Felice Bryant

As a child Felice Bryant composed lyrics set to traditional Italian melodies and, in her teens, sang on her local radio station. In 1945 she was working as an elevator operator at a Milwaukee hotel when she met Boudleaux Bryant, a jazz and country violinist from Georgia who was performing at the hotel. They eloped two days later and, after their marriage, she adopted the name Felice from a pet name her husband called her. They came to national prominence when their song-writing collaborations produced a string of top hits for the Everly Brothers beginning in the mid 1950s. Their songs have also been recorded memorably by Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Chet Atkins, the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and many others.