Daryl Hall and John Oates (often shortened to
Hall & Oates) are an American
pop music duo who achieved their greatest
fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and are multi-instrumentalists. They specialized in a fusion of
rock and roll and
rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul." Critics
Stephen Thomas Erlewine and J. Scott McClintock write, "at their best, [Hall & Oates'] songs were filled with strong hooks and melodies that adhered to soul traditions without being a slave to them by incorporating elements of new wave and hard rock." On some tours and dates, established soul and blues artists were known to perform in the duo's band.
They are best known for their six #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Rich Girl", "Kiss on My List", "Private Eyes", "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Maneater", and "Out of Touch", as well as many other songs which charted in the Top 40. They last reached the pop charts top 40 in 1990 and slowly faded from public view, though they did not formally break up. They have continued to record and tour with some success. In total, the act had 34 singles chart hits on the US Billboard Hot 100. Hall and Oates have seven RIAA platinum albums, along with six RIAA gold albums.
A greatest hits compilation was released in 2001 by RCA/BMG. The BMG collection was expanded in 2004 and reissued the following year, after BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment. In 2003, Daryl Hall and John Oates were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Background
Daryl Hall (born Daryl Franklin Hohl on October 11, 1946) and
John Oates (born John William Oates on April 7, 1949) first met each other at the Adelphi Ballroom in
Philadelphia in 1967. At the time they met, each was heading his own musical group, Hall with The Temptones and Oates with The Masters. They were there for a band competition when gunfire rang out between two rival gangs, and in trying to escape, they ran to the same service elevator. On further finding out that they were interested in the same music and that both were attending Philadelphia's
Temple University, they started hanging out together on a regular basis and eventually ended up sharing a number of apartments in the city. It would take them another two years to form a musical duo, and three years after that, they signed to
Atlantic Records and released their debut album.
1972–1974: first albums
Early in their recording careers, Hall & Oates had trouble clearly defining their sound, alternating among
folk,
soul,
rock and
pop. None of their early albums -
Whole Oats,
Abandoned Luncheonette and
War Babies - were very successful, despite being produced by such big-name producers as
Arif Mardin and
Todd Rundgren. They had no hit singles during this time period, though
Abandoned Luncheonette contained "
She's Gone". This song would be covered by
Lou Rawls and
Tavares before
Atlantic Records re-released the Hall & Oates version in 1976. "She's Gone," as covered by Tavares, did go to Number One on the R&B; charts in 1974. It was originally written for Hall's first wife, Bryna Lublin (Hall). Another
Abandoned Luncheonette single "Las Vegas Turnaround", was written about (and mentioning by first name) Hall's girlfriend, flight attendant and future songwriting collaborator Sara Allen.
1975–1977: first hits
Hall & Oates left their first record company,
Atlantic Records, after the release of
War Babies to join their second label,
RCA Records. Their first album for the new label
Daryl Hall & John Oates (often referred to by their fans as
the silver album because of the silver lamé material on the original album cover) was their first legitimate success. It contained the ballad "Sara Smile," a song Hall wrote for his aforementioned girlfriend Sara Allen. It also featured an album cover in which Daryl and John are overly made up with make-up to the point where they (especially the then-long-haired Hall) looked like women. Hall would later say in an interview for
VH1's
Behind the Music that he looked like "the girl I always wanted to go out with" on that album cover.
"Sara Smile" became their first Top 10 hit, reaching Number 4 on the chart in June 1976. "She's Gone," re-released by Atlantic Records after "Sara Smile" also went to the Top 10, reached Number 7 in October 1976. Hall & Oates followed those hits with the more pop-oriented Bigger Than Both of Us later that year. Though the first single from the album—the Philly soul-oriented ballad "Do What You Want, Be What You Are"—barely made the Top 40, their second single was a smash. The song "Rich Girl" was Hall & Oates' first Number 1 hit, reaching the pinnacle on March 26, 1977.
1977–1980: leaner years and Sacred Songs
After this small run of hits, Hall & Oates encountered something of a dry spell. Despite touring constantly and recording albums with efficiency, the duo could not find any pop success for a number of reasons.
First, as Oates would later say, they were "in a learning process in the '70s." The two were still fine-tuning their soul-rock style. Also, the musical climate at that time was not very conducive to their sound. By the time they released the rock-oriented albums Beauty on a Back Street in 1977 and Along the Red Ledge (an album that is generally well-regarded today) in 1978, disco music was trendy and taking most of the spots in popular music. Hall & Oates tried to jump on the disco bandwagon with the release of X-Static in late 1979, but by then dance music was falling out of favor, and the album did not fare well. They did release a few hit singles during this period, the highest chart-placers being the Top 40 "Back Together Again" and two Top 20s, "It's a Laugh" and "Wait for Me."
In 1977, RCA attempted to push Daryl Hall to the fore with his first solo effort Sacred Songs. However, after being presented with the highly experimental recording (produced by Robert Fripp of King Crimson), RCA became unwilling to release what was, in their view, a non-commercial album. "Sacred Songs" was eventually released in 1980.
1980: Voices
With
Voices, the '80s brought about significant changes for Hall & Oates. They had determined that the biggest hindrance to their success was that their music was being filtered through outside producers. Additionally, they believed studio musicians were not familiar with their own tastes and thoughts. They also wished to capture the sound of
New York City which, by then, had become their home. Instead of recording in
Los Angeles, as they had done previously, they decided to record at
Electric Lady Studios in
New York, just five minutes away from their apartments. They also began producing their own recordings, using their touring band in the studio. Moreover, they enlisted Hall's girlfriend Sara Allen (and also her younger sister
Janna) as songwriting collaborators.
Voices was written, produced and arranged by Daryl Hall & John Oates in one month, according to their authorized biography Dangerous Dances (by Nick Tosches). The result was a clearer style and a better sound, and beginning with the Voices album in 1980, Hall & Oates had finally found the missing link in their formula for their hits.
The first two singles from the album charted fairly well, with "How Does It Feel to Be Back" charting at Number 30. The well-received cover of The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" just missed the Top 10, peaking at Number 12, but spent 14 weeks in the Top 40. The third single "Kiss on My List" hit Number 1 in April 1981 and remained there for three weeks. The follow-up single "You Make My Dreams" reached Number 5 in July of that year.
The other well-known single from Voices, apart from those four hits, is the emotive ballad "Everytime You Go Away", with powerful lead vocals by Hall, who wrote it. British singer Paul Young had a Billboard Number 1 hit with a cover of the song in 1985. Though the Hall & Oates original (recorded in a Memphis-soul style) was never released as a single, it remains a favorite on the duo's greatest hits albums and was featured on their Apollo Theater CD in 1985. It is frequently featured in their live set lists to this day. The Voices album firmed up the duo's working relationship with Neil Kernon, an engineer on the Voices set who would work as co-producer on the succeeding two albums that would ensure their status as music fixtures.
1981: Private Eyes
By the time "You Make My Dreams" was falling off the charts, Hall & Oates had already released their follow-up album
Private Eyes. Having worked in the studio while
Voices was at its peak in popularity, the two already had most of their material recorded and felt there was no need to repeat the formula from their previous album. The result was the first Hall & Oates album to reach the Top 10 on the
Billboard 200 album chart. The four singles from
Private Eyes all reached the Top 40.
The title track and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" were nearly consecutive Number 1 hits, separated only by the ten-week stay at Number 1 by the monster hit "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John. "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" was one of the few songs ever recorded by a white act to reach Number One on both the R&B; and the pop charts. "Did It in a Minute" reached Number 9 in the spring of 1982, and "Your Imagination" peaked at No. 33. This album is considered among the duo's best albums, mixing soul, new wave and power pop.
1982: H2O
Their next album
H2O, a very polished, synth-heavy effort, became the duo's most successful album to date.
