Daryl Hall and John Oates are an American music duo from Philadelphia, consisting of Daryl Franklin Hohl (born October 11, 1946), also known as Daryl Hall, and John William Oates (born April 7, 1948). They're commonly referred to as "Hall & Oates", but neither of them ever liked that moniker and are adamant on the full name, which may be written with an "and", an ampersand, or even neither at all.
Active since the 1970s, they are known for their unique brand of music, a mixture of Rock and R&B, with hits like "Sara Smile", "Private Eyes", "Out of Touch", "Kiss on My List", "Maneater", "One on One", and their cover of "Family Man". With over 40 million records sold, they are the most popular music duo in history.
Studio discography:
Daryl Hall & John Oates
- Whole Oats (1972)
- Abandoned Luncheonette (1973)
- War Babies (1974)
- Daryl Hall & John Oates (1975)
- Bigger Than Both of Us (1976)
- Beauty on a Back Street (1977)
- Along the Red Ledge (1978)
- X-Static (1979)
- Voices (1980)
- Private Eyes (1981)
- H2O (1982)
- Big Bam Boom (1984)
- Ooh Yeah! (1988)
- Change of Season (1990)
- Marigold Sky (1997)
- Do It for Love (2003)
- Our Kind of Soul (2004)
- Home for Christmas (2006)
Daryl Hall solo
- Sacred Songs (1980)
- Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine (1986)
- Soul Alone (1993)
- Can't Stop Dreaming (1996)
- Laughing Down Crying (2011)
John Oates solo
- Phunk Shui (2003)
- Solo: The Album/The Concert (2006)
- 1000 Miles of Life (2008)
- Mississippi Mile (2011)
- The Bluesville Sessions (2012)
- Stand Strong (2014)
- Good Road to Follow (2014)
- Arkansas (with The Good Road Band; 2017)
Tropes related to their works:
- Big Guy, Little Guy: Hall is the big guy at 6'1" (185 cm), while Oates is the little guy at 5'4" (162 cm).
- The Big Rotten Apple: According to Oates, "Maneater" is a metaphor for this; see Femme Fatale.
- Call-Back: "Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)" includes a brief reference to "Rich Girl" (with the band mimicking "Rich Girl"'s backing vocals); this was a reference to a real-life serial killer who claimed that the song "Rich Girl" influenced his actions.
- Christmas Songs: They released the album Home for Christmas in 2006, mixing originals, traditional carols, classic Christmas pop, and some relatively modern songs (like The Band's "Christmas Must Be Tonight").
- Cover Version: Largely averted in the first half of their career, as they only very rarely did songs not written by either man. The big exceptions were "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", which was a nod to their obvious Blue-Eyed Soul predecessors The Righteous Brothers, and "Family Man" by Mike Oldfield. Both covers were released as singles and became big hits. In their later career they recorded lots of covers and songs by outside writers.
- Epic Rocking: The full version of "She's Gone" on Abandoned Luncheonette runs past five minutes, and after that their albums typically included a really long song or two.
- Femme Fatale: The subject of "Maneater"... at least on the surface. According to Oates, the song is actually "about NYC in the '80s. It's about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches."
- Full-Name Basis: Their official credit is "Daryl Hall & John Oates". If the packaging says "Hall & Oates" (usually on budget live albums), you can be sure they didn't approve it.
- Greatest Hits Album: Rock 'N Soul Part 1; The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates; Ultimate Daryl Hall + John Oates.
- Hair-Contrast Duo: A Real Life example. Hall is a blond, Oates is a brunette.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: They've been recording music together since 1970, meaning they've known each other longer than all of both their marriages/romantic relationships put together. As of late 2023 it's now cruelly subverted, becoming more of a case of Vitriolic Best Buds and sadly at worst We Used to Be Friends on Daryl Hall's part towards John Oates.
- Insistent Terminology: They are "Daryl Hall & John Oates", not just "Hall & Oates".
- Lyrical Cold Open: "Rich Girl" starts off with an a cappella "You're a rich girl" before adding in the keyboard and some drum beats, and the full band doesn't kick in until a few lines later.
- Music Is Politics: "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", according to Oates, "is about the music business. That song is really about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively."
- One-Woman Song: "Sara Smile".
- Propeller Hat of Whimsy: In the "Jingle Bell Rock" video, their drummer is dressed as a goofy kid with a propeller hat and is one of the visitors to Daryl and John's house (along with the rest of the band, also dressed like various family members). His propeller evens spins when he opens his Christmas present, which is naturally a toy drum.
- Punny Title: Their debut album, Whole Oats. Daryl Hall's legal name is Daryl Hohl, so it represents a misspelling of both of their names.
- Rich Bitch: The subject of "Rich Girl", with the closing line being "You're a rich rich bitch, yeah."
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: "Rich Girl" does whatever she wants because she knows her rich dad will cover for her.
- Serial Killer: "Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)" is from the point of view of one of these, who feels the urge to kill after listening to doo-wop music.
