanks for the website link! It is an EB's fan's dream! Wonderful!
Everly Brothers International
Please also visit our brand new Everly Brothers website with lots of goodies that can’t be found elsewhere
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doris williams
Sometimes Don slowed it down poor Phil struggled to keep up
Deborah Kallgren
Warren Zevon on piano!
Andrew Jackson Jr
RIP Don.