Everly Brothers – (Till) I Kissed You

I bought a compilation album in 1985 with songs like Bend Me, Shape Me, Crimson and Clover, and All I Have To Do Is Dream. Since then, I’ve been a huge Everly Brothers fan.

They did not rock like Chuck Berry, early Elvis, Little Richard, or Buddy Holly. They were different…their two voices made one complete whole voice. Their inspiration goes down the line to The Hollies, Beatles, Stones, and many of the British Invasion Bands. Keith Richards called Don Everly was one of the finest rhythm guitar players he ever heard.

(Till)I Kissed You is a catchy tune with catchy guitar riffs and the signature harmonies that the Everly Brothers were known for. Don Everly wrote this song while touring Australia. He said he wrote it about every girl he met on the tour…but especially about a girl named Lillian.

This recording features two great musicians. Chet Atkins is on guitar with Jerry Allison on drums. They were one of the pioneering acts in country rock. The Everly Brothers are members of the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame. Though the brothers had a strained personal relationship, they didn’t speak for ten years at one point, but they managed to chart 35 top 100 singles.

The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard 100, #8 on the Billboard Country Charts, #3 in Canada, #2 in the UK, and #22 on the Billboard R&B Charts in 1959.

Don Everly:  “I wrote it about a girl I met on that trip, her name was Lillian, and she was very, very inspirational. I was married, but… you know.”

(Till) I Kissed You

Never felt like this until I kissed you
How did I exist until I kissed you
Never had you on my mind
Now you’re there all the time
Never knew what I missed until I kissed you, uh-huh
I kissed you, oh yeah

Things have really changed since I kissed you, uh-huh
My life’s not the same now that I kissed you, oh yeah
Mm, you got a way about you
Now I can’t live without you
Never knew what I missed until I kissed you, uh-huh
I kissed you, oh yeah

You don’t realize what you do to me
And I didn’t realize what a kiss could be
Mm, you got a way about you
Now I can’t live without you
Never knew what I missed until I kissed you, uh-huh
I kissed you, oh yeah

You don’t realize what you do to me
And I didn’t realize what a kiss could be
Mm, you got a way about you
Now I can’t live without you
Never knew what I missed until I kissed you, uh-huh
I kissed you, oh yeah

I kissed you, uh-huh
I kissed you, oh yeah
I kissed you, uh-huh

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

21 thoughts on “Everly Brothers – (Till) I Kissed You”

  1. I love the Everlys – they represent vocal harmony perfection like they were meant to sing together. In the early ’80s, I got a greatest hits compilation of the Everlys as a present – I believe from my brother-in-law – and loved it right away. I think the only song I had heard before that was “Wake Up, Little Susie”, which remains one of my favorites to this day.

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    2. vocal harmony perfection is a good way of putting it. I think siblings have it a lot of times, like them and The Bee Gees are another group that do it. The older cousin I grew up with (we practically lived at our grandparents’ house) was named Susie and I vividly remember Wake Up, Little Susie playing on the radio and of course thinking of her. Another one that reminded me of her was “I Want to be Bobby’s Girl” as she had a big crush on Bobby Merrill, the son of one of our grandparents’ friends, Donna. Music makes history markers of our lives. What would we do without it?

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      1. Beautifully said, Lisa, songs are history markers of our lives. Apart from “Wake Up, Little Susie,” I think I also know “I Want to be Bobby’s Girl” – most likely from “my” Sunday oldies radio show I used to listen to during my teenage years growing up in Germany!

        This prompted me to check whether my then-favorite German radio DJ and oldies show host Frank Laufenberg is still alive. Apparently, that is the case. He’s now 79! 🙂

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      3. It’s not 100% clear to me whether Frank Laufenberg still works. An Internet radio station he founded in 2013 stopped operating last October. In parallel, he was also hosting an oldies show on a regional radio network, but I’m not sure whether he still does.

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    1. Another one I wish I would have seen. I was trying to get to a Everly Brothers – Simon and Garfunkel concert…but it was 2 states away.

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  7. One of the clean cut 50s/early 60s bands/groups who didn’t become passé overnight when Beatlemania kicked in; they were still well regarded by people who knew a good thing when they heard it.

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  9. Pingback: Everly Brothers – (Till) I Kissed You – MobsterTiger

  10. Why am I not surprised Albert Lee gets name checked here? I still remember being blown away the first time I heard him do “Country Boy.” He was a member of Heads, Hands and Feet and Capital released a two disc debut record. Hearing him sing with that English accent “I’m just a country boy/country boy at heart” still makes me laugh.

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