For more than 40 years, Daryl Hall and John Oates have endured as one of the music world's most popular acts. In fact, Hall and Oates are the No. 1 selling duo in history thanks to timeless hits like "Rich Girl, "Kiss on My List," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," "She's Gone," "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and "Out of Touch."
Fans of the group will get to see Hall and Oates perform those key tracks and many more this Thursday, Feb. 19, when "Daryl Hall & John Oates: Recorded Live From Dublin" will be shown in movie theaters nationwide. (For a complete list of theater locations visit the Fathom Events website.)
"When I found out that we were playing in Dublin – I had played in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin back in the '90s as a Daryl Hall show and not with John – my memory of that place was that it was an outrageous concert," Hall recalls. "There's something about the crowd, about the room, that was, at that time, very magical to me and really special. When I found out that we were playing there, and that Hall and Oates had never played in Ireland ever, which is kind of strange but true, I suggested that we record and do something with it, you know, record the performance."
It's a big week for the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with an interview and acoustic set on the "Howard Stern Show" Wednesday, an appearance on "The View" on Thursday and a Sunday, Feb. 22 performance at the White House for the 2015 Governors' Ball.
The duo spoke candidly about the concert film, the changing dynamics of their musical partnership – the duo no longer records together – and why their songs have held up despite the myriad changes within the music industry and pop culture at large in the decades since they first got together.
Did the Dublin concert film start out as something that you saw as being a theatrical release type thing? How did the project come together and what was the intent?
Daryl Hall: The company Eagle Rock, who I've worked with before, we got [involved] and we decided we were going to film the project, without any idea that what was going to happen happened. After we did it, it exceeded my expectations. It was just an outrageously good night. Not only was the band really on, but the crowd was just crazy. The company called Fathom, who puts these things [out] for theatrical release, saw this performance, and they came to us and said, "We'd like to put this in theaters, if you're into it."
That's really how it happened, very step by step. I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a special night, and that's what it turned out to be.
You and John don't really record anymore so how do you guys view and treat the partnership?
DH: John and I started as friends back when we were teenagers, and I think that that friendship, because it was that before it was a musical or creative or business partnership, has sustained us. We're friends. We're friends first, partners second. We did all that work together, over that period of time, through the '70s and the '80s, and into the '90s, and even more recently, really.
We have this body of work that we really enjoy playing. It's hundreds of songs, and that, you know, we like doing it. I guess that's the bottom line answer: we like playing together. We like having a band together. We like playing our songs that we've created together. Even though we're not doing anything currently together as far as [writing] music, what we've done in the past is certainly enough to sustain us.
Does the relationship with the songs and the music change over the years? Do the songs feel different to you now than they did in '75, '85, '95 or whenever you wrote them?
DH: Well, some of these songs were written when I was 21 years old. Twenty years old. Twenty-two. My life has changed. What was real has become ironic, and what was ironic has become real. You know, all these kinds of things. Life changes the perception of the songs. What surprises me is how a lot of these songs that I wrote when I was a kid seem to have come true in my later life. That constantly surprises me.
What was it like to go back and listen to this live recording when you were preparing it for release? Was there anything that surprised you about your own performance or about the audience's reaction?
JO: I was surprised and not surprised by the audience's reaction. The only reason I would say I was surprised is I had never played that particular venue. We'd never played in Ireland. I did a songwriters festival in Ireland a few years back but never played with Daryl. I knew that it was going to be an exciting night, having never played there. The venue was so cool and legendary. It had so much history. All the ingredients were in place for a great night and a great performance. Certainly, I think we captured it. The band was on fire and the crowd was into it.
You put all those ingredients together and you get something very special. I'm so glad we committed to filming this particular show. When you put your eggs in one basket and you say, OK, this is the night we're going to film this concert. Let's hope it's a good one. Here again, all the stars aligned for that.
We've seen so many changes within the music industry over the years. Probably one of the biggest ones is seeing the uprise of social media. Of these changes, which one has probably had the biggest effect on you personally?
JO: Well, just musicians' ability to basically make a living from their creative skills. I'm a professional musician. I've been a professional musician for a long, long time. I believe that creativity has value and copyrights have value. I don't believe it should be free. In that regard, I wish there was better ways of selling our music.
Unfortunately, I think the establishment, the music business establishment, the old guard, blew it when the digital revolution began and didn't see the writing on the wall. Unfortunate for a whole generation of musicians to come. Not so bad for me and Daryl because we already have a fan base and we have a legacy. I work with a lot of younger musicians and I feel their pain. I see how difficult it is for them to break through. It's a very complicated subject.
You perform with some of the biggest names in music. Who would you like to perform with, if given the chance, or who would you like to have performed with who's no longer with us?
JO: Curtis Mayfield and Doc Watson. Doc Watson died a few years ago, two years ago, I believe. Two and a half. Curtis Mayfield died, I guess, about 10 years ago or more. They were two of my heroes and people I patterned myself after, in terms of guitar playing and singing.
Can you talk a little bit about the evolution of Hall and Oates into a performing entity, from a recording to whatever degree writing entity?
JO: We began to play live from the moment we got together. In fact, that's what we did. In fact, that's how we got together. We got together as a reaction to what we were doing with other people.
Daryl was doing studio work in Philly and he had made some recordings with some people and he wasn't satisfied or happy with that situation. I was playing in some blues bands and playing folk clubs and things like that. We got together almost as a reaction to all that, and we said, "Let's just go play our individual songs together. You play a song. I'll back you on guitar and I'll play a song and you'll back me on piano or mandolin or whatever."
We started playing coffeehouses and art galleries in South Philadelphia. That's how we started our reputation. Really, we were a live group from the very beginning. We never were anything but a live group, and to this day, we still are. Our recordings came, actually, after that. We started live so it was actually kind of backwards from what you initially said. Like I said, I think one of the reasons we're still around is because we never stopped playing live ever.
Was there a particular point in time that music began to speak to you?
JO: From birth. Really, honestly. I started singing when I was a little kid. I have a recording of me singing "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" when I was 2 years old at Coney Island Amusement Park in New York. Then I have another recording of me at the same amusement park when I was about 8 or 9, singing "All Shook Up." I've been playing guitar since, I think, 6 years old. It's just been part of my DNA, I guess.
This interview was edited for grammar and length.
