On October 14, 1957, the Everly Brothers reached a new peak in early rock and roll as “Wake Up Little Susie” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Best Sellers in Stores pop chart and the country chart. Written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, the single paired the brothers’ crystalline close harmonies with an urgent acoustic-guitar figure and became a major crossover success, also topping Billboard’s R&B chart.
Its success came despite controversy. The song tells of two teenagers who fall asleep at a movie and realize they have missed their curfew, but some listeners read the situation as more suggestive. Boston radio stations pulled the record after pressure from the Boston Catholic Diocese, even as Don Everly insisted the lyrics described an innocent—though panic-inducing—mistake.
Following “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie” proved the Everly Brothers were far more than a one-hit phenomenon. Their fusion of Appalachian-style harmony with rock and roll energy helped define the sound of late-1950s popular music and left a clear imprint on later artists, including the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Simon & Garfunkel.
