Download of the Month
January 11, 2022
Sleepless Nights (Guitar solo)
Arr ©2022 by Jim Stringer
Song ©1960 by F. & B. Bryant
In memory of Don and Phil Everly.
The Everly Brothers occupy a realm that few other artist have reached. In my own life and development as a musician, it's difficult for me to overstate their importance. The first song that I ever performed in public was a very wobbly rendition of "Bye Bye Love" and an elementary school talent show in 1957. Not exactly to rave reviews, but it got me started.
The blend in Don and Phil's voices, and their unique harmonies influenced artist such as The Beatles, the Hollies, Emmylou Harris, and many others. Don's invluence as a guitar player should never be underestimated. He really put the rhythm in rhythm guitar and is unmatched by anyone other than Bo Diddley, who Don cited as his primary influence.
I started working on this arrangement the day the Don Everly passed away -- August 21, 2021. I wanted to pay homage to their brilliant harmonic sense, but to push it just shy of a "jazz" arrangement. The only reason it's taken this long to post the download is that I pushed things a bit too far and the arrangement is CRAZY hard for me to play. If you would like to experience the joys of stretching your fingers to the point of pain, I'll be happy to provide you with a transcription of my arrangement in standard music notation.
I experimented with recording it using a variery of guitars and ultimately decided that I liked the nylon string, Taylor 314 CEN best, even though the wide fretboard was tough to navigate on some of the finger-stretching chord voicings.
Contributing Musicians
- Jim Stringer - guitar
Recorded in January 9, 2022
at The Music Room in Austin TX, USA
