Hall & Oates

An AM-radio act in an FM/MTV world, Daryl Hall & John Oates were among the last of the good old-fashioned hit-singles machines. Dabbling in many sounds but always returning to the homebase of Philadelphia soul, Hall & Oates fought a two-man crusade to keep that sound alive. Or, in all honesty, a one-and-a-half man crusade: Unlike most soul duos, Hall & Oates seldom harmonized. Main singer/songwriter Hall did the lion’s share of the heavy work, while Oates contributed only rhythm guitar, back-up vocals and a couple of tunes per album.

The duo spent most of the ’70s casting around stylistically, trying acoustic rock (1972’s Whole Oats), art-rock (1974’s Todd Rundgren-produced War Babies), hard guitar rock (1978’s Along The Red Ledge) and synthesizer new wave (1979’s X-Static). But the hit singles–“Sara Smile,” “She’s Gone,” “Rich Girl”–only seemed to come when they went back to Philly soul. They took the hint and committed to it full-time on 1980’s Voices, where they also took over as their own producers and assembled a regular band (led by guitarist G.E. Smith, later of Saturday Night Live infamy). There followed a string of high-quality albums, each with at least two major hits: 1981’s Private Eyes, including the title track and “I Can’t Go For That,” was the best of a good lot.

Bringing their career full circle, their 1985 live album and that year’s Live Aid appearance found them turning the spotlight over to longtime heroes, original Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks. After taking a two-year break, disbanding the group and switching record labels, H&O’s career took a surprisingly quick nosedive. The decent if low-key Ooh Yeah! (1988) was a commercial disappointment; its follow-up, Change Of Season (with an ill-advised Bon Jovi collaboration) disappeared altogether. Proving that Oates must have been doing something right, Hall’s solo career has so far lacked the old magic. The duo quietly began doing oldies-based reunion shows in 1996.