''Roots'' is a 1968 studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American singing duo

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

. Originally on the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

label, the album was re-released on CD in 1995 by Warner Bros. and in 2005 by Collectors' Choice Music. The album is a classic example of early

country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...

Critical reception

On its release, ''Roots'' was not a commercial success for the Everly Brothers,Unterberger, Richie
Liner notes

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

official website. Accessed October 7, 2007. failing to widen their fanbase in spite of their excursion into the new field of

. Escott, Colin
Everly Brothers
. Adapted from The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s ''Encyclopedia of Country Music'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Hosted by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Accessed October 7, 2007. At the time of its release, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', which awarded the album 4 stars in its coverage of the band in ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', described the album as "a showcase for the superb talent of the Everlys as they are today", asserting that anyone "interested in the so-called country revival now sweeping rock should pick up this album". In his reviews of the bands subsequent albums, critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

often utilized ''Roots'' as a touchstone, referring to it as "sweet", "thoughtful, even-tempered, and unique".Christgau, Robert
The Everly Brothers
Accessed October 7, 2007. Today, the album is touted as "one of the finest early country-rock albums".

Track listing

;Side 1 #"The Introduction: The Everly Family (1952)" – 1:11 #" Mama Tried" (

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

) – 2:18 #"Less of Me" (

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

) – 3:03 #" T for Texas" (

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

) – 3:31 #"I Wonder If I Care as Much" (Don Everly, Phil Everly) – 2:59 #" Ventura Boulevard" ( Ron Elliott) – 2:50 #" Shady Grove" (P. O. Wandz; credit also given to Jacquie Ertel (Phil's wife) and Venetia Everly (Don's wife)) – 2:31 ;Side 2 #

"Illinois" (

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

) – 2:12 #"Living Too Close to the Ground" (Terry Slater) – 2:16 #"You Done Me Wrong" (

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, Ray Price) – 2:16 #"Turn Around" (Ron Elliott) – 2:47 #" Sing Me Back Home" (Merle Haggard) – 5:18 #"Montage: The Everly Family (1952)/Shady Grove/Kentucky" (Terry Slater, Karl Davis) – 2:43

Personnel

Performance

Don Everly Isaac Donald Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) was an American musician. Everly was one-half of the singing duo The Everly Brothers alongside his younger brother Phil Everly, Phil. Early life Don was born in Brownie, Kentucky on Febru ...

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

Phil Everly Phillip Everly (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014) was an American musician, who was one half of the duo The Everly Brothers alongside his older brother Don. Early life Phil was born in Chicago in 1939 to Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly, Jr. (190 ...

– guitar, vocals

Production

*Frank Bez – photography, cover photo *

Perry Botkin, Jr. Perry Botkin Jr. (April 16, 1933 – January 18, 2021) was an American composer, Record producer, producer, arranger, and musician. Life and career He was born in 1933 in New York City, the son of Perry Botkin Sr., who also was a successful ...

–

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

*Nick DeCaro –

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

arrangements *Ron Elliott – arranger *Lee Herschberg – engineer, mastering *Bill Inglot –reissue re- mastering *John Neil – engineer *Andrew Sandoval – re-issue re- mastering *Dave Schultz – mastering *Mike Shields – engineer *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of a number of Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Al ...

– art direction *

– liner notes *

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-founder and co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment ...

– producer, concept *Andrew Wickham – liner notes, concept

References

External links

Collector's Choice Music reissue liner notes by Richie Unterberger.
{{Authority control The Everly Brothers albums 1968 albums Albums arranged by Perry Botkin Jr. Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Warner Records albums