Daryl Franklin Hohl was born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania on October 11, 1946. And John William Oates was born April 7, 1949.They first met each other at the Adelphi Ballroom in Philadelphia in 1967. At the time they met, each was heading his own musical group, 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. On further discovering that they were interested in the same music and that both were attending Philadelphia's Temple University, they started spending time together on a regular basis and eventually shared a number of apartments in the city. One of the apartments they shared had "Hall & Oates" on the mailbox, which became the duo's name. It would take them another two years to form a musical duo, and three years after that, they signed to Atlantic Records and released their debut album. The two didn't seriously start working together until 1970 after Oates got back from an extended stay in Europe.
Early 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 such 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 the Hall & Oates version in 1976. "She's Gone," as covered by Tavares, did go to Number One on the R&B charts in 1974. It was originally written for Hall's first wife, Bryna Lublin (Hall), and initially inspired by Oates' being stood up on a date on New Year's Eve. Another Abandoned Luncheonette single, "Las Vegas Turnaround", was written about (and mentioned by first name) Hall's girlfriend, flight attendant and future songwriting collaborator Sara Allen. Despite the fact that none of the Atlantic were huge national hits, at least in Minneapolis-St. Paul, a number of tracks on the "Abandoned Luncheonette" received significant airplay on local FM station KQRS, resulting in the album being quite a big hit locally. This (and what other regional success the album achieved) was enough to push the album into the charts, reaching #33 and staying on the charts for 38 weeks.
The 1980s brought about significant 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. They also wished to capture the sound of New York City which by then, had become their home. As a result, instead of recording in Los Angeles, as they had done previously, they decided to record at Electric Lady Studios in New York, just five minutes away from their apartments, and began producing their own recordings with their touring band backing them in the studio. The first two singles from the album charted fairly well, with "How Does It Feel to Be Back" charting at Number 30. The well-received cover of The Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" just missed the Top 10, peaking at Number 12, but spent 14 weeks in the Top 40. After the release of that song, Oates' 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. The other well-known song from Voices is the emotive ballad "Every time you go away", with powerful lead vocals by Hall, who wrote it. British singer Paul Young had a Billboard Number 1 hit with a cover of the song in 1985. 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 their Apollo Theater CD in 1985, and is frequently featured in their live set to this day. Hall & Oates were the greatest duo that ever lived. They change Rock & Roll forever.
Early 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 such 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 the Hall & Oates version in 1976. "She's Gone," as covered by Tavares, did go to Number One on the R&B charts in 1974. It was originally written for Hall's first wife, Bryna Lublin (Hall), and initially inspired by Oates' being stood up on a date on New Year's Eve. Another Abandoned Luncheonette single, "Las Vegas Turnaround", was written about (and mentioned by first name) Hall's girlfriend, flight attendant and future songwriting collaborator Sara Allen. Despite the fact that none of the Atlantic were huge national hits, at least in Minneapolis-St. Paul, a number of tracks on the "Abandoned Luncheonette" received significant airplay on local FM station KQRS, resulting in the album being quite a big hit locally. This (and what other regional success the album achieved) was enough to push the album into the charts, reaching #33 and staying on the charts for 38 weeks.
The 1980s brought about significant 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. They also wished to capture the sound of New York City which by then, had become their home. As a result, instead of recording in Los Angeles, as they had done previously, they decided to record at Electric Lady Studios in New York, just five minutes away from their apartments, and began producing their own recordings with their touring band backing them in the studio. The first two singles from the album charted fairly well, with "How Does It Feel to Be Back" charting at Number 30. The well-received cover of The Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin" just missed the Top 10, peaking at Number 12, but spent 14 weeks in the Top 40. After the release of that song, Oates' 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. The other well-known song from Voices is the emotive ballad "Every time you go away", with powerful lead vocals by Hall, who wrote it. British singer Paul Young had a Billboard Number 1 hit with a cover of the song in 1985. 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 their Apollo Theater CD in 1985, and is frequently featured in their live set to this day. Hall & Oates were the greatest duo that ever lived. They change Rock & Roll forever.