Begun, the Yacht Rock War Has: Hall Has Taken Out a Restraining Order on Oates
At Thanksgiving, as families and old friends get together, it's incumbent upon all of us to be patient and kind toward one another. To keep in mind that when you haven't seen someone in a while, it's hard to understand what they've been going through. And to the extent you can, practice empathy, regardless of your differing world view.
Well that is going to be especially important tomorrow. As the Boomers you'll be breaking bread with will be dealing with the shocking and terrible news that our favorite Yacht Rock duo for almost 50 years are not at all what we thought they were:
Source - Hall & Oates are embroiled in a confidential legal battle that has led to Daryl Hall getting a restraining order against his former music partner John Oates. ...
Hall filed an undisclosed complaint against Oates on Nov. 16, as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order, as reported by Philadelphia magazine. The following day, the court officially issued a temporary restraining order to begin Nov. 30. ...
As TMZ points out, Hall disparaged Oates on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast last year, saying, “You think John Oates is my partner? … He’s my business partner. He’s not my creative partner.”
He went on, “John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We are business partners. We made records called Hall & Oates together, but we’ve always been very separate, and that’s a really important thing for me.”
Hall then went on to diminish the collaborative aspect of Hall & Oates, using the duo’s 1980 No. 1 hit “Kiss on My List” as an example of their apparent creative separation. “I did all those [harmonies],” Hall said. “That’s all me.” Oates is not credited as a songwriter on “Kiss on My List,” but is listed as a co-produced with Hall. ...
The pop-R&B duo boasts six No. 1 singles, including “Maneater,” “Rich Girl” and “Out of Touch.” Hall & Oates toured together as recently as October 2022 ... but the duo has never officially split up.
If somehow you've been able to survive on this planet long enough to see 2023 but are not familiar with Hall & Oates' body of work, I pity you. But I also blame you. All the information in recorded history is available on a rectangle in your pocket. By now you should have acquainted yourself with the art form that is Blue-eyed soul, which was perfected by these two creative geniuses:
Wikipedia - Blue-eyed soul (also called white soul) is rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music performed by white artists.[2] The derogatory term was coined in the mid-1960s. …
Hall & Oates' 1975 Daryl Hall & John Oates includes the ballad "Sara Smile", long considered a blue-eyed soul standard. "She's Gone", another soulful hit, was originally released in 1973 but did better as a re-release after "Sara Smile". …
Blue-eyed soul music's chart success was at its highest when Hall and Oates' singles got heavy airplay on urban contemporary radio, as was the case with "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Kiss on My List", "One on One", "Say It Isn't So", "Adult Education", "Out of Touch", "Method of Modern Love", and "Everytime You Go Away". Most of those singles charted on the R&B and dance charts, including some number-one hits.
Possibly no other artist since Mozart has dominated a musical category so much and for so long as this duo has the smooth melodies and soulful harmonies of this catchy, safe, inoffensive genre and its non-threatening appeal to suburban white folk. And in the even more specific subgenre of Yacht Rock, no one besides probably Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald stand above them on the food chain.
Now we find out it's all just been a sham. Or became a sham over the decades, the number one hits, and the sold out concert tours. I mean, I get it. They are not the first legendary collaborators to ever have a falling out. The entertainment and sports worlds are filled with duos who reached the heights of success, only to fall victim to conflict and resentment. Back your grandparents' day, it was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Later it was Simon and Garfunkel. Shaq and Kobe. Even Brady and Belichick.
But after a half a century, Hall & Oates had me convinced they really could go for that. That they'd always be one-on-one. Never be out of touch or go away. And like your Boomer relations this Thanksgiving, I many never be able to hear their unique blend of bittersweet ballads and irresistibly upbeat love songs the same way again.
And while we're feeling sorry for the victims in all this, remember to say a prayer for Oates. Once again he's getting the short end of the stick: