Phil Everly passed away Jan. 3 after complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was a longtime smoker. The Everly Brothers made a huge impact on the industry, specifically with their tight-knit harmonies that influenced many other artists today, including Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones who released the tribute album Foreverly in November.
Both musicians have now reached out with their remembrances of the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee:
"I am saddened by the news of the passing of Phil Everly," Armstrong wrote, according to Rolling Stone. "The Everly brothers go way back as far as I can remember hearing music. Those harmonies will live on forever."
"The Everlys had a huge influence on all kinds of musicians," Jones said in a statement. "The high harmonies Phil sang were fluid and so beautiful and always sound effortless in a way that just washes over the listener. He was one of our greats and it's very sad to lose him."
Beyond the Everly Brothers' impact on Armstrong and Jones, they were at the forefront of rock & roll in the early years, helping to inspire many of the other artists in the '60s and '70s who have become icons in their own right.
"The Everly Brothers' impact exceeds even their fame," wrote Paul Simon in Rolling Stone in 2004. "They were a big influence on John Lennon and Paul McCartney and, of course, on Simon & Garfunkel. When Artie & I were kids we got our rock & roll chops from the Everlys."
