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
Sleepless Nights
The Everly Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
& wonder who is kissing you
Oh these sleepless nights will break my heart in 2
Somehow through the days I don't give in
I hide the tears that wait within
Oh but then through sleepless nights I cry again
Don't you know, don't you know
I need you?
I keep hoping you'll come back to me
Oh let it be, please let it be
Oh my love, please end these sleepless nights for me
The lyrics to The Everly Brothers' song Sleepless Nights describe the intense emotional pain of missing someone and the sleepless nights that result from that pain. The singer is crying for his loved one throughout the night and wondering who is kissing her. The combination of sadness and jealousy is conveyed through the line "Oh these sleepless nights will break my heart in two." Despite attempting to hide his tears during the day, the singer cannot help but cry again during the sleepless nights. The chorus pleads for the loved one to come back, as the singer needs them to bring an end to the sleepless nights.
Line by Line Meaning
Through the sleepless nights I cry for you
During the long and restless nights, I weep in agony because of your absence.
& wonder who is kissing you
At the same time, I cannot help but wonder who could be enjoying your affection instead of me.
Oh these sleepless nights will break my heart in 2
These sleepless nights will eventually shatter my heart and leave me feeling incomplete.
Somehow through the days I don't give in
Despite the constant melancholy, I manage to keep myself going during the daytime.
I hide the tears that wait within
I bury the tears deep inside myself when in public, waiting to be released during the night again.
Oh but then through sleepless nights I cry again
No matter how I try to hold on during the day, I still break down and cry uncontrollably at night.
Why did you go? Why did you go?
The question haunts me every moment: why did you choose to leave me behind?
Don't you know, don't you know
Do you not understand the depth of my love and how much I need you still?
I need you?
My heart is aching without you and I am begging for your return.
I keep hoping you'll come back to me
Every day I hold onto a glimmer of hope that you will return to me.
Oh let it be, please let it be
Please make my deepest wish come true and return to me.
Oh my love, please end these sleepless nights for me
I am pleading for you to end these sleepless and torturous nights as only you have the power to do so.
Lyrics © HOUSE OF BRYANT PUBLICATIONS, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Milton Moore
The "geniuses" at
Warner Brothers
records obtuse
déterminations
governing which
recordings deserved to be
released as 45rpm singles didn't help
the furtherance of
the Everlys careers any,
and cost all parties involved
untold millions of
dollars! What jerks!
Milton Moore
I once talked to
a young man who
was bussing tables at a restaurant. He said that he absolutely could
not bear to listen to any song that
had less than 160
beats per minute!
I felt sorry for him,
too!
Peace.😊
cak 813
OK, I’m adding this song to my “collection” of sad Everly Brothers songs: “So Sad”, “Maybe Tomorrow”, and now “Sleepless Nights”. Now I have a trilogy of sad songs. Nobody harmonized better or expressed teenage angst better than the Everly Brothers. 50-60 years later and these songs still hold up and sound fantastic.
Diego S. Loayza
Indeed my friend
John R. June
This song is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard......When I was a teen, I used to stay up to all hours of the night, listening to this song over and over again (was a heart broken guy). I would sit in a darkened room in my rocking chair and play this, singing lead one time and harmony the next, back when I had a voice, thinking this girl would come back to me. She broke up with me, because her mother didn't like me and made this girl break it off, I thought I was going to die......oh the girl I was singing this too........well she did come back to me, in a round about way. She ended up marrying an old friend of mine and we lost track over the years. I happened to find him on a social networking site and sent him an e-mail. My old flame answered it and we rekindled an old friendship....unfortunately she died of cancer two years ago and I have this big hole in me again. She was a treasure!!
Terry Shoemaker
@Hayden Nault me
Terry Shoemaker
I went through a very very comparable and painful story when aged 18 (including the mother part...) but in my case the song I was listening to was an other Everly sad song called « I’m afraid » looking back it could have Been sleepless nights...so heart breaking these repeated « why did you go ? » sleepless nights is the most beautiful song by Don and Phil and I write this as a Long Time fan who have all their records... Keep in mind your beautiful memories they are treasures ...
Han Vroman
It can hurt John, i know...
tedibair
Hello John
I was very moved by your message. I didnt know boys did that as well as girls.
I am glad you found her again but sorry you lost her again.
I hope you found another 'special' person in your life.
Take Care...
Dont stop playing this song ... Its my favourite...
Margaret Warren
I love the Everly Brothers....best of the best.
Sooz
The E.B. recorded so many songs, beautiful songs that displayed their amazing abilities perfectly and this one really allows you to hear their beautiful, sweet voices.
R.I.H. PHIL & DON 🎼💔
Jonathan Jensen
The chord progression in this song is astonishing for 1960. I've heard the Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris version, and they do a simplified bridge with more basic chords. I wonder if they went to the composers and said "can you rewrite the middle bit to make it sound more country?"😄