Hall & Oates

Daryl Hall (born Hohl) first met John Oates at the Adelphi Ballroom in Philadelphia in 1967 while attending Temple University. Each was heading his own musical group at the time—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. Because of their similar musical tastes, they quickly became acquainted. It would take them another two years to form a musical duo, and three years after that they had signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut.

Hall & Oates are a pop music duo made up of Daryl Hall and John Oates. The act achieved its greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul." 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.

Early on 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 it in 1976. "She's Gone", as covered by Tavares, did go to number one on the R&B chart in 1974.

In 1977, RCA attempted to push Daryl Hall to the front 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 publish the record, which they saw as non-commercial. It was eventually released in 1980.

The 1980s brought about change for Hall & Oates. They had determined that the biggest problem was that their music was being filtered through outsider producers and studio musicians who 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 like 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 records, using their touring band in the studio, and enlisting Hall's girlfriend Sara Allen (and also her sister Janna) as a songwriting collaborator.

Next came H2O, a polished, synth-heavy album that became the duo's most successful album to date. H2O reached number three on the album charts and spawned three top-ten singles. "Maneater", the biggest hit of their career, reached the number-one spot on December 18, 1982 and stayed there for four weeks. The ballad "One on One" and a cover of Mike Oldfield's song "Family Man" reached number seven and number six in March and June 1983, respectively.

By the fall of 1983, Hall & Oates were one of the biggest pop music acts in America. They had five number-one singles to their credit, two consecutive top-ten 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 comedic video of the band that received extensive airplay on MTV. The constant loop of recording, promoting, and touring wore them down, though, and in 1983 they could only put out a greatest-hits package, Rock'n Soul Part 1. The album peaked at number seven and the two new songs on the LP both became top-ten hits as well.

Hall & Oates returned to the studio in 1984 after some time off to begin work on the Big Bam Boom LP. Unlike their previous work, this album had a more of an electronic, urban feel to it. This "new" sound was achieved by a keen mix of classic Hall & Oates song structure & vocalization, played and recorded with of some of the most sophisticated equipment ever used up to that point (most notably the Synclavier II, one of the first modern computerized synthesizer workstations). Noted remix and hip-hop icon Arthur Baker worked closely with the duo as a consultant and did dance remixes of four of the album's tracks.

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 the recovery from his 2005 attack of Lyme disease.

Daryl Hall & John Oates put out the Do It for Love album in 2003. That included "Do It for Love" (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 album and first success for their newest joint venture, U-Watch Records.

Daryl Hall has also released a third and fourth solo album called Soul Alone (1993) and Can't Stop Dreaming (originally released in Japan 1996), and a live 2 CD solo album called 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 live concert DVD.

Hall & Oates have also put out 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", "Love TKO", [Dan Hartman's] "I Can Dream About You", and more. Hall & Oates are still on the touring circuit, traveling as much as they did several years ago. In addition, a DVD of live performances of the songs from Our Kind of Soul was released in November 2005.

Albums :

1972 Whole Oats
1973 Abandoned Luncheonette
1974 War Babies
1975 Daryl Hall & John Oates
1976 Bigger Than Both of Us
1977 Beauty on a Back Street
1978 Along the Red Ledge
1979 X-Static
1980 Voices
1981 Private Eyes
1982 H2O
1984 Big Bam Boom
1988 Ooh Yeah!
1990 Change of Season
1997 Marigold Sky
2003 Do It For Love
2004 Our Kind of Soul
2006 Home for Christmas