2009

Everett Lilly

Everett Lilly is an iconic figure in the world of traditional mountain music. Born in 1924 in Clear Creek, Raleigh County, Everett and his brother “B” – better known as the Lilly Brothers – are credited with bringing authentic mountain and bluegrass music to audiences in New England and Japan during the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Everett’s piercing tenor voice, his driving mandolin and fiddle playing, and the pair’s repertoire of old-time songs and “brother duets” struck a chord with a wide variety of audiences. Everett is revered as a pioneer in the popularization of rural Appalachian music.

Photograph by Michael Keller.