Norse Guitar Feeds

Sadly Larry passed away on September 15th of this year. 

In addition to being guitarist and songwriter for Pure Prairie League, Larry was a beloved member of the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky music community and will forever be remembered for his wonderful songs, amazing voice, his work in Pure Prairie League, his contributions to The Goshorn Brother's Band, and for bringing great music to the Greater Cincinnati area.

Though I personally did not know Larry, many of my friends were very close to him, and in some cases they played music in groups along with him. 

I started playing guitar in the mid-1960’s, when I was just a 13 year old kid, and I learned more about playing guitar by going to dances and shows just to watch the guitar players and study their fingering patterns, than I did from any guitar teacher.

The Sacred Mushroom

It was around this era that Larry, Tim, and their brother Danny Goshorn were members in a local blues and psychedelic rock band called The Sacred Mushroom. Though I didn’t know the members, I saw them play many times at different venues and recall that they were very, very good. I even picked up a few blues licks from watching Larry. 

The Sacred Mushroom and Tribe

I had no idea that at the time the band and their friends, whom they referred to as “the tribe”,  lived together in a residence they called The Mushroom House.  That sounds idyllic, but as someone who lived in a community for a time, I found the element of privacy was missed.

The Sacred Mushroom Band went on to release a 45 rpm single called “Break Away Girl", and an album that consisted of original material as well as covers of T-Bone Walker's "Mean Old World" and Ray Davies' "I'm Not Like Everybody Else". The Sacred Mushroom band dissolved due to unknown circumstances in 1969. 

Larry would later join Pure Prairie League along with his brother Tim Goshorn. Both guys were active in the group in from around 1975 through 1978, and then again at a reunion concert in the mid 1980's. After leaving, Larry and Tim went on to form The Goshorn Brother's Band.  Although they Larry and Tim were not founding members of Pure Prairie League, they were an integral part of the band's history.

Pure Prairie League originated in 1970 when singer/guitarist Craig Fuller and his friends from Columbus Ohio put together one of the first bands that combined Rock with Country music. By 1972 the group was recording music. 

Their song “Amie” became a major hit song. During the band's career they scored six Top 40 LP’s. 

Pure Prairie League went through a lot of personal changes through the years. Founding member Craig Fuller had to leave the group just before “Amie” hit the airwaves to face trial for charges of draft evasion in Kentucky. Y'all remember The Draft?  Before conscientious objector (C.O.) status could be arranged for Craig, he was sentenced to six months in jail which forced him to leave Pure Prairie League in February of 1973. 

By August of that year, the band members had moved their base to the Cincinnati area.  The group had a hit record at the time, but the band was somewhat in disarray. The remaining members managed to persuade steel guitarist John David Call to return. 

Craig Fuller

Craig Fuller, though out of prison later in 1973, was registered as a conscientious objector.  He was required to perform alternate service for two years, to fulfill the military's two year obligation for conscription. He worked the late shift in a community hospital to satisfy those requirements and was not inclined to rejoin at that time. Thankfully Craig was eventually given a full pardon by President Gerald Ford.

Pure Prairie League 1973

Mike Reilly, the groups bass player during this era, took over as the band's leader and front man. He brought in his friend Larry Goshorn to replace Fuller.  Pure Prairie League then hit the road and began playing gigs constantly as "Amie" grew in popularity as radio stations began receiving requests to play the song.

Bustin' Out

As a result, RCA re-released the album Bustin' Out and issued "Amie" as a single. The song peaked at No. 27 on April 26, 1975, just as a minor bluegrass revival was underway on mid-western college campuses. Larry Goshorn became the group’s main songwriter during this time. He was featured on Pure Prairie League's third album; Two Lane Highway. 

In 1977 John David Call left because of increasing back troubles. Larry Goshorn's brother, Tim, joined in time to record Just Fly (March 1978) taking over the duties as the group's steel guitar player. 

By 1978 more changes occurred and there was a mass exodus from the group.  

This was when both Goshorns left to form their own group, The Goshorn Brothers. The duo of Larry and Tim were constantly performing at clubs in the Ohio and Northern Kentucky area. I expect after years of touring this was a welcome change. 

Click here for The Story of The Goshorn Brothers part 1 and part 2 by Chuck Land.  

Both guys also appeared with other Blues bands in the area. The brothers released an album in 2012 simply titled The Goshorn Brothers; Life. In 2015 they released another album called Custom Bootleg. 

Larry and Tim Goshorn

Both Larry and Tim, as well as other members of Pure Prairie League were recognized as members in The Northern Kentucky Music Legends Hall of Fame. Larry and Tim were featured almost every Friday in the Blues Segment of Gary Burbank's afternoon radio show on WLW radio. 

Larry and Tim Goshorn

After a lengthy illness, Larry underwent heart surgery.

Tim Goshorn  died at his home in Williamstown, Kentucky after a bout with cancer on April 15, 2017, at age 62. 

Recently Larry Goshorn became quite ill and was hospitalized with Acute leukemia & Pneumonia. His wife, Kim, kept his friends posted about his condition. 

Larry Goshorn

Then on this past September 15th, she wrote these heartwrenching words; “My angel, Larry Goshorn... He took his last breath in my presence… He left this world the same way he lived in it, with humility and kindness for those around him...Larry G. Died September 14 (2021) at 5:20pm. I must add that I was married to the coolest guy on the planet…” 

Larry Goshorrn (recent)

On November 7th, 2021 a memorial and benefit concert put on by The Play It Forward Foundation will be held at The Madison Theater in Covington Kentucky, 730 Madison Avenue. 

If you are in the area, please come to celebrate Larry Goshorn’s life.  They event starts at noon.

Through his career Larry owned and played quite a few electric and acoustic guitars,  There are no video or photos of The Sacred Mushroom from the mid to late 1960's. I can only image that most bands of the time were playing Fender Stratocasters, Telecasters, and Gibson ES-335's mostly through Fender amplifiers.  

Larry playing a Gibson L6-S Custom Deluxe

By the Pure Prairie League years I ran across a video of Larry playing a Gibson L6-S Custom Deluxe solid body guitar.  This guitar was a very interesting instrument whose electronics and pickups were designed by Bill Lawrence.  The finish was natural and looked like a wide Les Paul. 

Larry with PPL playing his Guild Nightbird

In a 1986 video Larry can be seen in a video playing Guild Nightbird GC, which resembled a Les Paul.  That guitar came with Kent Armstrong pickups. Larry and the band are playing through Ampeg amplifiers. 

During Larry's Goshorn Brother's years, he is playing an unidentified guitar.  Larry seemed to favor this guitar in later years.  In a 1995 video he can be seen playing this instrument. The guitar's neck had a reverse headstock. The body has a modified Telecaster shape.  

The neck pickup appears to be a P-90, and on a separate pickguard are a slanted pickup with twin blades in the bridge position, and a single coil in the center position. In the video the body is red and there is a logo on the headstock. 

In later years the body and headstock appear to be refinished with a flame design.

Larry's "?" Guitar

Larry had another similar instrument with a dark blue body, similar white pickups, but instead of a rosewood fretboard and painted headstock, this one has a maple cap and a maple headstock.  At the "Remember Me" event held to raise funds for Larry's final expenses and help his wife Kim, I got a close look at these guitars. On the headstocks were Larry's name in italicized script. I believe Larry built these guitars himself.

For many of his small club dates with The Goshorn Brothers Larry and Tim both played Martin and Taylor acoustic guitars.  

However, without a doubt, Larry Goshorn's most beautiful guitar was a Fender Stratocaster with an incredible body that was hand painted by his wife Kim Goshorn. 

Isn't that guitar stunning?  

Larry is certainly missed by his family, friends, and most of all by his wife, Kim. 

He was born March 5, 1925 to a dirt-poor sharecropping family in Moultrie, Georgia, and named Ivy James Bryant, Jr. 

He was the oldest of 12 children. The young boy was a prodigy and he learned country fiddle at age five to help feed his family by worked as a street musician during the Great Depression years. 

Bryant joined the army at age 18 in 1942.  He was wounded with shrapnel in battle. During his convalescence he met guitarist Tony Mottola, who was in the Special Services Unit.  Bryant was so impressed with Mottola's proficiency that he decided guitar was the instrument for him. 

Upon discharge with a Purple Heart, Bryant purchased a Gibson Super 400 with floating De Armond pickup, an amp, then played the Washington, D.C. area and in Georgia as “Buddy” Bryant. 

He later moved to Los Angeles and he secured radio work as lead guitarist with Cliffie Stone on the California television show “Hometown Jamboree” playing alongside pedal-steel master Speedy West and numerous other country stars. 

At the time he was sporting a sunburst Gibson Super 400 (with a floating DeArmond pickup) and a Fender Dual Professional/Super with two 10″ Jensen speakers. 

Bryant's Boogie

His first recording session was Tex Williams’ “Wild Card” (1950) for Capitol,. This led to a five-year contract during which he made 65 singles as Jimmy Bryant. His first solo record, “Bryant’s Boogie,” was done as a trial to see how well he could perform. He shared the recording with Stone’s Hometown band and Tennessee Ernie Ford was featured on the B-side. 

Bryant later played a prototype of Leo Fender's Broadcaster which was featured in a Roy Rogers cowboy film. Later Bryant was known for his work using a Telecaster. 

Supposedly Fender was going to produce a Jimmy Bryant Signature Stratocaster, but somehow that deal fell through. He became disillusioned with Fender.

As a result he went on to play a variety of other manufacturers instruments, especially some different Rickenbacker guitars. 

Bryant with a Maganatone Guitar

He also played a prototype guitar made for him by Magnatone. After all he was living in Los Angeles, and Rickenbacker was, and is, a California company. L.A.

At the time Country Music coming out of Los Angeles was much more progressive than what was coming out of Nashville at that time and Bryant wanted to push the envelope.

Stratosphere Boogie

His technical skill made it possible for him to take it to the limit way back in 1954 when he recorded “Stratosphere Boogie” and “Deep Water.” 

Both songs featured an innovative approach to parallel harmonies, which would be impossible to play on a normal guitar, where he sounded like two guitars, country-style. 

Bryant With His Stratosphere Twin Guitar

Bryant had long admired the multi-tracking skills of Les Paul which produced similar sounds. But neither of Bryant's songs were double tracked.  Jimmy Bryant had discovered The Stratosphere Twin guitar, which was the key to achieving this sound.

The Stratosphere Twin Guitar was the first double neck 12 string, and six string electric guitar ever made and offered for sale. 

By tuning the 12 string neck in major and minor thirds, Jimmy Bryant had developed a way to produce a twin-guitar effect with a single instrument which enabled him to generate inimitable harmonized lines. 

1956-57 Pamphlet

The unique Stratosphere Twin Guitar was manufactured for just a few years in the 1950's by a Springfield Missouri company called the Stratosphere Guitar Manufacturing Company. Russell Deaver was the inventor and designer, and along with his brother, Claude the company only manufactured approximately 200 instruments which were marketed primarily to country musicians during the short-lived venture. 

Their most popular guitar was the Stratosphere Twin double-neck, which retailed for about $300 which was a lot of money in those days. 

1956 Stratosphere Twin

It was Jimmy Bryant's use of this instrument made it fairly famous. Since this guitar was featured on a popular Country Music show called “The Ozark Jubilee,”  This was a groundbreaking weekly live television show produced in Springfield Missouri and it featured top country performers such as Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, Merle Travis, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. The show was hosted by Red Foley. 