H2O reached Number 3 on the album chart and spawned three Top 10 singles. "
Maneater", the biggest hit of their career, reached Number 1 on December 18, 1982 and stayed there for four weeks. The ballad "
One on One" and a cover of
Mike Oldfield's "Family Man" reached Number 7 and Number 6 in March and June 1983, respectively.
Daryl Hall -
NME - November 1982
"One On One," with its clever mixed-metaphorical references to romance and basketball, was used in NBA commercials of the period. The commercial featured numerous players, including Hall of Famer James Worthy performing a 360-degree slow-motion lay-up during the saxophone solo.
For the H2O album, Hall & Oates made some permanent changes to their current band. Drummer Mickey Curry, who had appeared on some Private Eyes tracks, including the title song, replaced Jerry Marotta full time. Bassist Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, who had mimed John Siegler's bass line in the "Private Eyes" video, replaced Siegler full time. These two joined the band's holdovers—lead guitar player G.E. Smith (according to G.E. Smith himself, "G.E." stands for "great entertainment"), saxophonist Charlie "Mr. Casual" DeChant, and Hall & Oates—to form one of the most acclaimed studio/touring units of the 1980s. De Chant and Wolk continued to perform with the duo until Wolk's death in early 2010. Curry returned for the Do It for Love sessions.
1983: Rock 'n Soul Part 1
By the fall of 1983, Hall & Oates were one of the biggest pop music acts in
America. They had five Number 1 singles to their credit, two consecutive Top 10 albums and were one of the biggest names on
MTV. A cover of the 1957 Bobby Helms classic "
Jingle Bell Rock" was recorded and released in time for Christmas 1983, complete with a humorous video of the band, that received extensive airplay on
MTV. In 1983, they released their first greatest hits album entitled
Rock 'n Soul Part 1. The album peaked at Number 7, and the two new songs that were written and recorded for that LP also became Top 10 hits as well.
The first single released from this album "
Say It Isn't So" battled six weeks for the Number 1 spot with
Paul McCartney and
Michael Jackson's "Say Say Say" at the peak of
Thriller mania. "Say It Isn't So" remained at Number 2 for an impressive four weeks from December 1983 to January 1984. The battle with the McCartney/Jackson single led disc jockey Peter Bush of New York's
WPLJ Radio, which had just switched from rock to Top 40 the previous June, to intro the Hall & Oates entry "Say, Say, Say It Isn't, Isn't, Isn't So, So, So".
Hall & Oates' follow-up single "Adult Education" received heavy airplay at both pop and black (urban contemporary) radio, and reached Number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1984. It was accompanied by a dark, New York City-oriented music video set in a cave. John Oates later told VH1 that the clip resembled the Survivor TV show on acid.
Additionally in 1984, the Recording Industry Association of America issued a report declaring Daryl Hall & John Oates the most successful duo in the history of recorded music, overtaking England Dan & John Ford Coley, Wham!, Loggins & Messina, Eurythmics, Sonny & Cher, The Carpenters, Steely Dan, Jan & Dean, The Righteous Brothers, Ike & Tina Turner, Simon & Garfunkel, The Everly Brothers, Air Supply and several dozen other duos in pop music.
1984: Big Bam Boom
Hall & Oates returned to the studio in 1984 after some well deserved rest to begin work on the
Big Bam Boom album. Unlike their previous album
H2O, this album had even more of an electronic, urban feel to it. Their new sound was achieved by a keen mix of classic Hall & Oates song structure & vocalization, played and recorded with some of the most sophisticated equipment ever used in the recording industry (most notably the
Synclavier II, one of the first computerized synthesizer workstations). Noted
remix and hip-hop icon
Arthur Baker worked very closely with the duo as a consultant, and produced dance remixes of four of the album's singles.
The lead-off song "Dance on Your Knees" (written by Hall and co-written by Baker) is basically an homage to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's song "White Lines". Released in late 1984, the first single from the LP Out of Touch became the group's sixth Number 1 hit on December 8, 1984, receiving tremendous airplay. "Method of Modern Love," which debuted on the pop charts while "Out of Touch" was at Number 1, reached Number 5 in February 1985. "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" reached Number 18, and "Possession Obsession" (a song in which John Oates sings lead) reached Number 30 in 1985 as well.
