Daryl Hall

Daryl Hall (born Daryl Franklin Hohl on October 11, 1949, Pottstown, Pennsylvania) is half of the music duo Hall & Oates.

The late 1970s

First hits (1975-1977)

Hall & Oates left Atlantic after the release of War Babies to join RCA. Their first album for the new label, Daryl Hall & John Oates, was their first legitimate success. It contained the ballad "Sara Smile," a song Daryl wrote for his girlfriend Sara Allen, and featured an album cover in which the two are overly made-up to the point where they looked like women. Hall would later say in an interview for VH1 Behind the Music that he looked like "the girl I always wanted to go out with" on that album cover. "Sara Smile" became their first top-ten hit, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in June 1976. "She's Gone," re-released by Atlantic after "Sara Smile" went to the top ten, reached number seven in October 1976. Hall & Oates followed those hits with the more pop-oriented Bigger Than the Both of Us LP later that year. Though the first single from the album - "Do What You Want, Be What You Are" - barely made the top 40, the second single was a smash. The song ("Rich Girl"), was Hall & Oates' first number one hit, reaching the pinnacle on March 26, 1977. To this day, "Sara Smile," "She's Gone," and "Rich Girl" are considered some of Hall & Oates' best material.

Related Topics:
RCA - Daryl Hall & John Oates - VH1 - Behind the Music - Billboard Hot 100 - 1976 - Bigger Than the Both of Us - March 26 - 1977

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Leaner Years and "Sacred Songs" (1978-1980)

After this small run of hits, Hall & Oates encountered something of a dry spell. Despite touring constantly and recording albums with efficiency, the duo could not find any pop success for a number of reasons. First, as Oates would later say, they were "in a learning process in the '70s." The two were still fine-tuning their soul-rock style. Also, the musical climate at the time was not very receptive to their sound. By the time they released rock-oriented Along the Red Ledge (an album that is generally well-received today) in 1978, America was moving its collective body on the dance floors at the discos. Artists like The Bee Gees and Donna Summer were dominating the pop music charts. Hall & Oates tried to jump on the disco bandwagon with the release of X-Static in late 1979, but by then dance music was out of favor, and that album didn't fare well at all. They did record some good songs during this time period, like "Back Together Again," "It's a Laugh," and "Wait for Me," but the best from Hall & Oates was still ahead. Also during this time period, RCA attempted to push Daryl Hall to the front with his first solo effort, Sacred Songs. However, after presented with Sacred Songs, RCA became unwilling to publish the record. Instead, it was produced by Robert Fripp and finally released in 1980.

Related Topics:
Hall & Oates - Along the Red Ledge - 1978 - The Bee Gees - Donna Summer - X-Static - Sacred Songs - Robert Fripp

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