The show brought some of  the biggest country music stars of the era to Springfield Missouri, and Russell Deaver was constantly rubbing elbows with these men and women, trying to get his instruments in their hands. 

Ozark Jubilee

Back during the 1950's there were a handful of such live shows throughout the U.S. such as The National Barn Dance, The Midwestern Hayride from Cincinnati, Town Hall Party from Pasadena, Louisiana Hayride, and others. 

By being able to get their instruments into the hands of some of these performers, the Deaver brothers were hoping this would boost sales. After all, that's how Leo Fender started out. 

Stratosphere Six String

The Deaver brothers opened a guitar-making factory in the 300 block of Boonville Avenue. They built  single-neck six-string and single neck 12-string models as well as their double-neck electric guitar. The guitars were made of an unusual choice of woods, like gum wood. The bridges and hardware were manufactured at the facility out of cast aluminum. The bridges were most unique. The electric guitars body was unlike anything at the time. 

Stratosphere Guitars were only in business for a few years. The instruments are still sought by vintage electric guitar collectors and Missouri and Ozarks music historians.

In Russell Deaver’s obituary from the Brunswick News of Georgia, it stated "He was a house painter by trade but “his love was music.” “He invented a Stratosphere double-neck guitar in the 1950s, which he played with musicians such as Chet Atkins, Speedy West, and Jimmy Bryant,” the obit states. “He was still playing that guitar up until his death."

Stratosphere Twin

Due to their scarcity the Stratosphere Twin double-necks are of more interest to most collectors. At a recent guitar show, said a New York collector had one on display, and the asking price was $15,000.

One of my favorite songwriting teams are Buddy and Julie Miller of Nashville. This married couple write amazing songs and they put on a great performance.

Buddy Miller and Robert Plant

Buddy is an amazing guitar player, a recording engineer and producer, and a 'gun for hire’ in the Nashville music community. When Alison Kraus teamed up with Robert Plant, they asked Buddy Miller to join The Band of Joy as the lead guitar player. 

Buddy Miller is also a guitar and amplifier collector and is best known for his use of vintage Wandre’ guitars combined with vintage Vox AC-30 amplifiers. 

Buddy MIller's Home Studio

A few weeks ago I watched a video interview with Buddy which featured a tour of the downstairs portion of his home, He and Julie make the upstairs of this old home their living space. Julie has elegantly restored the parlor of this house, but Buddy has turned the rest of the space into a store house for his equipment and a recording studio. 

Out of all of his amazing collection the guitars and amplifiers, the ones that caught my attention were a couple of vintage Harmony guitars that had undergone a “conversion” by luthier Scott Baxendale. I just had to learn more about this process. 

When I was a kid I wanted to take a guitar to summer camp. Our school had ‘band camp’ for a week each summer. I did not want to take a nice guitar with me, so I went to a few music stores with $20 bill burning a hole in my pocket, in search of a cheap instrument. Yep, in 1968 you could still buy a cheap guitar for twenty bucks. Of course the salesmen were keen to sell me a Martin or a Guild until I explained exactly what I was looking for. The salesman said, “Oh, you want a beater.” I never heard that expression, but yes, that is what I was looking for. 

Harmony Stella Guitar H929

So the sales guy brought out a used Harmony guitar, with a Birch body. It had ladder bracing, a stamped aluminum trapeze tailpiece, a bridge/saddle that set on top of the body, and a non-descript head stock with topped with cheap open back tuners. I bought that guitar on the spot and I still have it. 

I imagine some of you reading this may have or started out on a similar Harmony guitar. Check out eBay or Reverb sometime. They are asking $450 to $600 for those today.

Scott Baxendale Guitars

This brings us to luthier Scott Baxendale. In 1974 he moved to Winfield Kansas to go to work for guitar builder Stuart Mossman who was building guitars under his own name; Mossman Guitars. These were excellent guitars right on par and in the style of Martin guitars.

