Hall & Oates, the #70 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"Great singing and great musicianship."

"Hall & Oates are legends."

"Blue-eyed soul at its best!"

"Brilliant and infectious."

"They are my favorite duo."

"So soulful."

"Soul-soothing music."

"They sang real songs about subjects that matter."

"One of the best duos of all-time."

"Some of the best music ever released.  These guys are geniuses."

This soulful duo of Daryl Hohl and John Oates met at the Adelphi Ballroom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1967.  At the time, Hall was with the Temptones while Oates was a member of the Masters.  Each was at the hotel for a band competition with two rival gangs started shooting.  Both musicians ran to the same service elevator and after talking, they found out that each attended Temple University and was interested in the same type of music.  

Daryl and John did not form a duo until two years later, but after doing so, they signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records within a year.  Promoted as Hall & Oates, they struggled in their early years, releasing three albums--Whole Oats, Abandoned Luncheonette and War Babies--without much fanfare.  The single "She's Gone" stalled at #60.

 

The duo signed with RCA and released the album Daryl Hall & John Oates.  Two singles didn't do any better before the duo tried again with "Sara Smile".  This time, Hall & Oates struck it big with a #4 smash and all of a sudden, both the single and the album were certified Gold.

 

After the success of "Sara Smile", Atlantic re-released "She's Gone" to take advantage of the duo's new popularity.  Now, music directors heard what they had missed before and music fans loved it--#7 in both the U.S. and Canada.  The single caused sales of the 1973 album Abandoned Luncheonette to surge, going over one million.

In 1976, Hall & Oates released Bigger Than Both of Us, another Gold album.  The single "Rich Girl" rose to #1 in the United States, #5 in Canada and #6 in Australia.

 

But the next two albums, Beauty on a Back Street in 1977 and Along the Red Ledge the following year, did not sustain the momentum.  The duo did return to the Top 20 with "Wait For Me" from their 1979 album X-Static.  The single "Wait For Me" was underrated at #18, giving us a taste of what was to come.

Hall & Oates recorded their next album at the studios Jimi Hendrix had built prior to his death, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, where the duo was living now.  And, the pair wrote, produced and arranged the album, which became the best work of their career.  In 1980, Voices hit record stores.  The first single, "How Does It Feel To Be Back", flopped.

 

But their remake of the Righteous Brothers classic "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" hit #12, one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

Then, "Kiss On Your List" hit #1 in the U.S. and #6 in Canada and sold over one million copies.

Voices has now gone Platinum, the sixth album of their career to sell at least 500,000 copies.  The duo pulled a third big hit from the album when "You Make My Dreams" bounced into the Top 10.

Another song on the album never released as a single was "Everytime You Go Away", which later became a #1 hit for Paul Young.

 

Hot on the heels of Voices was the album Private Eyes in 1981.  "Private Eyes" reached #1 in the United States and #6 in Canada and was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammy Awards.  The single sold over one million copies.

 

The follow-up was even bigger.  "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" achieved a rare triple #1--#1 Popular, #1 R&B and #1 Dance and also jumped to #2 in Canada and #8 in the U.K.  It also sold over one million singles. 

Private Eyes also has sold over one million units.  The single "Did It In A Minute" reached #9 in the U.S. and #10 in Canada.

Be sure to catch the rest of the story on Part Two below!