The group's "Live Thru '85" tour to promote the album began in November 1984. It was sponsored by Pontiac's latest sports car, the Fiero. In addition, Pontiac allowed Oates, a skilled amateur racer, a drive in Pontiac's factory IMSA GTU race car in Camel GT pro races.
1985: Live at the Apollo
Hall & Oates have almost always toured extensively for each album release. But in 1985, the duo took a break after the release of their
Live at the Apollo album with
David Ruffin and
Eddie Kendrick—voices of
The Temptations and two of their heroes. This was RCA's second attempt at a live Hall & Oates album, following the 1978 release
Livetime, which the duo barely acknowledges today.
Live at the Apollo was released primarily to fulfill the duo's contract with RCA, and contained a top-20 hit with a medley of "
The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "
My Girl", both hits Ruffin and Kendrick had recorded with the Temptations in 1964.
After the live recording in spring 1985, the quartet of Hall, Oates, Ruffin and Kendrick performed in July at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, and again at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York later that year, complete with an Apollo Theater-style marquee descending on the stage during their performance. The Philly portion of the Live Aid concert used the Hall & Oates backing unit as the house band, consisting of Wolk, DeChant, Smith and Curry.
Just prior to Live Aid, on July 4, 1985, Hall & Oates performed at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey as part of the Liberty Concert where they played an outdoor benefit concert for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty. It became a major music event, drawing an estimated crowd of over 60,000 people. Daryl Hall and John Oates also collaborated on the USA For Africa "We Are the World" project.
In 1986, Daryl Hall scored a Top 5 hit with "Dreamtime", from the album "Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine". That album also included the Top 40 hit "Foolish Pride" and the Top 100 hit "Somebody Like You," later performed by the duo live on their "Behind the Music" set. Although John Oates did not have a solo hit as a singer, he did earn a Top 10 credit as producer and co-songwriter (with Iva Davies) of the 1988 Icehouse hit "Electric Blue."
1988–1990: The Arista years
Hall & Oates signed with
Arista Records, their third record company, in 1987 shortly before the string of Top 10 hits ended, in
Tommy Mottola's effort to keep them under contract when their RCA obligation ran out. Their first album for the label,
Ooh Yeah!, included the hits "
Everything Your Heart Desires" (Number 3 in May 1988—their last to make the Top 10), "Missed Opportunity", and "Downtown Life". Beginning with
Ooh Yeah!, album and single releases were credited as
Daryl Hall John Oates, with the '&' or 'and' missing between the duo's names. It was the last Hall & Oates album, other than greatest hits packages, to enjoy platinum success. They recorded one more album for Arista called
Change of Season. The album's first single "
So Close" (co-produced by
Jon Bon Jovi) reached Number 11 and was Hall & Oates' last major hit. Another song from the album, "Don't Hold Back Your Love," has become a Hall & Oates staple in concert.
Change of Season was a more mainstream rock album than their previous work. Despite the fact that
Ooh Yeah! and
Change of Season reached platinum and gold status respectively, they were perceived as disappointments.
1991-2006
The duo's occasional songwriting collaborator Janna Allen (sister of Sara) died of
leukemia in 1993. Hall & Oates released the
Marigold Sky album in 1997 (their first all-new studio album in seven years), which included an adult contemporary hit "Promise Ain't Enough." They also released a "
VH1 Behind the Music"
Greatest Hits package shortly after appearing on the show in 2002.
At the same time, Daryl and Sara, professional/personal collaborators, broke off their romantic relationship after some three decades. Their friendship is still apparently strong; he has noted her help in his recovery from his 2005 attack of Lyme disease.
Daryl Hall & John Oates released the Do It for Love album in 2003, whose title track was a number-one Adult Contemporary hit. They have also released the Hall & Oates Live DVD from an A&E; Live by Request special. This album was the first release (and first success) for their newest joint venture U-Watch Records.