By 1978 Baxendale left Mossman and decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee and go to work for Gruhn Guitars to do repair and restoration work on Gruhn’s collection of high-end instruments. 

As mentioned, Mossman Guitars were great instruments, but the company ran into all sorts of problems. A fire occurred in 1975 forcing Mr. Mossman to take out a large loan from The Small Business Administration to keep his business going. 

S.L. Mossman - Mossman Guitars

A few years later Stuart Mossman entered into a distribution agreement with the C.G. Conn Musical Instrument Company. By 1977 Conn had amassed a collection of around 1200 Mossman guitars and warehoused all of them in a poorly constructed storage facility. All of these wonderful hand made solid wood guitars were destroyed due to lack of climate control. A lawsuit ensued and was eventually settled out of court, but Mr. Mossman never regained his goal of his business of selling high quality guitars. 

In 1985 former employee Scott Baxendale heard that Stuart Mossman was thinking about closing down his business, so Baxendale agreed to buy the company. The deal was inked.  Baxendale relocated Mossman Guitars to Garland Texas. He and his staff were building around 250 guitars a month. Mossman Guitars regained a good reputation and were played by many well-known artists. Some of the Baxendale produced instruments are simply stunning. 

S.L. Mossman Guitars

Then in 1989 Baxendale sold Mossman Guitars to employees John Kinsey and Bob Casey. The new owners moved Mossman to Sulphur Springs, Texas where the company remains today. 

That same year Scott took on a job with The Hard Rock Cafe' in Dallas, Texas.  He built two guitar-shaped bars that resembled a Stratocaster and a Les Paul, and afterwards took on the responsibility for repair and restoration of the Hard Rock's incredible guitar collection. 

Warner Brother's Guitar by Scott Baxendale

In 1988 Baxendale was commissioned by Warner Brothers to build a one-of-a-kind guitar for Travis Tritt’s video “Country Club”. This instrument is an amazing work of art. 

Ten years later, in 1998, Scott moved to Denver, Colorado and opened The Colfax Guitar Shop where he built amazing guitars and did restoration work on existing instruments. He ran that business until 2010 when it was sold.

Baxendale then moved to Athens, Georgia where he opened The Baxendale Guitar Shop. He continues to work there today.

One of Baxendale’s specialties is Harmony Guitar Conversion. He does this by retaining the outer look of the guitar, but internally he uses his own proprietary bracing system. This can be done on old  Harmony, Silvertone, or Kay guitars. And these guitars sound awesome!

Neck Removal

He begins by removing the neck, then removing the existing ladder bracing. He then installs Spruce braces similar to those used on pre-war Martin and vintage Gibson guitars. 

The back bracing is also replaced and tuned. Only Adirondack or Engelman  Spruce is used. All cracks are repaired. The old binding is removed and replaced with new material. 

Fret Removal And Replacement

The old frets are removed and the fret board planed straight. The neck is sanded to achieve a 12” or 14” radius. The neck is reset to fit the dovetail joint and given a proper angle for play-ability A new bridge is made with a bone saddle and tuned with a strobe tuner. 

The tuning gears are replaced with Gotoh open back tuners and a new hardshell case is provided after the repair. 

When Scott Baxendale gets finished with these old Harmony guitars, they really sing and they still  retain their original patina.  This man does amazing work.

In late 1958 Roger “Jellyroll” Troy ordered a brand new Gibson Explorer Bass through Dodds Jewerly and Music. But Jellyroll never came back to pick up his bass.

1958 was the year that Gibson introduced the Explorer and the Flying Vee. Both instruments bodies were made of korina wood.

The prototypes for the Flying Vee, and the Explorer were made of mahogany and it was just too heavy, so Gibson opted for the much lighter korina wood. The necks were also made of mahogany.
The Explorer bass had a long droopy headstock with three banjo type tuning keys on one side and one key on the other side while the guitar had regular guitar-style Kluson keys. Gibson made less than 50 Explorer guitars during the run, which lasted until 1963. The Explorer bass that Jellyroll Troy ordered and the one we are looking at had the serial number 001.

