The Everly Brothers rock groups of the 1960s. The Beatles, The Beach Boys, and Simon & Garfunkel developed their early styles by performing Everly songs. The Bee Gees, The Hollies, The Marmalade, and other rock and roll groups that feature harmony singing were also influenced by the Everlys. The music of the Everly Brothers influenced the Beatles, who referred to themselves as "the English Everly Brothers" when Paul McCartney and John Lennon went hitchhiking south to win a talent competition. They based the vocal arrangement of "Please Please Me" on "Cathy's Clown." Keith Richards called Don Everly "one of the finest rhythm players."
The Everly Brothers habit, which caused him to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and recounted Phil spending his final years having to carry oxygen tanks with him wherever he went and taking 20 different types of medications per day. She stated that although Phil had stopped smoking in 2001, his lungs had already sustained permanent damage. Phil's last public appearance was in 2011, at Buddy Holly's induction to Hollywood Boulevard's Star Walk of Fame, and he was then struggling to catch his breath as he addressed the crowd. Patti established the Phil Everly Memorial COPD Foundation in 2014. Don Everly claimed in a