Don Everly of Everly Brothers has passed away

Don Everly, one-half of the pioneering Everly Brothers, has died. He was 84.

According to his attorney and family spokesperson Linda Edell Howard, Don died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Don lived by what he felt in his heart," a statement from the family said.

"Don expressed his appreciation for the ability to live his dreams ... living in love with his soul mate and wife Adela, and sharing the music that made him an Everly Brother. Don always expressed how grateful he was for his fans."

Bursting onto the music scene in the late 1950s and 1960s, their 19 top 40 hits included 'Bye Bye Love,' 'Let It Be Me,' 'All I Have to Do Is Dream' and 'Wake Up Little Susie.'

Performers from the Beatles to Simon & Garfunkel have cited them as key influences.

The two broke up amid quarrelling in 1973 after 16 years of hits, then reunited in 1983.

His brother, Phil Everly, died in January 2014 at age 74.