Hall Oates booking

Category / genre: Rock

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Daryl Hall has had the great good fortune, in his own words, of “being in the right place at the right
time” for what has turned out a rich and varied career. He has worked with virtually all of the great
musicians of modern popular music as well as entering into new relationships with the best of the
latest generation of artists. Starting his career as a teenager on the streets of Philadelphia, he quickly
formed creative affiliations with such artists as Smokey Robinson, the Temptations and many other top
soul singers of the ‘60s. He began his recording career with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, working as
both an artist and session musician.
In 1972, he formed a partnership with childhood friend John Oates and embarked on a 30-odd year
creative journey. In addition to his work with Oates, he has made music as a solo artist, first recording
with Robert Fripp in the late ‘70s, producing the much-acclaimed Sacred Songs as well as working on
Fripp’s critically praised Exposure. From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, Daryl and John would score six
#1 singles, including “Rich Girl” (also #1 R&B), “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That
(No Can Do) (also #1 R&B), “Maneater” and “Out of Touch” from their six consecutive multi-platinum
albums—’76’s Bigger Than Both of Us, ’80’s Voices, ’81’s Private Eyes, ‘82’s H2O, ‘83’s Rock N Soul,
Part I and ‘84’s Big Bam Boom. The era would also produce an additional 5 Top 10 singles, “Sara
Smile,” “One on One,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Say It Isn’t So” and “Method of Modern Love.”
Daryl also wrote the H&O single “Everytime You Go Away,” which singer Paul Young scored a
number-one hit with a cover of the song in 1985. That same year, Daryl and John, participated in the
historic “We Are the World” session as well as closing the Live Aid show in Philadelphia. In 1986,
Daryl made an album with Dave Stewart, Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, which spawned
two top ten hits. By 1987, the R.I.A.A. recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the NUMBER-ONE
SELLING DUO in music history, a record they still hold today. Daryl has recorded such solo works as
Soul Alone in 1993 and Can’t Stop Dreaming in 2003, both of which were well received with
international critical acclaim.
In November of 2007 Daryl created his latest project: a monthly web series, Live from Daryl’s House
(http://www.livefromdarylshouse.com). The show recently won the 2010 WEBBY Award in the Variety
Category. Past episodes of Live from Daryl’s House have featured a mix of well-known performers like
Train, Rob Thomas, Smokey Robinson, The Doors’ Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, Nick Lowe,
K.T. Tunstall, Todd Rundgren, Gym Class Heroes’ Travis McCoy, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, Finger
Eleven’s James Black and Rick Jackett, the Bacon Brothers and country star Jimmy Wayne, along
with newcomers such as Philly soul singer Mutlu, Canadian techno-rockers Chromeo, pop-rock
phenom Eric Hutchinson, Cash Money rocker Kevin Rudolf, Wind-up Records’ Chicago rockers
Company of Thieves, Bay Area singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson, Charlottesville, VA’s rising
Parachute, Plain White T’s, Fitz and the Tantrums, Diane Birch and Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings.
Daryl started the free monthly web show in late 2007 after having the idea of “playing with my friends
and putting it up on the Internet,” and the show has since garnered acclaim from Rolling Stone, SPIN,
Daily Variety, CNN, BBC, Yahoo! Music and influential blogger Bob Lefsetz, who have cited Live From
Daryl’s House as a perfect example of a veteran artist reinventing himself in the digital age by
collaborating with both established colleagues and newer performers.
John Oates was destined to be a musician. Singing from the time he could talk and playing the guitar
since the age of five, his calling in life was never in question. Born in New York City, his family moved
to a small town outside of Philadelphia Pennsylvania in the early 50′s ….a move that would change the
course of his life. Like most kids at that time, the impact of the early days of rock left an lasting
impression on John. At the age of four he witnessed his first live concert: Bill Haley and the Comets
playing their classic rockabilly hits at a local amusement park. Then there were the records…He began to collect 45 rpm singles …treasures from Little Richard, Chuck Berry, the Everly Brothers,
Gary U.S. Bonds and of course, Elvis. He spent countless hours twisting the dial on his AM transistor
radio trying to tune in the local R&B stations and listening to DJs like Jerry Blavat spinning obscure
Doo Wop records and B sides.
When it came to influences John was open to more than just the top 40 hits…his friends’ older brother
turned him on to the nascent folk music scene that began to sweep the country in the early 60′s.
John’s interest in traditional American music began and he immersed himself in the Child’s Ballads,
Joan Baez, Rev. Gary Davis, Dave Von Ronk and all the rediscovered bluesmen who began to make
appearances at the Newport and Philadelphia folk festivals. Absorbing it all developed a kind of
musical split personality. One night he might be wearing a shark skin suit playing everything from Doo
Wop covers to the big R&B hits of the day with his band and the next night he would be playing his
acoustic guitar in a local coffee house singing Appalachian folk ballads…to this day the very same
roots and influences still can be heard in John’s original playing and singing style. In the late 60′s John
moved to Philadelphia to attend Temple University and check out the city’s music scene. In 1966 he
wrote and recorded his first single “I Need Your Love” which was released on the label owned by a
local music store called the Record Museum. The song was arranged by Bobby Martin who at the time
was producing and arranging for Gamble and Huff. The single received airplay on Philly’s R&B radio
stations and John began to divide his time between being a student and a professional musician.
Around the same time he met an influential guitar player/ teacher named Jerry Ricks who had spent
time on the road with Mississippi John Hurt and Son House. Jerry took John under his wing and
introduced him to many of the newly rediscover folk performers, such as Doc Watson, Sonny Terry
and Brownie McGee and Mississippi John for whom Philadelphia’s folk venues, like the Second Fret
and Main Point, were frequent stops in their concert schedules. John had the unique opportunity to
play alongside some of these seminal musicians learning first hand, their finger picking and flat picking
styles. When John first met Daryl Hall it was their mutual love for urban rhythm and blues blended with
the more rural roots of American music that created their unique sound. Since the formation of their
partnership in the early 70′s Hall & Oates have gone on to record 21 albums which have sold over 80
million units making them the most successful duo in rock history. They have scored 10 number one
records, over 20 top 40 hits and have toured the world for decades. Their involvement in the original
“Live Aid” concert and the ground breaking “We Are The World” charity recording have further
established them as legendary artists who have personally and through their music, stood the test of
time. Their influence on modern pop music has been cited by numerous contemporary bands, like the
Gym Class Heroes and the Killers, who have credited and acknowledged H&O’s considerable
contribution to American music. In addition to their numerous American Music and MTV awards, in
2005 they were inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame and in May of 2008 will be
presented the prestigious BMI Icon Award for their outstanding career achievement in song writing.
John has recently been invited to become a member of the board of directors for the R&B Foundation
and continues to support many national and local charities. He has just finished recording his third solo
album entitled: ” Mississippi Mile ” in Nashville featuring an amazing collection of some of the world’s
top musicians. Last year, in association with the Historic Wheeler Opera Houes in Aspen Colorado,
John created a singer/songwriter series entitled: The Stories Behind the Songs”. Performing with Patty
Griffin, Tift Merritt, Jimmy Wayne and other well known songwriters in an acoustic setting. The series
was such an overwhelming success that it will be expanded into an annual event to be called:
This will take place September 16 thought 19 in Aspen Colorado with a line up of some of the
country’s best writers and performers. When, not touring with his solo show or Hall & Oates, he
resides with his wife and son in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado on their ranch along with 3 dogs, a
flock of Emus, Llamas and Alpacas. In his free time he enjoys driving his tractor, riding his mountain
bike, hiking the backcountry and telemark skiing.