in the early 1960s, the Everlys were shut off from Acuff-Rose songwriters. These included Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who had written most of their hits, as well as Don and Phil Everly themselves, who were still contracted to Acuff-Rose as songwriters and had written several of their own hits. Nevertheless, from 1961 through early 1964, the Everlys recorded songs by other writers to avoid paying royalties to Acuff-Rose. They used the pseudonym "Jimmy Howard" as writer and/or arranger on two tracks—unsuccessfully, however, as Acuff-Rose assumed the copyrights once the ruse was discovered.
Around this time, they set up their own record label, Calliope Records, for solo projects. Using the pseudonym "Adrian Kimberly," Don recorded a big-band instrumental version of "[[Pomp and Circumstance]]", arranged by [[Neal Hefti]], which charted in the United States top 40 in mid-1961. Further instrumental singles credited to Kimberly followed, but none charted. Phil formed the Keestone Family Singers, which featured [[Glen Campbell]] and [[Carole King]]. Their lone single, "Melodrama," failed to chart, and by the end of 1962 Calliope Records was no more.