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Bye Bye Love

Everly Brothers

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Bye Bye Love By the late ‘50s, rock and roll had begun to move away from the raw immediacy of its early stars and became a vehicle for the banal contrivances of camera friendly faces singing songs about teenage romance. It had barely established itself, yet rock and roll was losing its rebellious edge and drifting into the abyss, becoming nothing more than a catchphrase for corporate-sponsored teen music with a beat. Another unfortunate development was the resegregation that began to take place. Previously, rock and roll made tremendous headway in breaking down the barriers between the races. By the end of the decade, this would become a memory, and the industry would regress to business as usual. Pat Boone, Debby Reynolds, and Tab Hunter all had #1 hit records in 1957 with no crossover appeal, while only “safe” black acts like Johnny Mathis and Sam Cooke also had #1 hits, with tame, lukewarm performances. More disturbingly, the influence that R&B had on rock and roll and doo-wop all but disappeared, with Tin Pan Alley and country music becoming the major sources for new material. All was not lost, however, and even the most die-hard rock-and-roll fan had to admit that the music charts were improved from the sorry state of 1955. It was just disheartening to see rock and roll inevitably fall prey to the corporate machinations that manipulated anarchy into formula.

Every rule has an exception, though, and in this case there were two. Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers, although less explosive than their rock-and-roll predecessors, both brought something new and innovative to their music. What they lacked in chaotic energy was more than compensated for with their thoughtful lyrics that spoke to the hearts and minds of teenagers, helping them come to terms with the confusing contradictions of adolescence. The Everly Brothers in particular seemed to understand the frustrations of being a teenager. Songs like "Problems", "Bird Dog", "Wake Up, Little Susie", "Bye Bye Love" and a host of others all capture a segment of teenage life. The beautiful singularity of their crystal-clear harmonies gave their songs an innocence that made their themes universally appealing.

The Everly Brothers were the first act to introduce lead-vocal harmony to rock-and-roll. The unearthly combination of Don and Phil Everly's voices was so perfect, so pure, that it seemed to emanate from a single source. "Bye Bye Love" was their first single on the Top 40, reaching #2 in May 1957. Like nearly a dozen other hits by the Everly's, the songwriting credits belonged to the husband-and-wife team of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. The roots for their songs were traceable to country music and had no discernible R&B influences, but this did not handicap their appeal. "Bye Bye Love" was considered to be as much of a rock-and-roll record as anything by Elvis Presley or even Chuck Berry. Before "Bye Bye Love", most rock-and-roll lyrics were either moody ("Heartbreak Hotel", "My Baby Left Me"), nonsensical ("Tutti Frutti", "Shake, Rattle and Roll") or blatant statements of love or lust ("Great Balls Of Fire", "Don't Be Cruel"). The country roots of "Bye Bye Love" were certainly not unique, but only Chuck Berry shared the narrative lyric structure that the Bryants utilized. With less energy and more introspection, the Everly Brothers were the first rock and rollers to give their teenage fans food for thought.