Hall & Oates are officially āOut of Touch.ā
John Oates, half of the legendary duo responsible for hits including āYou Make My Dreams Come Trueā and āRich Girl,ā has spoken publicly for the first time regarding the pairās recent legal disputes.
The two havenāt worked together creatively in almost 20 years: Their last full studio album together was 2003ās āDo It for Love,ā followed by a 2006 Christmas album that contained only two original songs. Their legal troubles began in November 2023 when Hall filed suit against Oates over the latterās plan to sell his share of their company Whole Oats Enterprises. Hall argued that the sale would violate their business agreement, and he also requested a restraining order against Oates.
Oates said he was just frustrated by what he characterized as the companyās complex legal issues and found the company wasnāt making him happy, so he decided to bow out.
āI said, āYou know what? Daryl has always wanted to be his own man. Iām gonna give him the opportunity to do that. If I sell my half, he can do what he wants,āā Oates said Friday on āGood Morning America.ā
Oates didnāt seem to expect Hall to react negatively. In court documents, Hallās lawyers described him as āblindsidedā by the decision and characterized the move as the āultimate partnership betrayal.ā
āI mean, you look at all the artists who are selling all their catalogs. ā¦ Itās not that big a deal,ā Oates said. āBut Daryl didnāt like the idea that I would sell to a certain third party,ā whom Oates did not name.
Just as in other superstar groups split over creative or personal differences, neither star could attest to a perfect partnership.
āItās very annoying to be a duo. People always say, āOh, youāre the tall one, youāre the short one. Youāre the one that sings, youāre the one that doesnāt sing,ā Hall told The Times in 2022. āYouāre always compared to the other person. It works with comedy entities, like Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello, but with music, itās fā up, actually.ā
Both men have gone on to find success on their own, with Hall releasing multiple albums and the hit song āPhilly Mood.ā Oates released a new solo album this year, titled āReunion,ā which was inspired by the blues and folk music he was interested in before he met Hall.
Oates declared in his interview with āGMAā that despite their disagreements, he still loves Hall ālike a brother.ā
āBrothers have disagreements, families grow apart,ā he said. āI wish him the best. I hope that he has everything he wants in life, and that he can pursue his dream of being a respected solo artist, which I believe is something that heās always wanted.ā