Philadelphia, 1967 - A shot rings out in Adelphi Ballroom and the crowd breaks for the door. Two strangers, one tall and sandy-haired, the other mustachioed and swarthy, hurtle toward a service elevator, escaping a local gang fight. Amid the din of a near-rioting crowd, Daryl Hall and John Oates, two young singers, strike up a frienPhiladelphia, 1967 - A shot rings out in Adelphi Ballroom and the crowd breaks for the door. Two strangers, one tall and sandy-haired, the other mustachioed and swarthy, hurtle toward a service elevator, escaping a local gang fight. Amid the din of a near-rioting crowd, Daryl Hall and John Oates, two young singers, strike up a friendship. Five years later, the men, now a duo, sign to Atlantic Records and begin an unprecedented run.
Hall & Oates are the most successful duo in American pop music history, scoring 29 Billboard Top 40 pop hits, seven platinum albums and arguably the most misunderstood career of any white act making black music ever. To many, Hall & Oates are hokey '80s synth-popsters, the cheeseballs behind 1982's "Maneater" (RCA). In truth, they were devout students of R&B. Hall studied under the Temptations' David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks, while Oates was a member of several Philly soul groups. Their early work was experimental, if unclearly defined, ranging from hard folk to rock and airy pop. Though their '72 debut, Whole Oates, was a conceptual stiff, what followed — 1973's Abandoned Luncheonette (Atlantic), 1974's War Babies (Atlantic), and 1975's eponymous album (RCA) - was sweetly soulful and sharply drawn, inching toward a new synthesis of rock and R&B.
The '80s proved to be the duo's most successful decade, ripe with MTV-friendly hits like "Everytime You Go Away" from 1980's Voices (RCA), "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" from 1981's Private Eyes (RCA), and, yes, the tacky "Maneater," from their biggest and most polished album, H20 (RCA). But even at the height of their success, the group still took risks. They were prescient in recruiting legendary Afrika Bambaataa producer Arthur Baker to helm 1984's Big Bam Boom (RCA), which dabbled in hip hop and dance - "Method of Modern Love" and its spelled-out chorus famously inspired Wu-Tang Clan's "Method Man."
Hall & Oates still record and tour, and the slick blue-eyed soul they fathered is scattered all over the charts, from Robin Thicke to Justin Timberlake. And Gym Class Heroes dubbed a recent trek the Daryl Hall for President Tour '07, proving even emo kids can get the (rhythm and) blues.
HIGHER LEARNING
"Las Vegas Turnaround" (Abandoned Luncheonette)
"Grounds for Separation" (Daryl Hall and John Oates)
"You Make My Dreams" (Voices)
"Head Above Water" (Private Eyes)
"Method of Modern Love" (Big Bam Boom)
July 19, 2007 @ 2:06 pm
Essential Hall & Oates
By All Means Necessary column, from the August 2007 issue.
Article tags: Blue-eyed Soul, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Gym Class Heroes, Hall & Oates, Justin Timberlake, Maneater, Philly Soul, Robin Thicke, Temptations
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Comments
1.
LAUREN says:
I love Hall & Oates, always have, always will.
I'm a woman of color and I still beleive that they are one of the best acts to ever perform R& B music. Do I think they are imidating anyone?? No, they have their own style but I do beleive they were heavily influnced by black musicans, Daryl Hall will tell you that.
Still, they are amazing!!!!!
September 10, 2007 at 12:34 am
2.
bixby says:
sometimes vibe does something good
August 16, 2007 at 11:12 pm
3.
mini kaplan says:
great article
July 24, 2007 at 1:28 pm
4.
Tom Richard says:
Daryl Hall & John Oates are not a "White act making black music". To make such a racist comment is pathetic and derogatory. So is the bigoted "blue-eyed soul" label, which I've been sick of hearing for 30+ years.
They make the best music in the business. Period. The fact that they like R&B doesn't mean they're imitating anybody. Any type of music is not "owned" by any particular group. Charley Pride sang country. Did he "imitate" Whites? Some of Lionel Richie's music could be considered on the light rock side. Is he imitating Barry Manilow?
Listen to "War Babies", "Voices" and "Along the Red Ledge" and call it soul.
I could go on about your ignorance (There's nothing 'tacky' about "Maneater" - 4 weeks at #1 says it all, and "Every Time You Go Away" was a hit for Paul Young, not H&O) plus, if they're such "cheeseballs", then why are they in the Songwriters Hall of Fame?
July 19, 2007 at 9:56 pm