Daryl Hall has also released third and fourth solo albums titled Soul Alone (1993) and Can't Stop Dreaming (originally released in Japan in 1996), and a live two-disc solo album titled Live in Philadelphia (2004).
Hall & Oates covered Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" on the 1991 John/Taupin tribute album "Two Rooms", saying in the booklet, "We chose 'Philadelphia Freedom' because the music is so close to our hearts, and the lyrics represent the way we feel about Philadelphia."
John Oates released his own solo album in 2002 entitled Phunk Shui and a companion .
Hall & Oates also released their first CD of (mostly) covers, Our Kind of Soul, in 2004. It includes some of their favorite R&B; songs, such as "I'll Be Around" (their first Hot 100 entry in over a decade), "Love TKO", Dan Hartman's "I Can Dream About You", and more. Hall & Oates are still on the touring circuit, traveling nearly as much as they did in years past. In addition, a DVD of live performances of the songs from Our Kind of Soul was released in November 2005.
Daryl & John released a Christmas album, Home For Christmas, on October 3, 2006, which contains two Christmas originals and covers. It includes a version of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", which became their second number one Adult Contemporary hit.
On December 11, 2008, Hall & Oates performed a farewell song to Alan Colmes (from Fox News' Hannity & Colmes) on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Near the end of the show, Stewart mentions their new album Live at the Troubadour, which was recorded at the club in May and released via Shout! Factory.
2007–present
In September 2007, representatives for Montreal-based band
Chromeo stated in a press release, "Indeed, Chromeo's idols Hall & Oates have asked them to collaborate with them on their upcoming record! Needless to say, the gentlemen are giddy like schoolchildren to be given this opportunity," as reported by Pitchfork Media. This collaboration with the Chromeo duo will appear on Hall & Oates' forthcoming album, expected for a late 2008/early 2009 release after over a year of speculation.
On May 20, 2008, Hall and Oates were honored as BMI Icons at the 56th annual BMI Pop Awards. As of 2008, their songwriting has collected 24 BMI Pop Awards and 14 BMI Million-Air awards.
There were two notable nationally televised appearances for the duo in late 2008. On October 27, Oates sang the National Anthem before Game 5 of the 2008 World Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia(Hall had taken sick, and the game was called on account of rain about 2/3 through, but resumed on October 29, and the Phillies won, claiming their first World Series Championship in 28 years). (Though born in New York, John was raised in a suburb of Philadelphia and attended Temple University) Then, on December 11, both Hall and Oates appeared on the year's last episode of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." They sang a satirical tribute to Alan Colmes, as he would leave Fox News a month later. On March 24, 2009, Hall and Oates performed together on the American television show Dancing with the Stars.
On October 13, 2009, a 4-CD box set was released, titled Do What You Want, Be What You Are: The Music of Daryl Hall and John Oates. This set represents the most comprehensive hits collection by the duo as it includes songs from various labels. Also included are three songs recorded by Hall and Oates with their earlier bands prior to their forming Hall & Oates officially, as a duo.
On October 23, 2009, in one of the last concerts at the famed Wachovia Spectrum, Hall & Oates and Philadelphia-area musicians The Hooters and Todd Rundgren headlined a concert titled "Last Call".
In the spring of 2010, Hall & Oates embarked on their Do What You Want, Be What You Are tour in the United States. They appeared on the American Idol season finale on May 26, 2010 performing You Make My Dreams. Also in 2010, Hall & Oates announced they would join a growing artist's boycott of the state of Arizona over the state's recently passed anti-immigrant laws.
Influence on music and culture
In a 2010 interview, John Oates said that he and Daryl Hall only recently had felt their contributions to pop music were valued. "We actually never really felt, especially in the ’70s and ’80s, that our music and songwriting was appreciated," Oates said. "I think people didn’t really realize the depth and breadth of our work."
While much of the duo's reputation is due to its sustained pop-chart run in the 1980s, Hall & Oates are also respected for their ability to cross stylistic boundaries. To this day, "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a source of samples for many songs by R&B; and hip-hop artists, being referenced by acts from Heavy D & the Boyz to Tamia to 2 Live Crew to Simply Red. Hall & Oates also contributed to the 3 Tenors of Soul album.
De La Soul sampled "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for the track "Say No Go," from their 1988 debut album Three Feet High and Rising, the title of which is one of Hall's vocal hooks from the hit song. Hall & Oates liked it so much that they replicated the De La Soul arrangement in their live 1990 performance at the U.S. Earth Day twentieth anniversary concert in New York's Central Park. Mac Dre also sampled "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for the track "4 Myself" from his 2002 album ''Thizzelle Washington
An interpolation of "Method of Modern Love" was used on the 1993 Wu-Tang Clan single "Method Man".
On the sitcom, Friends, Ross Geller's keyboard playing, Afro-loving younger self is reminiscent of John Oates.
The boy band C-Note sampled Hall & Oates for their 1999 single "Wait Till I Get Home."
"I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is also heavily sampled in the 2003 hit "Sunrise" by the UK act Simply Red. The song also includes original lyrics from "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" placed at the chorus.
Rapper Plan B uses the chorus of "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" in his song "Mama (Loves A Crackhead)".
They provided the inspiration for legendary Jersey stoner rock band Haulin' Goats.
The hockey team St. Louis Blues offered a line of merchandise in the early 1990s nicknamed "Hull and Oates" after forwards Brett Hull and Adam Oates.
The song was sampled in a one-time collaboration performance by John Mayer and Just Blaze called "Alife".
Fun Lovin' Criminals sampled the bassline from "One on One" for their song "Sugar", on their 1998 album 100% Colombian.
Kanye West sampled the song "Grounds for Separation" twice—once for Rhymefest, for his song "Fight with the Best", and once for Jagged Edge for the remix of their song "Let's Get Married".
The Private Eyes title track, with its catchy hand-clap chorus, was a topic of a 2003 episode of the VH1 show I Love the 80's, with several artists remembering the single and the duo fondly. Another track from the album, the arena rocker "Head Above Water", has been used in TV advertisements for the New York Aquarium on Coney Island.
In 2004, a dance act called Uniting Nations sampled "Out of Touch". The song has also been remixed to less popularity by the smaller dance acts Playaz and Up Top.
In 2004, Finnish legends Hanoi Rocks covered "Winged Bull" on their "Twelve Shots on the Rocks" CD. According to Michael Monroe, the song was a favorite of guitarist Andy McCoy.
In 2005 G-Unit hip-hop artist Tony Yayo sampled Hall & Oates on the song "Tattle Teller".
Rap group Young Gunz of Roc-a-fella Records sampled "Rich Girl" for a song of the same name on their debut album.
The duo appeared in an episode of NBC's Will & Grace in the episode "The Definition of Marriage", which aired on February 9, 2006.
In 2002, their hit song "Out of Touch" was used for the soundtrack in the successful video game , playing on the pop radio station Flash FM. In 2006, their song "Family Man" was used for the soundtrack for its prequel, , once again playing on Flash FM.
The song "Rich Girl" was played in an episode of television's cop series Hunter. In the episode, a 'rich girl' commits the 'perfect crime' but in the end cannot profit from it because all her family money can only be hers when the 'killer' is apprehended. With no options left, she commits suicide eating yogurt and sleeping pills with the song "Rich Girl" playing.
"Rich Girl" was also in an episode of the FX series The Shield, sung briefly by one of the characters in Season 2.
Vocals from "You Make My Dreams" are sampled on R&B; singer Amerie's song "Take Control".
Producers Cool and Dre replayed chords sampled from Hall & Oates' "Out of Touch" for Young Jeezy's 2006–2007 hit "Streets on Lock".
Donell Jones' "Cry" sampled Hall & Oates' "Sara Smile" on his 2006 album Journey of a Gemini.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers refer to Hall & Oates in their song "Nevermind" from the album Freaky Styley, humorously dismissing them as "a couple of goats".
Daryl Hall is featured on the song and music video for "Ghetto Smile" by rapper B-Legit. B-Legit attended one of Daryl Hall's concerts and asked him personally to appear on the song. It appears on the Dangerous Ground movie soundtrack, as well as B-Legit's 1996 album, The Hemp Museum.
American pop rock band Mêlée included a cover version of "You Make My Dreams" on their album Devils & Angels.
Hall and Oates are featured in the British spoof TV program, Brass Eye, where Lord Sebastian Coe is duped into branding them as a pedophile that keeps changing his appearance. They are also parodied in the BBC sketch show Big Train which involves the duo visiting an inner city housing project to offer their advice and perspective to the locals who are annoyed at the levels of petty crimes, drugs and other misdemeanors.
British singer/songwriter/guitarist Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues includes his version of Hall and Oates' first-ever single, the Whole Oats single "I'm Sorry", on his 1980 solo album Night Flight.
The 1999 romantic comedy Runaway Bride features "Maneater" in a short montage. The song is a reference to Julia Roberts' titular character, who has left three former fiancés at the altar and is just days away from a fourth wedding attempt, which Richard Gere's character, who has already labeled her a "Maneater" in print, has arrived in town to cover the next close-but-no-cigar event that he expects to happen.
"You Make My Dreams" was played over a similar montage sequence in the 1998 romantic comedy The Wedding Singer. The montage featured Adam Sandler assisting Drew Barrymore in various stages of her wedding plans.
Most recently "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" was used to great comedic effect in British cult comedy The Mighty Boosh, in which the character of Bob Fossil dances to it, in episode 3x03.
The cult hit Internet comedy show Yacht Rock has Hall and Oates as major plot points in the first two episodes. The show depicts Oates as the meanspirited leader of the group, constantly verbally and physically abusing a milquetoast Hall. Many people, including the duo themselves, credit Yacht Rock for creating a renewed interest and lowering the age demographic for the duo.
In a 2003 interview, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie listed his favorite Hall & Oates songs for the Internet indie publication Pitchforkmedia.com.
Brandon Flowers of The Killers stated that he felt "Rich Girl" to be one of the most instructive pop singles ever written.
In a Season 3 episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Charlie refers to himself as 'Holland Oats' and Mac as 'Peter Gabriel,' stating, "It's one guy, his first name is Holland, his last name is Oats".
On the August 13, 2007 episode of WWE Raw, John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Michael Cole dressed up as Hall & Oates and sang versions of "Private Eyes" and "Rich Girl".
Noted as being the most accurate Hall & Oates tribute band in Australia, "Croel, The Hall & Oates Experience" played live during the 2008 new year celebrations at Sydney Harbour. Bandmembers Chris Walker and Joel Anderson played an array of Hall & Oates classics which were synchronised with the spectacular fireworks display.
On a 2008 episode of Saturday Night Live Thursday show, Will Forte and Fred Armisen impersonated Hall & Oates and did a parody song to the tune of "You Make My Dreams", in which Will Forte supported senator Barack Obama and Fred Armisen supported John McCain. Hall & Oates were to be the musical guests on a March 1985 Saturday Night Live that was scrapped due to a writers' strike. John Candy and Eugene Levy appeared on the previous week's show to say they would be hosting. Hall & Oates have since not appeared on the show but Daryl was a frequent visitor backstage during the 80s and 90s.
On December 11, 2008, Hall and Oates (and Tom Wolk) appeared as surprise guests on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. They re-wrote "She's Gone" as a comedic tribute to Fox News host Alan Colmes after his announcement that he was leaving Hannity and Colmes.
On a 1982 episode of Second City Television, Hall and Oates, along with their band, performed "Did It in a Minute" on the "Sammy Maudlin Show" segment. Hall and Oates also performed in a comedy sketch where they promoted their movie "Chariots of Eggs", a parody of Chariots of Fire.
The single "Private Eyes" is the 2008-09 Edmonton Oilers' unofficial locker room song after a win. The players all clap in unison to the song.
On December 4, 2009, USA Network aired a 60-second commercial to promote the coming fourth season of its sitcom, "Psych". The regular cast dressed up to resemble the Hall & Oates ensemble, and performed a send-up of the "Private Eyes" video. James Roday appeared as Daryl Hall, and Dule Hill reprised John Oates' lead guitar.
Acclaimed indie film (500) Days of Summer features a full-blown musical number where Tom, the young protagonist—with a chorus of dancers behind him—lip-synchs to "You Make My Dreams", in joyous celebration of his newfound romance with Summer.
On October 6, 2009, Down With Webster released a cover of Hall & Oates's very first No. 1 hit Rich Girl from their debut album Time to Win Vol.1.
In 2009 and 2010, Hall and Oates are drawn in the Seth MacFarlane show, The Cleveland Show as the classic angel and devil hovering above the shoulders of a character to guide his conscience.
In March 2010, two Hall and Oates tribute albums were released: noted musical duo The Bird and the Bee released "Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates", featuring new interpretations of several songs. "The Dark Side of Hall and Oates" by Koot Hoomi represented a psych-folk approach to the catalog, mixing well known hits with obscurities.
In May 2010, Hall & Oates appeared on the finale of American Idol.
In the 2010 film Knight and Day, inventor Simon Feck listens exclusively to Hall & Oates. In one scene, "Private Eyes" is blasting from Simon's safe house lab in a warehouse in Brooklyn.
Also in the 2010 film She's Out Of My League, Wendell a.k.a Stainer played "Your Kiss Is On My List" & "Everytime You Go Away" in Molly's sister's party.
In the 2010 film You Again, Hall & Oates appear in the final scene performing "Kiss On My List."
The song "Dangerous" by the Ying Yang Twins featuring Wyclef Jean samples the chorus from the Hall & Oates song "Maneater."
Hip Hop producer Onakabazien samples and covers 'Abandoned Luncheonette' on the release 'Power of the Dollar' (2010)
On December 13, 2010, a cappella group Groove For Thought sang a pop/jazz arrangement of "You Make My Dreams" on season 2 of The Sing Off on NBC.
Members of the Hall & Oates band
Current band members
Charles DeChant
Brian Dunne
Eliot Lewis
Zev Katz
Everett Bradley
Paul Pesco
Past members
Mike Braun
Kenneth Bach
G. E. Smith
Mickey Curry
Jerry Marotta
Kenny Pasarelli
Caleb Quaye
Roger Pope
David Kent
John Siegler
Jeff Catania
John Korba
Christopher Bond
Steve "Fontz" Gelfand
Bob Mayo
Todd Sharp
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk
Jimmy Rip
Chuck Burgi
Tony Beard
Pat Buchanan
Mark Rivera
Mike Klvana
Todd Sharp
Stephen Dees
Eddie Zyne
Larry Tag
Kasim Sulton
Eileen Ivers
Lisa Haney
Jeff Southworth
Discography
Bibliography
Laura Fissinger, Hall & Oates (Mankato: Creative Education, 1983).
Brad Gooch, Hall & Oates: Their Lives and Their Music (1985).
Nick Tosches, Dangerous Dances: The Authorized Biography (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984).
See also
List of number-one hits (United States)
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
References
External links
Hall & Oates official website
John Oates' official website
Hall & Oates: Behind The Music Remastered @ VH1.com
Daryl Hall's official website 'Live from Daryl's house'
Hall & Oates No Goodbyes Fan Site & Board
Hall and Oates Radio
Hall & Oates Forever - Unofficial Fan Blog & Message Board
Daryl Hall at bmi.com
John Oates at bmi.com
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Category:Blue-eyed soul singers
Category:Musical groups established in 1969
Category:Musical groups from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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![If It's Love- Train [Lyrics]](http://web.archive.org./web/20110427060945im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ru8aDR5uAbM/0.jpg "If It's Love- Train [Lyrics]")
