Daryl Hall and John Oates are the NUMBER-ONE SELLING DUO in music history!
Beginning as two devoted disciples of earlier soul greats, Daryl Hall & John Oates are today soul survivors in their own rights. They have become such musical influences on future generations of popular artists that Spin Magazine’s September 2006 cover headline read: “Why Hall and Oates are the New Velvet Underground.” One of the most sampled artists today, their impact can be heard everywhere from boy band harmonies to neo-soul to rap-rock fusion.
Signed to Atlantic by Ahmet Ertegun in the early 1970s, Daryl Hall & John Oates have sold more records than any other duo in music history. Their 1973 album, Abandoned Luncheonette, produced by Arif Mardin, yielded the Top 10 single, “She’s Gone,” which also went to #1 on the R&B charts when it was covered by Tavares. The duo recorded one more album with Atlantic, War Babies (produced by Todd Rundgren) before they signed to RCA. Their tenure at RCA would catapult Daryl and John to international superstardom.
From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, the duo would score six #1 singles, including “Rich Girl,”, “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” (also #1 R&B), “Maneater” and “Out of Touch” from six multi-platinum albums—’76’s Bigger Than Both of Us, ’80’s Voices, ’81’s Private Eyes, ’82’s H2O, ’83’s Rock ’N Soul, Part 1 and ’84’s Big Bam Boom. The era would also produce an additional 8 Top 10 singles: “Sara Smile,” “You Make My Dreams (Come True),” “Did It In a Minute,” “Family Man,” “One on One,” “Say It Isn’t So,” “Adult Education” and “Method of Modern Love.”
By 1984, the R.I.A.A. recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the number-one selling duo in music history, a record they still hold today.
In 1985 singer Paul Young covered the Daryl-written Voices album track “Everytime You Go Away,” scoring a #1 hit and helping to establish the song as a modern standard. That same year, Daryl and John participated in the historic “We Are the World” session, reopened the legendary Apollo Theatre in the company of their heroes David Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, and closed the globally broadcast Live Aid show in Philadelphia.
Across the succeeding decades, Daryl and John have continued to record and tour both individually and together, while their self-composed songs have evolved from current hits to timeless classics. In 2003, Daryl Hall and John Oates were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, followed by their 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Daryl Hall’s latest project is the multi-award-winning monthly web series and TV show, Live from Daryl’s House, which pairs him with friends, contemporaries, influences and devotees for spontaneous performances and a behind the scenes glimpse into artists at work and play. He also opened “Daryl’s House,” a restaurant and music club in Pawling, NY. “Daryl’s House,” which also serves as the backdrop for Live From Daryl’s House, aims to combine top-notch food with amazing live performances.
John Oates released his memoir, Change Of Seasons (St. Martin’s Press) in 2017. Relying on his many handwritten journals, he brings to light many fascinating stories, ranging over his entire life, with a journalist’s eye and a poet’s heart. John is creatively involved in the Nashville music scene, producing and writing for video and film projects as well as contributing to raising awareness for “Feeding America” through online virtual concerts.
Demonstrating the duo’s massive popularity across decades, generations and listening formats, in 2020 Daryl and John celebrated a milestone 1 billion streams of “You Make My Dreams (Come True).” Ubiquitous in films, commercials and playlists, the song encapsulates the essential and enduring appeal of Daryl Hall & John Oates. Their music makes people feel good. Always has, always will.
