Rockabilly

Part of the fun of the doo wop era entails the weaving of many strands of American music. This includes the rockabilly sounds and beautiful harmony of Phil and Don Everly, better known as The Everly Brothers. Rockabilly is the combination of rock and roll and country music. And what a beautiful combination that is.

Sometimes it feels like the end of everything when your love leaves you for someone else. And sometimes the music, the business, and the time are right for your first hit record. The song “Bye Bye Love” was written by the team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and recorded by The Everly Brothers in 1957. It was the first one for the brothers on Cadence Records, with whom they had many successes, their first hit in the U.S. and abroad, and their first gold record. In 1957, the song went to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Pop Chart, #1 on the Cash Box Best Selling Record Chart, #1 on the Country Chart, #5 on the R&B Chart, #6 in the U.K., #2 in Canada, and #14 in Australia. The song has been covered many times, including versions by Rory Blackwell, Connie Francis, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Trini Lopez, Simon & Garfunkel, Ray Stevens, Jimmy Stevens Lacy J. Dalton, and The Pearls among many others. The film All that Jazz featured the song sung by Ben Vereen.

Here are the lyrics to “Bye Bye Love” by The Everly Brothers:

“Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness, hello loneliness
I think I’m-a gonna cry-y
Bye bye love, bye bye sweet caress, hello emptiness
I feel like I could di-ie
Bye bye my love goodby-eye

There goes my baby with-a someone new
She sure looks happy, I sure am blue
She was my baby till he stepped in
Goodbye to romance that might have been

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness, hello loneliness
I think I’m-a gonna cry-y
Bye bye love, bye bye sweet caress, hello emptiness
I feel like I could di-ie
Bye bye my love goodby-eye

I’m-a through with romance, I’m a-through with love
I’m through with a’countin’ the stars above
And here’s the reason that I’m so free
My lovin’ baby is through with me

Bye bye love
Bye bye happiness, hello loneliness
I think I’m-a gonna cry-y
Bye bye love, bye bye sweet caress, hello emptiness
I feel like I could di-ie
Bye bye my love goodby-eye”

Donald “Don” Everly was born in Brownie, Muhlenberg County, Kentuky, on February 1, 1937. Phillip “Phil” Everly was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 19, 1939, and passed away last year on January 3, 2014. They both enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in October 1961. The Everly Brothers are in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s. Please click here for our Youtube channel, to which you can subscribe. Thank you for stopping by The Daily Doo Wop. Hope you enjoyed “Bye Bye Love” by The Everly Brothers.