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
That's Just Too Much
The Everly Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now frown and disagree
Your words have lost that tender touch
That’s just too much
To take
Too much
Your arms that once held me
Somehow they’ve lost their tender touch
That’s just too much
To bear
Too much
Could I have been so young and blind
To think you loved me all this time
Your lips that once thrilled me
Now frown and disagree
Your words have lost that tender touch
That’s just too much
To take
Too much
To bear
Too much
To take…
The lyrics of The Everly Brothers' song "That's Just Too Much" tell the story of a love that has lost its spark. The singer laments how their lover's lips, which used to thrill them, now frown and disagree. The words that used to be tender are now devoid of feeling. Similarly, the lover's arms have lost their warmth and now feel cold and uninviting. The singer questions whether they were too young and naive to believe that their love would last forever. The chorus repeats that this change is simply too much to bear, too much to take.
The song highlights the pain of losing the feeling of love and affection from a relationship that once brought happiness. The singer feels hopeless in the face of this change and is unable to come to terms with it. The repetition of "too much" underlines this feeling of helplessness and despair. The Everly Brothers' harmonies, which were their signature, only add to the emotional depth of the song. The song seems to capture how a person can feel when they realize that love can change so quickly and completely.
Line by Line Meaning
Your lips that once thrilled me
The lips that used to excite and make me happy are now expressionless and show disapproval.
Now frown and disagree
They now have a negatively-toned expression that is different from the approving looks I once received.
Your words have lost that tender touch
The kind and compassionate tone that was typical of how you spoke to me has disappeared.
That’s just too much
It's now unbearable for me to handle this drastic change in your behavior.
To take
My ability to endure or tolerate your current behavior is no longer possible.
Too much
It is too overwhelming and difficult to deal with the current situation.
Your arms that once held me
The arms that used to embrace and hold me securely are now distant and not as welcoming.
Feel cold and just chill me
I now get a sense of being isolated and uncomfortable when I feel your once warm embrace.
Somehow they’ve lost their tender touch
The gentleness and softness of your arms that I used to feel has disappeared for unknown reasons.
That’s just too much
It's now unbearable for me to handle this drastic change in your behavior.
To bear
I am unable to cope or support the continuation of these changes in your behavior towards me.
Could I have been so young and blind
I am questioning my past naivety and inability to recognize that your love for me had changed.
To think you loved me all this time
I thought that your feelings for me had remained constant throughout our relationship, however, it seems that it has not.
To take…
The situation is too unbearable to handle any longer.
Contributed by Gabriella P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Luanne Schaller
If I have heard this one before, I do not recall......what a melancholy tune.......I keep asking, Who is going to fill their shoes......What a gift, what a talent, what a sound......
Lou Ella Stephens
Luanne Schaller they cannot be replaced in my mind.
city zen
the two of them WROTE it, and together wrote CATHY'S CLOWN!
keoki82
I agree. The talent of the Everlys would be near impossible to replace. Thanks for listening.
april lear
one of the best Everlys ever
Betty Higginbottom
How beautiful, NO ONE can EVER copy their sound, Love the Everlys and always will ...RIP Phil.
Jeanette Guerra
Sensible y que emoción escuchar tan linda interpretación con sus voces suaves que hacen soñar..muy buen tema..se recordaran siempre. Toda su vida en la música 🎶, Phil un encanto..Gracias por compartir.
Jacqui Beaumont-Sugden
So beautiful, their harmonies are second to none.
Marina Schamehorn
beauitful like always ..love all their songs. beauiful Everly brothers..love them..
Jeannie Lapointe
We will never see this ever again. They were too good and the good people always go first and I can't get over that. I still cry when I hear some of those songs.