Celebration Seniors - Daryl Hall Turns 70

Celebrating the songs and story of Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates): She’s Gone, Rich Girl, Kiss on My List, Private Eyes, Did It In A Minute, One on One, Say It Isn’t So, Method of Modern Love, Everything Your Heart Desires, So Close.

 (Daryl Hall 2012 Photo: Matthew Becker, Weatherman90 at English Wikipedia)

American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, musician, baby boomer, and new septuagenarian senior citizen Daryl Hall was born Daryl Hohl on October 11, 1945 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. From a musical family and with instruction from his vocal coach mother, Daryl Hohl was already recording music as a high school student. 

After graduating Owen J. Roberts High School in 1965, Daryl majored in music at Philadelphia’s Temple University and worked as a session musician, and met and recorded with professional artists. He formed The Temptones (a vocal harmony group) in his first semester at Temple, and they had some local success and cut some singles. 

In 1967/68 while Daryl and The Temptones were waiting backstage to perform at a dance, he met a younger fellow Temple undergrad John Oates, who was with his group (the Masters). They said in interviews that they first met introduced themselves after someone was shot on the dance floor and they both ran outside.

Daryl and John shared apartments while attending Temple University and began collaborating musically, playing in bands together until John Oates transferred to a different school and Daryl dropped out of University in 1968/69.

Both Hall and Oates continued playing music and recording with different groups. Daryl Hohl converted to Judaism in order to marry Bryna Lublin when they eloped in 1969; and John Oates went on an extended trip to Europe after graduating from Temple University. In 1970 Hohl and Oates reconnected and formed a duo. 

By the end of 1972, Daryl and Bryna were divorced and he had changed his last name to Hohl; Daryl Hall and John Oates had signed their first record contract, and the duo opened for David Bowie on his American Ziggy Stardust Tour.

Hall had also met songwriter Sara Allen, and a professional and personal romantic relationship that was to last almost 30 years began. Daryl Hall and John Oates first Top Ten hit song Sara Smile (1976), a Billboard #4 Hot 100 chart single written by Daryl Hall and John Oates, was about Sara Allen.

The single She’s Gone (1974) was also written by Daryl Hall and John Oates, and was inspired by the end of Hall’s relationship with wife Bryna Lublin, and a girlfriend that had stood Oates up. She’s Gone was first released in 1973 and made it to #60, but when re-released in 1976 it went to #7 for Daryl Hall and John Oates.

Below, Daryl Hall and John Oates sing their hit single She’s Gone live in concert.

Hall and Oates 5th album Bigger Than Both of Us (1976) contained their first #1 hit single, Rich Girl (1977), written Daryl Hall. Hall has said that the song was about a wealthy ex-boyfriend of Halls girlfriend Sara Allen, but he changed the lyric to girl. Below, a vintage live performance of Daryl Hall and John Oates singing their #1 hit single Rich Girl.

Hall and Oates continued to record and perform as a duo, but Daryl Hall also pursued his solo interests. Hall’s debut solo album Sacred Songs (1980) received critical acclaim. 

Thanks to their baby boomer fans, Daryl Hall and John Oates scored their second #1 hit single with a song from their album Voices (1980). Kiss on My List (1981) was written by Daryl Hall and Janna Allen.

Janna Allen is the sister of Daryl Hall’s girlfriend Sara Allen, and Kiss on My List was originally written for Janna to record and launch her singing career. Hall’s demo of the song for Janna was discovered by his manager, who insisted that Daryl Hall and John Oates record Kiss on My List for themselves. Below, Daryl Hall and John Oates sing Kiss on My List.

Also on the Voices album was the #5 hit single You Make My Dreams (1981), written by Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Sara Allen; and a Top 12 cover of You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (1980), first recorded by the Righteous Brothers (Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield) in 1964. 

Their next album Private Eyes (1981) firmly cemented Hall and Oates on the pop charts, yielding three Top Ten hit singles and their third #1 hit single with the title track, Private Eyes (1981). Written by Daryl Hall, Sara Allen, Janna Allen, and Warren Pash, Private Eyes was a favorite song with baby boomers. Below, Daryl Hall & John Oates – complete with their ’80’s hairdo’s – in the music video for Private Eyes. 

Also on the Private Eyes album was the #1 hit single I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (1981) written by Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Sara Allen; and the #9 hit Did It In A Minute (1982) #9 Daryl Hall, Sara Allen, Janna Allen.

In the live music concert video performance of Did It In A Minute below by Daryl Hall and John Oates, baby boomers and seniors may recognize their lead guitarist from 1979-1985, G.E. Smith. A talented musician, G.E. Smith was briefly married to Gilda Radner (1980-1982), toured with Bob Dylan and Roger Waters, and when Hall and Oates took a break from live performances, became the musical director and lead guitarist on Saturday Night Live for 10 years (1985-1995).

