The Brothers Broke Up on Stage and Didn’t Sing Together for 10 Years. Then They Walked Out at the Royal Albert Hall

Don and Phil Everly grew up singing on the radio with their parents. By the late 1950s, the brothers were one of the biggest acts in the world, with hits like “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.”

Their harmonies were so beautiful that two young men in Liverpool, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, used to pretend they were the Everly Brothers.

But by 1973, after almost 20 years of sharing one microphone, Don and Phil were worn out. They split up, and it happened in public, on stage at Knott’s Berry Farm in California.

Don moved back to Nashville. Phil stayed in California. For the next 10 years, they went their own ways.

In 1975, during those years apart, their father, Ike, passed away.

Then in 1983, friends arranged for the brothers to meet. They patched things up quickly, and they agreed there was only one place to hold their reunion: London’s Royal Albert Hall. It was the last place they had played with their father.

On September 23, 1983, Don and Phil walked out on that stage together again. They sang the old hits, one after another, and the concert was filmed by the BBC.

At the very end, for the encore, they sang “Let It Be Me.” That’s the song in this video. Watch their faces.

The brothers kept touring together for years. In 1986, they were part of the very first class inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Phil died in 2014, at 74, and Don in 2021, at 84.

Is there someone you’ve been meaning to make peace with? Share this with your brother or sister.