R
AY: “The Everly Brothers taught us all to harmonise in rock songs. As a boy I sat and watched my family sing and dance to records by the Everlys in the front room of our family home. My big sisters would go for the high voice, while their boyfriends usually took the lead line. I did music classes at school, and the teacher said their songs were possibly a little simplistic, but he was teaching us hymns and traditional English folk songs. He claimed not to know much about American popular songs.
“Later, my brother and I tried to sing the parts, and after a while we would start to blend. It was a magical moment when our voices reached that perfect harmony. It was only a simple third, nothing challenging musically, but it gave us the sense that for once we both had the same energy. For once we felt we were united in what we were doing. When my brother and I toured with bands like The Hollies and did shows with The Beatles, I heard similar resonance in their harmonies, unity that brings people together. Don and Phil Everly influenced many of us.”