Daryl Hall’s one-night-stand after a concert with fan Andrea Zablonski in 1983 resulted in the birth of his son Darren Hall. Today a struggling musician himself, Darren has said that his father had no contact with him while he was growing up, and paid minimal child support. Darren first met his father when he was 18, but knew who he was when he heard his music on the radio or saw him on television. Although Hall and his son had some contact for a time, eventually they became estranged again.  

Daryl Hall and John Oates album H₂O (1982) was 2x multi-platinum and contained the #1 hit single Maneater (1982), written by Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Sara Allen. On the same album was a #7 hit song written by Daryl Hall, One on One (1983). Below, Daryl Hall and John Oates perform One on One. 

The single Adult Education (1984) written by Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Sara Allen, was a #8 hit single and was on the Daryl Hall and John Oates greatest hits album Rock ‘n’ Soul: Part 1 (1983). Also on the Rock ‘n’ Soul: Part 1 album was Say It Isn’t So (1983), written by Daryl Hall. Say It Isn’t So became a #2 hit single for Hall & Oates. Below, a vintage Daryl Hall & John Oates music video for Say It Isn’t So, circa 1983. 

That same year, Daryl Hall also co-wrote and produced Diana Ross’s hit single Swept Away (1984) with Arthur Baker; and co-wrote with John Oates the #1 hit single for Daryl Hall and John Oates, Out of Touch (1984), from their Big Bam Boom (1984) album.

The song Method of Modern Love (1985) written by Daryl Hall and Janna Allen, was a #5 hit for Hall & Oates. Below, almost 30 years later, an older Daryl Hall sings his hit single Method of Modern Love with John Oates.

Despite their long relationships with women, according to People in 1985, rumors persisted for years that the Hall & Oates professional duo was gay, although they said “We’re more like brothers than friends.”  

As a solo artist, Daryl Hall recorded and released his debut and biggest hit single Dreamtime (1986), a #5 hit, written by Daryl Hall and John Beeby. Daryl Hall sings Dreamtime, below.

Everything Your Heart Desires (1988) was written by Daryl Hall and included on the Daryl Hall and John Oates Ooh Yeah! (1988) album. Everything Your Heart Desires was a #3 hit for Daryl Hall and John Oates. Below, Daryl Hall and John Oates sing Everything Your Heart Desires circa 1995.

From Daryl Hall’s Change of Season album, Daryl Hall’s last big chart hit was the #11 single So Close (1990), written by Daryl Hall and George Green. Below, Daryl Hall and John Oates sing So Close. 

By the early 2000’s a now 50+ Daryl Hall’s personal relationship with Sara Allen had ended, although she did appear in a 2016 episode of his MTV webcast series Live from Daryl’s House (2007-2016). Daryl Hall hosts the series Live from Daryl’s House, which is videocast from his Millerton, New York home, and has performed with guest artists such as Sammy Hagar, Joe Walsh, Rob Thomas, Smokey Robinson, Jose Feliciano, and others.  

Daryl Hall told Healthline in 2011 that he’d always had food and some seasonal springtime allergies, but suddenly began developing new reactions and sensitivities to foods and alcohol he’d never had problems with before, around 2006. After worsening symptoms that have included a stiff neck, aches and pains, tremors, and heart palpitations, tests confirmed he had Lyme Disease, probably contracted from numerous tick bites over the years – a by-product of rural living at his Connecticut home. Medication has helped him to control the symptoms, but in the 10 years since then he’s had periodic flare-ups of Lyme Disease.

The musical duo of Daryl Hall and John Oates continued to record and perform together, although their last album Home for Christmas (2006) was 10 years ago, they had a concert tour in the summer of 2016. Separately they have pursued their own musical interests and other projects. Daryl Hall has restored numerous 18th-century homes in the United States and England, and he appeared as himself in the TV series Daryl’s Restoration Over-Hall (2014) which showcased a renovation of one of his homes in Connecticut.

Daryl Hall married mother of two Amanda Aspinall in 2009, after they both signed a prenup agreement. They lived together with her children at his home in Connecticut. Six years later, the couple separated and Amanda Hall filed for divorce in May 2015. 

Since becoming a senior citizen in 2011, Darryl Hall (and John Oates) were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. A recent October 2016 Hawaii concert series was cancelled, reportedly because Hall was been ordered by doctors to stop singing for 7 weeks because of tonsil trouble.

Above, Daryl Hall is interviewed at the SXSW Music Festival in 2007. 

As he celebrates his 70th birthday, Daryl Hall can congratulate himself on his numerous hit albums and singles, two television series, and over 105 soundtrack credits. Daryl Hall’s songs and/or performances – primarily songs written by himself or in collaboration with other artists (most often John Oates) – have been frequently heard in the movies or on television.

Daryl Hall has credited inheriting healthy genes from his parents, as well as staying physically and mentally active, with helping him to age well.