When Bill and Earl Bolick, two teenage brothers fom North Carolina, turned professional, they were advised not to advertise themselves as a "Brothers Duo"as there were already lots of Brother Bands around. They named themselves "Blue Sky Boys" after a line in their song "Sunny Side of Life". They soon became radio stars and travelled for years between the different local stations. Their warm, mellow harmonies were almost ideal for the airwaves and were the soundtrack of the depression years.
They continued to work until the late 40ies, when, in the advent of Rock'n'Roll there was need for a wilder, emotional sound. They refused to go for it and quit the business. But only five years later their ways of building harmonies became the trademark of the Everly Brothers who even covered their song "The Lightning Express". The impact on their contemporary audiences might be measured by the fact that the late Johnny Cash recorded two of their songs: "Mary of the Wild Moor" and "Banks of the Ohio". The original version of the latter also appeared in the soundtrack of the "Papermoon" movie.