The Beatles & The Everly Brothers

Starting out we hear John Lennon playing Cathy's Clown by The Everly Brothers, just John and a piano, then we hear The Everly Brothers do the song as recorded, then The Beatles' Please Please Me, to demonstrate where I believe Lennon & McCartney found the inspiration for that harmony pattern. It's not the same pattern, and it's certainly not plagiarized, this is more about the muse and where inspiration comes from.

Cathy's Clown was written by Don and Phil Everly. Warner Bros issued it in 1960 after three years of going nowhere on Archie Bleyer's "Cadence" label. It was The Everly Brothers' biggest hit single.

Please Please Me was written by John Lennon for The Beatles. He said he got the idea from Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely" and Bing Crosby's "Please lend a little ear to my pleas." But the harmony is all Everly Brothers and Cathy's Clown. When Little Richard first heard The Beatles in Germany long before they were well known, he thought they sounded just like The Everly Brothers. McCartney and Lennon share the vocals with McCartney holding the high note while Lennon drops down through the scale. McCartney said, "I did the trick of staying on the high note while the melody cascaded down from it".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• beatles
• everly brothers
• everly bros
• cathy's clown
• please please me
• rock & roll
• music
• harmony
• vocal harmony

[tickyreal]

Without the Everly Brothers,

There would have been no Beatles": John Lennon

[justmusicandme]

Thanks for this excellent post, and thanks to thousandSmiles for sharing. Thumbs up! Favorite! I appreciate all the Beatles have done in the music business for the last 47 or 48 years..yet ..It is becoming my firm belief that the Everlys did it first, MANY years earlier, and it only took two of them! The word "unique" can be applied to their style, their harmony, their voices and their separate and combined talents. There is no artist or group that equals them.

[justmusicandme]

@tickyreal What a great quote!!

[Chiselnyc]

Hmm. I agree with what's been said here.

[angelofbebop]

@justmusicandme

Loretta.....I agree with you!

[surfcottage]

fabulous!

[Shabannie]

@justmusicandme Thank you for sharing. I liked the interesting video too.

-----------Ellen

[lettermen1]

@justmusicandme Thanks for sharing, Loretta. As you say, very interesting!

[AGibsonJ]

@justmusicandme, thanks for sharing, love both these groups.... of course!!

[AGibsonJ]

Very entertaining and informative video, thanks for posting!!!