John Oates has lost that lovin’ feeling. Despite taking pride in the fruits of his decades-long musical partnership with Daryl Hall—and despite their ongoing legal battle—the hitmaker is moving on and looking to the future.
Hall, 77, filed a bombshell lawsuit against Oates, 75, last month over the latter’s bid to sell his share of their joint venture, Whole Oats Enterprises, without the former’s blessing. Hall was granted a temporary restraining order against Oates as proceedings play out.
In a recent appearance on the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, Oates acknowledged that no one could ignore “the Hall & Oates catalog of hits and the 50-year career will always trump almost anything that Daryl does on his own or I do on my own.” He added that he was at peace with that, though, “because I’m very proud of that music.”
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“I’m really proud of what Daryl and I created together,” he continued. “I think we made music that will stand the test of time.”
But, Oates said, he doesn’t like to dwell on the past.
“I make the analogy of what it’s like when you go to a great museum and you’re really excited to go and see all the beautiful paintings, or the exhibits or whatever it might be,” he explained, “and then near the end, your feet start to hurt and you say, ‘You know what? I can’t wait to get out of here.’ That’s kind of how I feel about it.”
Three years after meeting in Philadelphia in 1967, Hall and Oates began working on music together, and eventually broke their way onto the charts with 1975’s “Sara Smile,” which had climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 by the following summer. The duo followed that success up with a series of further slam-dunks, with six more singles reaching the coveted No. 1 spot, including 1977’s smash-hit “Rich Girl.” Seven of their albums would eventually go platinum, while a further six would be certified gold.
“Daryl and I were at the top of the pop world,” Oates said on the Wednesday episode. “We had No. 1 record after No. 1 record. We were traveling around the world constantly. Everyone thinks that that was probably the high point of my life, but to be honest with you, it actually wasn’t my favorite time.”
“I have moved on,” he added. “It’s just a matter of living in my present.”
Oates has not commented in detail on the lawsuit, telling Variety earlier this month that he couldn’t and didn’t want to speak about it. “Things will work itself out and time will tell,” he said.
Asked by Entertainment Weekly a few days later if the feud would put an end to any possibility of an onstage reunion in the future, Oates was equally noncommittal.
“Oh, you know what, I never say never to anything,” he answered. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I just want, right now, I’m focused on where I am in life and leading the best life I can and moving forward.”