April 1984 Guitar Player Magazine

According to an April 1984 Guitar Player Magazine article Gibson made only three Explorer basses. As mentioned, they had all korina bodies, mahogany necks with an Explorer headstock aka banana, hockey-stick or lady slipper.”

The Explorer bass came with a humbucking pickup that came to be known as a “Mudbucker”. It also had a baritone switch similar to the one found on a Gibson EB-2. This switch activated a large capacitor.

Two of the original Explorers were produced with a natural finish, while the third was sunburst.

Wayne Bullock with '58 Explorer Bass and Lonnie Mack with '58 Flying Vee

Author Robb Lawrence

In 1973 Bullock sold the bass to guitar historian Robb Lawrence for $1,000. By then Bullock had first painted the bass green and then painted it metallic blue (Lonnie Mack painted his guitar red).



When Robb Lawrence bought it, the Explorer logo was missing and the scars on the headstock were filled in with putty and painted black. It was worse for wear since it was an actual gigging instrument that had made its rounds to all the greater Cincinnati nightspots.

1958 Gibson Explorer Bass

Lawrence set about restoring the bass to its original splendor. But he lent it out to guys like Chris Squire, John Entwhistle, Jack Bruce and others. These guys loved it. The bass sounded great and was comfortable to play since your hand rested on the elongated back part of the body.


Lawrence eventually sells the Explorer bass to Rick Derringer’s manager. It became a present for Randy Jo Hobbs, who played bass for Johnny Winter.

Randy Jo Hobbs

Tom Wittrock

In late 1984 the bass was purchased by a Texas guitar collector named Tony Dukes. He used it in some “fancy” shows with his band “The International Aces.” He also took it to guitar shows.

He nick-named the bass, “Hoss.”

Al Helm, the former manager of Sound Vibrations in Corpus Christi Texas has some knowledge about the bass.

Tony Duke with Explorer Bass

He says, a replica of the bass was featured in a guitar calendar put together by Tony Duke around 1983. Mr. Helms goes on to say that a Cadillac dealer named Byron Goad loved the looks of the bass, but thought the sound was too muddy.

Custom Shop Replica

So he ordered an Explorer bass similar to it from the Gibson custom shop. Goad wanted a korina neck on this bass instead of the usual mahogany. He also wanted the ‘lady slipper’ headstock, but Gibson had lost the template. His request was that the tuners be in a row instead of the way they were on the original. Goad finally received it a year after his request. It set him back around $2,000.

Mr. Goad ran into financial difficulty and sold his custom shop Explorer bass. Tony Dukes passed away in 2013. Roger Jellyroll Troy no longer has his Explorer bass. He passed away in 1991.

We do not know what has become of the original Explorer bass or Troy’s sunburst Explorer.

Guitar Afficienado Magazine featured a column in which Rick Neilsen talks about the 1958 Gibson Explorer guitar that he purchased from George Gruhn. He brought the guitar to a Texas Guitar Show and was offered $75,000 cash on the spot.

Auctioned at Skinners $611K

He goes on to say that another 1963 Explorer guitar sold for $611,000.

Clapton's Explorer

In June of 1999, Eric Clapton sold many of his prize guitars at Christie’s Auction House to raise money for his drug rehabilitation center.

That guitar sold for $134,500.

Tony Dukes

Since only three Explorer bass guitars were built in 1958, can you imagine what price they would command?

Unfortunately there are no videos with the 1958 Gibson Explorer Bass. Even more unfortunate is the fact no one knows what happened to the Explorer bass known as "Hoss".

