Listening Room Blog

It should come as no surprise that the feud between Noel and Liam Gallagher finally led to the demise of British rockers Oasis.

In fact, the only stunner is that they lasted as long as they did given the long-festering bitterness between the two musical brothers.

But they’re hardly rock’s only sibling rivalry.

(photo courtesy of the Associated Press)

Now, don’t think siblings and music don’t mix. There are plenty of successful partnerships that worked — from the Wilson sisters of Heart, to Eddie and Alex Van Halen, to Radiohead’s Jonny and Colin Greenwood, to Ron and Russel Mael of Sparks, among others.

But there are more than a few examples where brotherly love went only so far. Here’s our look at some:

• Ray and Dave Davies: The Kinks’ feud is probably one of rock’s most famous before the Gallagher brothers meltdown. Dave formed the band and always resented when Ray joined and became the Kinks’ most famous member. Dave just thought Ray was a spoiled egomaniac, and fist fights – on and off stage – were not exactly rare.

• John and Tom Fogerty: The fighting Fogertys were initially bandmates in Creedence Clearwater Revival. But when John came into his own as lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter, things soured between the brothers. It was so bitter that when John buried the hatchet and went to see his dying brother in 1990, Tom’s parting words were “Saentz was right” — a reference to Fantasy Records executive Saul Saentz, who had long been in a well-known, vicious and prolonged court battle with John over the royalties to Creedence’s music.

• Curt and Chris Kirkwood: The Meat Puppets brothers stopped working together for a decade after Curt tired of working with his brother. Curt reportedly lost it because Chris’ heroin habit took precedence over the band’s music. To be fair, the Kirkwoods reformed after Chris went through rehab.

• Don and Phil Everly: The rock pioneers grew so distant that they didn’t speak to each other for over a decade. The long-feuding Everlys split on July 14, 1973, when Don showed up drunk for an Everly Brothers show at Knotts Berry Farm – billed as their last performance. Phil tried do carry on, but finally got so mad that he smashed his guitar and stormed off the stage, leaving Don to finish the show alone. They only saw each other in person once over the next 10 years — at their father’s 1975 funeral.

Those are the ones that come to mind, but it’s far from the full list — Robin and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, for example.

Then there are your mild cases: Mark and David Knopfler of Dire Straits, Chris and Rich Robinson of the Black Crowes, and former Split Enz duo Neil and Tim Finn reportedly get along just fine, but have trouble getting along as bandmates.

So, the Gallagher brothers are certainly in good company.

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