Daryl Hall launches mysterious lawsuit against John Oates

Article content

Darryl Hall and John Oates are “out of touch” as news has emerged that the former is suing his musical partner of over five decades claiming some form of breach of contract, TMZ reports.

Article content

And Hall, 77, obtained a restraining order against Oates, 75, last Friday, TMZ adds.

Article content

Details behind the suit are shrouded in mystery, but TMZ speculates that the legal battle involves “a dispute over division of royalties, or it could be related to Oates singing the duo’s songs in his solo shows.”

On social media, fans of the group reacted to the surprise news with sadness, with one person jokingly claiming that the dissolution means that WWIII isn’t far off.

Article content

“Daryl Hall is suing John Oates. The documents are sealed so we don’t know why yet. But I’m suddenly depressed,” one person wrote.

“That’s sad,” another added. “It’s always been a dream of mine to see them in concert, but I guess that’s never gonna happen.”

Since the early ’70s, the duo, who met in an elevator in 1967, has landed six No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including Kiss on My List and I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do). They also notched six platinum albums and a number of Top 10 singles like Sara Smile and She’s Gone.

Article content

Article content

“They’re well-crafted pop songs. They seem to have a connection that is not tied to a period of time. You know, they don’t sound old and nostalgic,” Oates said of the timelessness of their tunes in a 2021 interview with the Associated Press. “They seem to evoke the same response in young kids today as they did when they were new back in the ‘70s and ’80s.”

Hall told the Toronto Sun in a 2018 interview that the two enjoyed their decades-long partnership because they managed to find new ways to approach their older songs. “I do it ’cause I like it and I have something to say and a bird’s gotta sing. And every time I do it, it’s a little bit different. It keeps it fresh. It keeps me happy. And that’s what I’m all about,” he said.

But last year, Hall told comedian Bill Maher that the pair, who recorded 18 albums together, weren’t close offstage with one another.

“I don’t have a partner. You say, John Oates is my partner?” Hall said. “John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We are business partners. We did a lot of stuff. We made records called ‘Hall & Oates’ together, but we’ve always been very separate, and it’s a really important thing for me.”

Article content

Later in the interview, Hall stressed their relationship wasn’t “acrimonious.”

“We are not acrimonious in any way,” he said. “We’re friends. We just have different directions and have had since about 1975.”

In a separate interview with Classic Pop magazine that same year, Hall went a step further calling himself a solo artist.

“John and I decided when we first came together as kids that we were both going to share the stage. And that’s really the way that both of us have treated our careers. I’ve worked with John and I’m proud of all those songs that I’ve written for Hall & Oates… But I’m also very proud of all the other work that I’ve done,” he said.

News of the lawsuit comes after the Toronto Maple Leafs swapped out You Make My Dreams Come True as its goal song this season.

[email protected]

X: @markhdaniell

Article content