Lonnie Mack Band 1963 - Hawaiian Garden Cincinnati, Ohio

Unidentified Man With A 1959 Gibson Explorer Bass Guitar

I recently discovered this photo of a member of the "Let's Talk Guild" forum posing with this 1959 Gibson Explorer Bass. Perhaps it is a different one than the bass owned by Wayne Bullock.

Rose told them he would secure them a recording deal if they signed to Acuff-Rose as songwriters. They signed in late 1956, and in 1957 Rose introduced them to Archie Bleyer, who was looking for artists for his Cadence Records. The Everlys signed and made a recording in February 1957. "Bye Bye Love" had been rejected by 30 other acts. Their record reached No. 2 on the pop charts, behind Elvis Presley's "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear", and No. 1 on the country and No. 5 on the R&B charts.The song, by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, became the Everly Brothers' first million-seller. 

Phil and Don Everly

Working with the Bryants, they had hits in the United States and the United Kingdom, the biggest being "Wake Up Little Susie", "All I Have to Do Is Dream", "Bird Dog", and "Problems". 

The Everlys, though they were largely interpretive artists, also succeeded as songwriters, especially with Don's "(Till) I Kissed You", which hit No. 4 on the US pop charts. 

The Everlys with Buddy Holly

The brothers toured with Buddy Holly in 1957 and 1958. According to Holly's biographer Philip Norman, they were responsible for persuading Holly and the Crickets to change their outfits from Levi's and T-shirts to the Everlys' Ivy League suits. Don said Holly wrote and composed "Wishing" for them.

Long-simmering disputes with Wesley Rose, the CEO of Acuff-Rose Music, which managed the group, and the brothers growing drug usage in the 1960s, as well as changing tastes in popular music, led to the group's decline in popularity in its native U.S., though the brothers continued to release hit singles in the U.K. and Canada, and had many highly successful tours throughout the 1960s. 

Phil and Don Everly 1964

Though their US stardom had begun to wane two years before the British Invasion in 1964, their appeal was still strong in Canada, the UK and Australia. The Everly's remained successful in the UK and Canada for most of the 1960s, reaching the top 40 in the United Kingdom through 1968 and the top 10 in Canada as late as 1967.  

The 1966 album Two Yanks in England was recorded in England with The Hollies, who also wrote many of the album's songs. The Everly's final US top 40 hit, "Bowling Green", was released in 1967.

In the early 1970s, the brothers began releasing solo recordings, and in 1973  the brothers officially broke up and made the announcement at their final on July 14, 1973, at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.  During the show tensions between the two.

Don told a reporter he was tired of being an Everly Brother. During the show, Phil smashed his guitar and walked off, leaving Don to finish the show without him, ending their collaboration. The two would not reunite musically for more than ten years. 

1983 Reunion Concert

The Everly Brothers reunited for a reunion concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London on September 23, 1983, which ended their ten-year-long solo careers, was initiated by Phil and Don alongside Terry Slater, with Wingfield as musical director. This concert was recorded for a live LP and video broadcast on cable television in mid-January 1984. 

On The Wings Of A Nightingale

Afterwards the brothers returned to the studio as a duo for the first time in over a decade, recording the album EB '84, produced by Dave Edmunds. The lead single, "On the Wings of a Nightingale", written and composed by Paul McCartney, was a success and returned them to the US Hot 100 (for their last appearance) and the UK charts. Phil and Don Everly would continue to perform periodically until Phil's death. 

Phil Everly

Phil Everly died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, on January 3, 2014, 16 days before his 75th birthday, of lung disease. Phil's widow Patti blamed her husband's death on his smoking habit, which caused him to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and recounted Phil's spending his final years having to carry oxygen tanks with him wherever he went. 

Don Everly

Don Everly attended the Annual Music Masters as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid homage to the Everly Brothers on October 25, 2014. Don took the State Theater stage and performed the Everly's classic hit "Bye Bye Love". 

