The week of January 7, 1984, saw Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Say Say Say,’ the pair’s second hit collaboration (following ‘The Girl is Mine’).
In second place is another “say” song by another duo: ‘Say It Isn’t So’ by Daryl Hall and John Oates. This song was the first single (and one of two new songs) on a greatest hits compilation released in October of 1993. It peaked at #2 for four weeks, kept from the top spot by McCartney and Jackson.
Our next inductee from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2014 class is Hall & Oates, or as the pair insists they be called, Daryl Hall & John Oates.
Hall & Oates were first eligible for the Hall in 1998, and went un-nominated until their 2014 inclusion. That’s a pretty long wait for an act as successful as this duo. They released eight Platinum and six Gold albums, and had six singles reach #1. An additional ten singles made it to the Top Ten.
Hall & Oates is another band that has eluded me over the years. I’m certainly familiar with their biggest hits — ‘Sara Smile,’ ‘I Can’t Go For That,’ ‘Kiss On My List,’ ‘Private Eyes’ — but I’ve never owned an album of theirs nor could I tell you much about them.
My most significant exposure to Daryl Hall, in fact, came through his duet with Elvis Costello on the latter’s ‘Only Flame in Town.’
Hall & Oates’ music is often described as blue-eyed soul or white soul, two labels I find hilarious. Does that make Darius Rucker black country?
Meet Me In Montauk 