Crying in the Rain: The Perfect Harmony and Imperfect Lives of the Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers--aka Don and Phil to fans with an intimate appreciation for them--seemed to exist almost as an apparition. Emerging within the formative era for young Baby Boomers during the blandly regimented '50s, they were a ubiquitous presence, clad in snug suits and skinny ties, hair neatly Brylcreemed, never raising their voices when they sang. The two prim-looking country boys with dark, curiously penetrating eyes and perfectly merged, honey-dipped harmonies, were oddly but comfortably settled as sentimental, soothing, sometimes lovelorn voices of a still-uncharted cultural turf.

Magnificent as the duo was, they have until now never received a definitive biography. In Crying in the Rain: The Perfect Harmony and Imperfect Lives Of the Everly Brothers, the details, small and great, roll along on the mighty "Mississippi," in near novel-like fashion, revealing facts drawn from exhaustive research and first-hand interviews that trace the character and influences of these hardy but flawed men who grew from teenagers to old men before our eyes. Mark Ribowsky's authoritative book serves as a fitting companion to an unforgettable collection of songs--heard on countless albums, and covered literally thousands of times--whose recording was a long time gone but that will never be forgotten.

Mark Ribowsky has authored over thirty-five acclaimed books about some of the most significant figures in popular culture, including Phil Spector, The Temptations, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Taylor, Hank Williams, Little Richard, Isaac Hayes, Satchel Paige, Howard Cosell, Tom Landry, and Don Shula. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Playboy, People, and High Times. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida.