Daryl Hall & John Oates | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Hall & Oates |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1970–2024 |
| Labels |
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| Past members | |
| Website | hallandoates |
Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known asHall & Oates, were an Americanpop rock duo formed inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970.Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, whileJohn Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and backing vocals and occasional lead vocals. The two wrote most of the songs they performed, either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock music,soul music, andrhythm and blues.[1]
Though they are commonly referred to by only their surnames, the duo's official and preferred title included the members' first names. They have been credited on albums as Daryl Hall & John Oates (or Daryl Hall John Oates) on all of their US releases. The duo reached the US Top 40 with 29 of their 33 singles charting on theBillboard Hot 100 between 1974 and 1991. Six of these peaked at number one: "Rich Girl" (1977), "Kiss on My List" (1980), the two 1981 releases "Private Eyes" and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" (also aHot Soul number 1), "Maneater" (1982), and "Out of Touch" (1984). Their overall 16 US Top Tens also include "She's Gone", "Sara Smile", "You Make My Dreams", "Family Man", "Say It Isn't So", and "Method of Modern Love". Seven of their albums have beenRIAA-certifiedplatinum and six of them gold.[2] In the United Kingdom, they have achieved success with two Top Ten albums and six Top 40 singles, two of which – "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" and "Maneater" – reached the Top Ten. The duo have spent 120 weeks in the UK Top 75 albums chart and 84 weeks in the UK Top 75singles chart.[3]
While the duo had employed a wide variety of session musicians on their recordings, several in particular appear on many of their works and have toured with them, including guitaristG. E. Smith, bassistTom "T-Bone" Wolk, drummerMickey Curry and multi-instrumentalistCharles DeChant. In addition, they collaborated with sistersSara Allen andJanna Allen on songwriting and composing.
In 2003, Hall & Oates were inducted into theSongwriters Hall of Fame. In August 2018, in a 60th-anniversary celebration of theBillboard Hot 100, the duo ranked 18 in a list of the top Hot 100 artists of all time and six in a list of the Hot 100's top duos/groups. They remain the most successful duo of all time, ahead ofthe Carpenters,the Everly Brothers, andSimon & Garfunkel.[4] In September 2010,VH1 ranked the duo 99th among the 100 greatest artists of all time. In April 2014, they were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame,[5] and on September 2, 2016, they received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[6] In April 2024, Oates indicated that the duo would no longer perform together amidst a legal battle between them.[7]
Daryl Franklin Hohl (born inPottstown, Pennsylvania, on October 11, 1946)[8] andJohn William Oates (born inNew York City on April 7, 1948)[9] first met at the Adelphi Ballroom inPhiladelphia in 1967. Each was heading his own musical group, Hall with The Temptones and Oates with The Masters. They were attending a band competition, when they discovered that they were interested in the same music and both were attendingTemple University. They started spending time together and eventually shared a number of apartments in the city.[10] One of the apartments they shared had "Hall & Oates" on the mailbox, which became the duo's common nickname.[11] It took them another two years to form a musical duo, and three years after that, they signed toAtlantic Records and released their debut album.[12] The two did not start working together seriously until 1970 after Oates returned from an extended stay in Europe.[8]
Early in their recording careers, Hall & Oates had trouble clearly defining their sound, alternating amongfolk,soul,rock andpop. None of their early albums—Whole Oats,Abandoned Luncheonette, andWar Babies—were very successful on initial release.[13] Despite being produced by such big-name producers asArif Mardin andTodd Rundgren, they had no hit singles. But after "She's Gone" offAbandoned Luncheonette was covered byLou Rawls andTavares, the latter version reached Number One on the R&B chart in 1974.[13][14] Written for Hall's first wife, Bryna Lublin (Hall), the song was inspired by Oates being stood up on a date on New Year's Eve. AnotherAbandoned Luncheonette single, "Las Vegas Turnaround", was written about (and mentioned by first name) Hall's girlfriend, flight attendant and future song-writing collaboratorSara Allen.[15]
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After the release ofWar Babies in 1974, Hall & Oates leftAtlantic Records to joinRCA Records.[13] Their first album for RCA,Daryl Hall & John Oates (often referred to by their fans asthe silver album because of the silver foil material on the original album cover), was issued in 1975 and was their first notable success. The album contained the ballad "Sara Smile",[13] a song Hall wrote for Sara Allen.[16] The album cover depicted Hall & Oates, overly made up withcosmetic blush to the point where they looked feminine, especially the long-haired and clean-shaven Hall. Hall later said in an interview forVH1'sBehind the Music that he looked like "the girl I always wanted to go out with" on the album cover. This cover was designed by Pierre LaRoche, who created the cover forZiggy Stardust forDavid Bowie.[17]
"Sara Smile" became Hall & Oates' first Top 10 hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100chart in June 1976. Atlantic subsequently re-released "She's Gone", which reached number 7 in October 1976, andAbandoned Luncheonette, which reached number 33 on the albums chart on November 20, 1976, and staying on for 38 weeks.[18]
Hall & Oates followed those hits with the more pop-oriented albumBigger Than Both of Us later that year. Although the album's first single—the Philadelphia soul-oriented ballad "Do What You Want, Be What You Are"—barely made the Top 40, their second single, "Rich Girl", was a smash.[13] The song was Hall & Oates's first number 1 hit,[13] reaching the top spot for the week ending March 26, 1977.[19]
After this small run of hits, Hall & Oates still encountered difficulty getting radio play. Despite touring constantly and recording albums with efficiency, the duo could not find any pop success for a number of reasons, mainly because of the popularity of the disco genre. By the time they released the rock-oriented albumsBeauty on a Back Street in 1977 andAlong the Red Ledge in 1978, disco music was trendy and taking most of the spots in popular music.
They did release a few hit singles during this period: the follow-up to "Rich Girl," "Back Together Again," hit the Top 40, and "It's a Laugh" (fromAlong the Red Ledge) hit the top 20 in 1978. In 1977, RCA attempted to push Hall to the fore with his first solo effortSacred Songs. However, after being presented with the highly experimental recording, produced byRobert 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.[20]
In late 1979, Hall & Oates releasedX-Static – produced byDavid Foster, which combined rock withdisco.[13] The album did not fare well, although "Wait for Me" did hit the top 20. The 1980s brought changes for Hall & Oates. The pair felt that the biggest hindrance to their success was that their music was being filtered through outside producers, and that studio musicians were not familiar with their own tastes and thoughts. In 1979, they hiredG. E. Smith (who had worked withDan Hartman andDavid Bowie) as lead guitarist,Mickey Curry as drummer, andTom "T-Bone" Wolk joined as bassist in 1981. They also enlisted Hall's girlfriend Sara Allen (and her younger sisterJanna) to help write songs, and began working withNeil Kernon, an engineer onVoices who worked as co-producer on their succeeding two albums.[citation needed]
The band also wished to capture the sound of New York City which, by then, had become their home.[citation needed] As a result, instead of recording in Los Angeles, as they had done previously, they decided to record atElectric Lady Studios in New York City, just five minutes away from their apartments, and began producing their own recordings with their touring band backing them in the studio.
The resulting album,Voices, was written, produced and arranged by Hall & Oates in one month, according to their authorized biographyDangerous Dances (byNick Tosches). The first two singles from the album charted fairly well, with "How Does It Feel to Be Back" charting at Number 30. The well-receivedcover ofThe Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'",[13] just missed the Top 10, peaking at Number 12, but spent 14 weeks in the Top 40. After the release of that song, Oates's contribution as the lead vocalist diminished on future releases. 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.[citation needed]
The other well-known song fromVoices is the emotive ballad "Everytime You Go Away", with powerful lead vocals by Hall, who wrote it.[13] British singerPaul Young had aBillboard Number 1 hit with a cover of the song in 1985.[13] Though the Hall & Oates original (recorded in a Memphis-soul style) was never released as a single, it remains a fan favorite on the duo's greatest hits albums, and was featured on theirApollo Theater album in 1985.[citation needed]
By the time "You Make My Dreams" was falling off the charts, Hall & Oates had already released their follow-up albumPrivate Eyes. Having worked in the studio whileVoices was at its peak in popularity, the two had already recorded most of their material and perfected a fusion of their doo-wop and soul roots withNew Wave energy andhard rock grit.[21] The result was a pop classic that is often considered one of the greatest albums of the 1980s,[21] and was the first Hall & Oates album to reach the Top 10 on theBillboard 200 album chart, while four singles fromPrivate Eyes all reached the Top 40.
Thetitle track and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" were both Number 1 hits, separated only by the ten-week stay at Number 1 by "Physical" byOlivia 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 theR&B and the pop charts. "Did It in a Minute" reached Number 9 in the spring of 1982, and "Your Imagination" peaked at number 33.[22]
Their next album,H2O, a very polished, synth-heavy effort, became the duo's most successful album, with US sales eventually approaching four million copies.H2O reached number 3 on theBillboard charts (where it held for 15 weeks) 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.[citation needed]
The soulful ballad "One on One" and a cover ofMike Oldfield's "Family Man" reached number 7 and number 6 in March and June 1983, respectively.
We try and take chances. Our new single "Maneater" isn't something that sounds like anything else on the radio. The idea is to make things better.Daryl Hall –NME – November 1982[23]
According to Oates, they recorded approximately twenty songs for the album, of which nine did not make the final cut. He went on to say they usually had five or six tracks left over per album.[24]
For theH2O album, Hall & Oates made some permanent changes to their current band. DrummerMickey Curry, who had appeared on somePrivate Eyes tracks, including the title song, replacedJerry Marotta full-time. BassistTom Wolk, who hadmimed John Siegler's bass line in the "Private Eyes" video, replaced Siegler full-time.[citation needed] These two joined the band's holdovers—lead guitar playerG.E. Smith, and saxophonistCharles DeChant. Wolk continued to perform with the duo until his death in early 2010, while Curry returned for theDo It for Love andLaughing Down Crying sessions.[citation needed]
By the fall of 1983, Hall & Oates were one of the biggest pop music acts in the United States. They had five Number 1 singles to their credit, two consecutive Top 10 albums and were one of the biggest names onMTV.[citation needed] Two covers of the 1957Bobby Helms classic "Jingle Bell Rock" were recorded—one with Hall on lead vocals, and the other with Oates on lead vocals—and released in time for Christmas 1983, complete with a humorous video of the band, that received extensive airplay onMTV. In 1983, they released their first greatest hits album entitledRock '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.[citation needed]
The first single released from this album, "Say It Isn't So", battled six weeks for the Number 1 spot withPaul McCartney andMichael Jackson's "Say Say Say" at the peak ofThriller mania. "Say It Isn't So" remained at number 2 for four weeks from December 10 through 31, 1983.[25]
Hall & Oates' follow-up single "Adult Education" received heavy airplay at both pop and black (urban contemporary) radio, and reached Number 8 on theBillboard Hot 100 in April 1984. It was accompanied by a dark, New York City-orientedmusic video set in a cave. Oates later toldVH1 that the clip resembled theSurvivor TV show onacid.[citation needed]
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Hall & Oates returned to the studio in 1984 after a rest period to begin work on theBig Bam Boom album. This album had even more of an electronic, urban feel to it thanH2O, combining their song structure and vocalization with the latest technical advances in recording and playing.[citation needed] The album employed some of the most sophisticated equipment ever used in the recording industry at the time (most notably theSynclavier II, one of the first computerized synthesizer workstations, as well as theFairlight CMI). Notedremix and hip-hop iconArthur Baker worked very closely with the duo as a consultant, and produced dance remixes of four of the album's singles.[citation needed]
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. "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 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, sponsored byPontiac's latest sports car, theFiero. In addition, Pontiac allowed Oates, a skilled amateur racer, to drive in Pontiac's factoryIMSA GTU race car in Camel GT pro races. In April 1984, the Recording Industry Association of America named Hall & Oates the most successful duo in rock history.[8]
Hall & Oates almost always toured extensively for each album release. But in 1985, the duo took a break after the release of theirLive at the Apollo album withDavid Ruffin andEddie Kendricks—voices ofThe Temptations and two of their heroes.[13] This was RCA's second attempt at a live Hall & Oates album, following the 1978 releaseLivetime.[citation needed]Live at the Apollo was released primarily to fulfill the duo's contract with RCA, and contained a Top 20 Grammy-nominated hit with a medley of "The Way You Do the Things You Do" and "My Girl";[26] Ruffin and Kendrick had originally recorded both songs with the Temptations in 1964.
Hall & Oates both appeared on the USA for Africa "We Are the World" project, with the former as one of the soloists and the latter as a chorus member, and performed at theLive Aid concert in Philadelphia, with Ruffin and Kendrick. The Hall & Oates band also backed upMick Jagger's performance at this show.[citation needed]
Hall, Oates, Ruffin and Kendrick performed 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.[citation needed]
In May 1985, Hall & Oates performed at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.[27] Just prior to Live Aid, on July 4, they participated in Liberty Concert, an outdoor benefit concert atLiberty State Park inJersey City,New Jersey for the restoration of theStatue of Liberty, which was filmed forHBO. It became a major music event, drawing an estimated crowd of over 60,000 people.[citation needed]
In 1986, Hall scored a Top 5 US hit with "Dreamtime", from his solo albumThree Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine. That album also included the Top 40 hit "Foolish Pride" and the Top 100 hit "Someone Like You", later performed by the duo live on their "Behind the Music" set.[citation needed] Although Oates did not have a solo hit as a singer, he did contribute a solo track to the filmAbout Last Night and co-wrote (withIva Davies) and performed backing vocals on the 1987Icehouse top 10 US hit "Electric Blue". Oates also worked as producer, co-songwriter and co-lead vocalist of the single "Love Is Fire" byThe Parachute Club, which was a top 40 hit in Canada in 1987.[citation needed]
Hall & Oates signed withArista Records, their third record company, in 1987, shortly before the string of Top 10 hits ended, inTommy 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"[13] (Number 3 in May 1988—their last to make the Top 10), "Missed Opportunity", and "Downtown Life". Beginning withOoh Yeah!, album and single releases were credited asDaryl 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 calledChange of Season. The album's first single "So Close" (co-produced byJon Bon Jovi) reached Number 11 and was Hall & Oates's last major hit.[13]
Another song from the album, "Don't Hold Back Your Love", was named bySOCAN as the second-most performed song in Canada for 1992;[28] it became a hit for Australian Sherbet front man,Daryl Braithwaite, in his solo years, and has become a Hall & Oates staple in concert.Change of Season was a more mainstream rock album than their previous work. Despite the fact thatOoh Yeah! andChange of Season reached platinum and gold status respectively, they were perceived[by whom?] as disappointments. In 1989, they covered and performed their own version of theO'Jays song "Love Train" for the filmEarth Girls Are Easy.[citation needed]
The duo's occasional song-writing collaboratorJanna Allen died ofleukemia in 1993. Hall & Oates released theMarigold Sky album in 1997 (their first all-new studio album in seven years), which included anAdult 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. Hall & Oates released theDo It for Love album in 2003, whose title track was a number one Adult Contemporary hit. They also released theHall & Oates Live DVD from anA&ELive by Request special. This album was the first release (and first success) for their newest joint venture U-Watch Records. Hall has also released the solo albumsSoul Alone (1993) andCan't Stop Dreaming (originally released in Japan in 1996), and a live two-disc solo album titledLive in Philadelphia (2004).[citation needed]
Hall & Oates coveredElton 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."[citation needed] Oates released his own solo album in 2002 entitledPhunk Shui and a companionlive concert DVD. Hall & Oates also released their first CD of (mostly) covers,Our Kind of Soul, in 2004. It includes some of their favoriteR&B songs, such as "I'll Be Around" (their first Hot 100 entry in over a decade), "Love T.K.O.", andDan Hartman's "I Can Dream About You", among others. Hall & Oates remained on the touring circuit, traveling nearly as much as they did in years past. In addition, a DVD of live performances of the songs fromOur Kind of Soul was released in November 2005.[citation needed]
Hall & Oates released aChristmas album,Home for Christmas, on October 3, 2006, which contained two Christmas originals and covers, including a version of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", which became their second number one Adult Contemporary hit.[29]
In September 2007, representatives ofMontreal-based bandChromeo stated in a press release, "Indeed, Chromeo's idols Hall and 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 byPitchfork Media.[30] This collaboration with Chromeo was expected to be released in late 2008/early 2009, and was released asLive from Daryl's House. On May 20, 2008, Hall & Oates were honored asBMI Icons at the 56th annual BMI Pop Awards. As of 2008, their song-writing has collected 24 BMI Pop Awards and 14 BMI Million-Air awards.[31]
There were two notable nationally televised appearances for the duo in late 2008. On October 27, Oates sang thenational anthem before Game 5 of the2008 World Series atCitizens Bank Park inPhiladelphia (Hall had taken sick, and the game was called on account of rain after the top of the 6th inning, but resumed on October 29, and thePhillies won, claiming their firstWorld Series Championship in 28 years).[32] (Though born in New York, Oates was raised in a suburb of Philadelphia and attendedTemple University.[9]) Then, on December 11, both Hall & Oates appeared on the year's last episode ofThe Daily Show with Jon Stewart. They sang asatirical tribute toAlan Colmes, as he was leaving the showHannity & Colmes onFox News a month later.[33][34] On March 24, 2009, Hall & Oates performed together on the American television showDancing with the Stars.[35] During 2009, the duo recorded acameo for the movieYou Again, performing "Kiss On My List" for the final scene and closing credits.[36]
On May 22 and 23, 2008, they performed at theTroubadour, 35 years after first performing there as an opening act. They played many popular selections, including "Cab Driver" from Hall's solo album as well as several songs from theAbandoned Luncheonette album, including "Had I Known You Better Then" which had never been performed live before. The performance was recorded as a concert film and later released in the US as a double CD set with DVD/Blu-ray Combo on November 25, 2008. In 2009 the live performances of "Sara Smile" from this album was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, an incredible 33 years after the original song was released. Concerning the nomination, Hall considered it truly a surprise.[37][38] This made it the third time that the band was nominated for a Grammy Award; the other two times were in 1981 for "Private Eyes" and 1983 for "Maneater".
On October 13, 2009, a 4-CD box set was released, titledDo 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 & Oates with their earlier bands prior to their forming Hall & Oates as a duo. The boxed set sold 5,000 copies the first hour and, in total, it has sold 15,000 copies, according toNielsen SoundScan, peaking at number 89 on theBillboard 200 on October 23, 2009.[39] In one of the last concerts at theWachovia Spectrum, Hall & Oates and Philadelphia-area musiciansThe Hooters andTodd Rundgren headlined a concert titled "Last Call". In 2010, Hall & Oates embarked on their "Do What You Want, Be What You Are" tour in the United States. They appeared on theAmerican Idol season finale on May 26, 2010, performing "You Make My Dreams". Also in 2010, Hall & Oates announced they would join a growing artists' boycott of the state ofArizona over the state's recently passedanti-illegal immigrant laws.[40]
On May 8, 2012, the two performed on theNBC reality singing competitionThe Voice.
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On October 16, 2013, Hall & Oates were announced as 2014 nominees for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[41] They were announced as inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2014 on December 16, 2013.[42]
Hall started his monthly web seriesLive from Daryl's House[43] in 2007 after having the idea of "playing with my friends and putting it up on the Internet".[44] The series features him jamming with various guest musicians in his house in the woods. Guest artists on the show have run the gamut of musical styles and influences, including artists such asSmokey Robinson,Robby Krieger fromThe Doors,Rumer,Nick Lowe,CeeLo Green,KT Tunstall,Todd Rundgren,Darius Rucker, andChromeo.[45] In 2010,Live From Daryl's House won aWebby Award in the Variety category.[46]
In May 2014, Hall's home renovation program,Daryl's Restoration Over-Hall, premiered on theDIY Network.[47] On July 15, 2014, Hall & Oates performed inIreland as a duo for the very first time (they each performed independently as solo acts before) at theOlympia Theatre, Dublin. The event was recorded, packaged as a two CD/DVD set and released asLive in Dublin in Germany March 27, 2015, and in the US on March 30, 2015.[48] Hall & Oates indicated that the recorded concert was also being released in movie theaters nationwide for one day only.[49]
The duo made a cameo in the 2015Happy Madison filmPixels. On September 2, 2016, Hall & Oates received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for their work in the music industry, located at 6752Hollywood Boulevard.[50][51]
In March 2017, it was announced that they would be touring the US from May to July 2017. The 29-date arena tour was with co-headlinerTears for Fears.[52] This included theHoagieNation festival in Philadelphia, created by Hall & Oates.[53] A "celebration of everything Philly", the event was held again in 2018 and 2021. Hall & Oates also headlined the BluesFest 2017 at the London O2 arena on October 28, 2017, supported by Chris Isaak. They played a Dublin concert the following night.[citation needed]
Between May and June 2019 they made their first tour of Latin America, visiting Argentina, Chile and Brazil. Later they performed for the first time in Spain.[citation needed]
In January 2020, Hall said that he was working on songs for the duo's next album.[54] However, in a 2021 interview, Hall said that while progress initially was not affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic, work eventually stalled as he did not want to release anything that would become "irrelevant". By the time of the interview, he was uncertain about the prospect of a new album, stating that "things have changed".[55] When asked by theLos Angeles Times about the possibility of a new album in a March 2022 interview, Hall was still uncertain, simply stating "time will tell".[56]
On April 17, 2023, longtime keyboardist Eliot Lewis took to social media to announce that he would be departing the Hall & Oates band, Daryl Hall solo band, and theLive from Daryl's House band to "focus on [his] own music."[57]
Hall & Oates were inducted into theNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
In November 2023, Hall filed a contract lawsuit under seal to prevent Oates from selling the pair's publishing rights, held by the pair's Whole Oats Enterprises, toPrimary Wave Music without consulting Hall. Hall received a restraining order from the court to prevent such sale until the pair had attempted toarbitrate the matter between themselves.[58][59][60]
In April 2024, Oates said in an interview withRolling Stone that he had "moved on" from Hall & Oates and that the duo would never perform together again, with Hall confirming the same a month later in an interview withVariety.[7] On August 11, 2025, it was reported that the duo settled in arbitration and had filed to dismiss the case, though without details as to when the settlement was reached.[61]
Hall & Oates has been described asblue-eyed soul,[62][63]Philadelphia soul,[64]pop rock,[65]power pop,[66]soft rock[67] andR&B,[68][69] while their 1980s work has been characterized asnew wave.[63]
In an interview in a 1983 issue ofJuke Magazine, Oates was asked about whether conflicts arose. He replied that "we have our creative differences but we reconcile them." He said that if they both came up with a different way of doing something, they'd try it both ways and whatever sounded the better of the two they would use.[24]
In a September 2022 interview forClub Random with Bill Maher, Hall referred to Oates solely as his business partner, not his creative partner, and then listed some Hall & Oates songs he actually recorded solo.[70]
The duo preferred to be referenced using both their first and last names. In an interview withEsquire, Oates said, "There isn't one album that saysHall and Oates. It's alwaysDaryl Hall and John Oates, from the very beginning. People never note that. The idea of 'Hall and Oates', this two-headed monster, this thing, is not anything we've ever wanted or liked."[71] In a 2015 interview, Oates said that "it's a horrible name" and that "it was a totally conscious decision" not to be known as "Hall & Oates". "We didn't want to be theEverly Brothers, orLoggins & Messina, or whatever."[72]
In a 2017 interview withThe Mercury News, Hall stated that "the reason we've always insisted on our full names is because we consider ourselves to be two individual artists. We're not really a classic duo in that respect."[73] Despite their stated dislike for the name Hall & Oates, the group sued a Brooklyn-based granola company in 2015 for naming one of their products "Haulin' Oats", claiming it was a "well-known mark" of the group.[74]
It was a totally conscious decision. Daryl made a joke about it when first got together. He said "I hate being called by my last name, it reminds me of gym class: 'Hey Hall.'" So we said, we are two individuals working together, because we actually started that way — when we first started playing together we hadn't written any songs together. I had written a bunch of songs and he had written a bunch of songs and he said "Look, you play your songs and I'll play behind you," and Daryl would play his songs and I'll play guitar. And that was our working relationship — two guys, two songwriters working with each other. And we didn't even sing together and we actually still don't sing together very often, it's just never been something we ever wanted to do. We didn't want to be the Everly Brothers, or Loggins & Messina, or whatever.
