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Gillian G Gaar
courtesy of u-watch/dke records/by eliot lewis
In April 1984, the Recording Industry Association Of America named Hall & Oates as the most successful duo in rock history. At that point, Daryl Hall and John Oates were in the middle of a heady run of commercial success; their last four albums had all hit the Top 10, along with 11 Top 10 single hits, five of them reaching #1. It was an accomplishment more than a decade in the making -- the duo had released their major-label debut in 1972 -- but one that didn't necessarily win them critical acclaim. Hall & Oates' hit-making period generated not only sales, but also criticism from those who lumped them in with the manufactured '80s pop popularized on MTV.
"There was a lot of criticism of us in the '80s, that we were this premeditated hit machine and all," agreed Oates, "and it couldn't be further from the truth. We never had a plan for anything. We just took things as they came. But we did have a long-term view of our lives and our career; we never looked at ourselves like we were just going to be this one-hit wonder and then disappear. It just worked out that we kept our nose to the grindstone, kept making records, kept staying creative, and we're still around." Indeed, through their ups and downs, Hall & Oates have maintained a creative relationship for nearly 40 years.
Daryl Hall was born in 1949 in Pottstown, Pa., later moving to Philadelphia. "I've been making music since I was born, basically," he said. "My mother was in a band and the choir director of the local church, and my father was in a singing group. I'd go on the road with my mother, and every once in a while they'd drag me and my sister up on stage, so I got used to being on stage very early."
By his early teens, Hall had formed his first group, doing what he calls "doo-wop, street corner music." By 17, he was working with producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell, as well as other leading figures of the Philadelphia...