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 and their 1968 album, "Roots", was hailed by some critics as "one of the finest early country-rock albums." However, by the end of the 1960s, the Everly Brothers had ceased to be hitmakers in either North America or the United Kingdom, and in 1970, following an unsuccessful live album ("The Everly Brothers Show"), their contract with Warner Bros. lapsed after ten years. They were the summer replacement hosts for Johnny Cash's television show in 1970; their variety program, "Johnny Cash Presents the Everly Brothers", was on ABC-TV and featured Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Wonder. In 1970, Don released his first