Along with younger brother Charlie, Ira Louvin created beautifully simple harmonies enjoyed by Grand Ole Opry audiences and bluegrass enthusiasts. Blending the divine and the secular in their lyrics, the Louvin Brothers left their mark on artists like Emmylou Harris and Gram Parsons. Unfortunately, sibling discord—largely resulting from Ira’s erratic behavior and struggles with substance use—drove a wedge between the brothers that couldn’t be overcome, and they went their separate ways in 1963. Two years later—on this day (June 20) in 1965—Ira Louvin tragically died in a vehicle collision in Missouri.
Just 41 years old, Ira was on his way from a performance in Kansas City with his fourth wife, Anne Young, when they ran into construction on Highway 70 outside Williamsburg. A drunken driver struck their car head on, killing both Ira and Young instantly.
Charlie Couldn’t Shake This Heartbreaking Habit After Ira Louvin’s Death
Charlie Louvin continued to record after his brother’s passing. Releasing albums until shortly before his death in January 2011 at age 83, he eventually grew more at ease commanding the spotlight alone.
However, there was one holdover from his days as one-half of the Louvin Brothers that he never quite managed to overcome.
“Even today … when it comes time for the harmonies to come in, I will move to my left because my brother and I always used to use one microphone, and so you had to share the mic,” Charlie told NPR in September 2010. “And, even today, I will move over to the left to give the harmony room, knowing in my mind that there’s no harmony standing on my right. But it’s just old habits are hard to break.”
Ira Louvin’s onstage and offstage antics wouldn’t have sounded out of place in a rockstar’s biography. Long before The Who’s Pete Townshend made the move famous, Ira had a habit of smashing his mandolin onstage. (He would often glue the instrument back together when the cold, harsh reality of sobriety returned.)
Just 41 years old when he died, Ira very nearly lost his life two years earlier. His third wife, Faye, shot him four times in the chest and twice in the hand after she claimed he tried to strangle her with a telephone cord.
“”He was extremely well-versed on the Good Book, as far as knowing what was right or wrong,” Charlie Louvin later said. “He just wasn’t able to conquer the devil, I guess.”
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The post 61 Years Ago Today, Country Music Tragically Lost One Half of This Hall of Fame Sibling Duo appeared first on American Songwriter.
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