Two Forgotten Friday Favorites: Hall and Oates

Photo copyright Billboard.com

I long for the day when the man of my dreams puts his arm around me and says, "Pamela, me without you is like Hall without Oates." I think that would be the ultimate declaration of love, because there weren't many musical acts that I adored more during the 80s than Hall and Oates. I loved them so much I endured my older sisters' teasing me and constant cracks about them being an ambiguously gay duo. I didn't care. I still don't care. I still love these guys and their music. Daryl Hall and John Oates have known each other since high school when they hid out together in an elevator while a fight erupted at their school. Let us give thanks now to whoever started that fight! Thanks to them we may have never have known the songs Private Eyes, Maneater, Kiss On My List, You Make My Dreams Come True, Sara Smile, She's Gone, Out of Touch, One on One, Say It Isn't So, Adult Education, etc.

I could go on and on, but I've always kind of liked the hits found on the album Big Bam Boom, which was their last successful LP before they split for a few years. One of my favorite tracks from it is Possession Obsession, which should have climbed higher on the charts than it did. It was one of the rare hits where Oates was given the spotlight and sang lead and Hall was regulated to background vocals. Beautiful sound and the message is more important than ever today: 

Another forgotten favorite was Method of Modern Love, which I believe Hall cowrote with his long-time girlfriend Sara Allen (the same Sara that Sara Smile was written for...oh, how jealous I was at the time!) Needless to say the music video probably didn't help quell the gay rumors but it was the 80s after all. Happy Friday, everyone!