On most recordings, Don sang the baritone part and Phil the tenor harmony.  Although Don was mainly low, and Phil was mainly high, their voices overlap in a very intricate and almost subtle fashion. 

Don Everly

Don Everly was born on February 1, 1937 and died at age 84. He was married three times. HIs wife was Adela Garza, who he wed in 1997. Prior to that he had married Venetia Stevenson in 1962. They divorced in 1970. His first wife was Mary Sue Ingraham. That marriage lasted from 1957 to 1961. 

Don Everly leaves behind his wife, Adela, and four daughters;  Erin Everly, Stacy Everly, Edan Everly, Venetia Everly.  No cause of death has been announced.

Based on their father, Ike Everly's suggestion, Phil and Don originally played matching Gibson J-200 guitars with dual pickguards that Don Everly designed. 

1964 Gibson Everly Brothers Guitar

In 1962, Gibson collaborated with the Everly Brothers to produce the Everly Brothers Flattop. This flat top guitar was different than the large J-200. It featured a thinner J-185-style body and an adjustable bridge. 

This guitar was also unusual in that it featured star-shaped inlays on the rosewood fretboard, and it had a large double tortoise grain pickguard, which covered most of the top of the body. 

As the pickguard covered most of the top of the guitar, it limited the vibration of the top, thus limiting the sound of the guitar. The standard finish on the guitar was black, though a few models were natural or sunburst finish. 

The Everly Brothers Flattop was discontinued in 1972, but was reissued as the Gibson J-180 in the mid-1980s.

Don Everly devised the double tail-fin pickguards that extended below the bridge, to protect the top from his vigorous strumming. 

The bridge on the Everly Brothers was actually designed by father Ike Everly, at the suggestion of Phil, a perpetual string breaker.  Interestingly, it was Ike Everly who reputedly taught Merle Travis the fingerpicking guitar style for which he became famous. Ike, and Travis possibly picked this style up from Kentucky thumb-picker Mose Rager.

The bridge on the J-180 was also an ‘oversized’ rosewood design and pinless - the strings ran through the bridge instead of using bridge pins. 

Phil’s string-snapping habit would ultimately lead to his 1995 formation of the Everly Music Co., a business dedicated to the production of long-lasting strings. 

From 1962 to 1971, only 488 Everly Brothers models were made. Depending on condition, sale value of one of these can reach $15,000. 

Albert Lee with Everly's J-200

Albert Lee is now the owner of Don Everly's original Everly Brothers model. The English session guitarist was Musical Director on the duo’s 1983 reunion concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and Lee was presented with the guitar by Don Everly himself.  Though some sources say the guitar Lee was given was actually Don's first Gibson J-200.

Elvis Presley was the owner of a late ‘60s Everly Brothers guitar, but one with a natural finish and with only one pickguard. Auctioned by George Gruhn guitars for $25,000 in the 1990s, it was previously in the possession of Elvis expert Jim Curtin, who was given the instrument by Vernon Presley, Elvis's father, in 1975 in appreciation for another guitar Curtin had made for Elvis. 

Curtin said that he was at a jam session at Graceland in 1968 unbelievably, Elvis didn't have a guitar. So, Elvis sent an aide out to buy a new Gibson Everly Brothers. Elvis used it at Graceland through 1969. 

Jimmy Page owns an early black 1962 Gibson Everly Brothers, but he says he has never played it on a recording or live - it is just for home use. 

The Everly Brothers model was reissued by Gibson in 1986 under the name J-180. 

1993 Everly Guitar

In 1992 it was again designated The Everly Brothers guitar until 1994 when the name went back to the J-180.  The bridge was changed to have pins locking the strings.

Serial numbers will give you an exact year of manufacture, of course, but as a rough guide, 1960s Everly Brothers signatures with tortoiseshell pickguards are pre-’68. Black pickguard models are from ’68 onwards. 

Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Cat Stevens, Roger Daltrey and even Madonna have played an Everly Brothers J-180 live in concert.