I’m listening to a compilation album of the Everly Brothers titled Bye Bye Love. (I actually have two compilation albums of the Everly Brothers titled Bye Bye Love.) In any case, this album includes their version of “Roving Gambler.” The other musical group I associate with “Roving Gambler” is Simon & Garfunkel. It’s a bonus track on their Sounds of Silence album.
I’d always attributed Paul Simon’s interest in English folk music to his having been in England. But I think the Everly Brothers may have had something to do with it too. Simon & Garfunkel were greatly influenced by them (they even included “Bye Bye Love” on Bridge over Troubled Water), and since the Everly Brothers’ repertoire includes some other folk songs, it’s possible that that is what affected Paul Simon (or was at least a partial cause for his interest). For instance, both also recorded versions of “Barbara Allen,” although the Simon & Garfunkel version (also found in the bonus tracks on Sounds of Silence) is titled “Barbriallen.”
