Hall & Oates are embroiled in a confidential legal battle that has led to Daryl Hall getting a restraining order against his former music partner John Oates.
There is little information about the lawsuit as of this time, as court documents are sealed. Hall filed an undisclosed complaint against Oates on November 16th as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order, as reported by Philadelphia Magazine. The following day, the court issued a temporary restraining order to begin on November 30.
The Nashville Chancery Court also confirmed the existence of the lawsuit to Variety, but has declined to further comment due to the lawsuit being sealed.
As TMZ points out, Hall disparaged Oates on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast last year, saying, “You think John Oates is my partner? … He’s my business partner. He’s not my creative partner.”
He went on, “John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We are business partners. We made records called Hall & Oates together, but we’ve always been very separate, and that’s a really important thing for me.”
Hall then went on to diminish the collaborative aspect of Hall & Oates, using the duo’s 1980 No. 1 hit “Kiss on My List” as an example of their apparent creative separation. “I did all those [harmonies],” Hall said. “That’s all me.” Oates is not credited as a songwriter on “Kiss on My List,” but is listed as a co-produced with Hall.
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The duo met back in 1967, and the two teamed up three years later releasing 18 studio albums since their 1972 debut.
“It’s very annoying to be a duo,” Hall told the LA Times in 2022, while trying to discuss his latest solo record. “Everything you do is juxtaposed against another person. Try doing that sometime. I don’t want to use the word ‘emasculating,’ because that’s male, but it takes away your individuality.”
Whole Oats.” The pop-R&B duo boasts six No. 1 singles, including “Maneater,” “Rich Girl” and “Out of Touch.” Hall & Oates toured together as recently as October 2022, and they released their latest studio album, “Home for Christmas,” in 2006. Both Hall and Oates have solo recording careers and have toured separately over the years, but the duo has never officially split up.
The pair met while attending Temple University in Philadelphia, according to their website. Together the two have recorded 21 albums and in 2003 they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
The pair have also embarked on careers as solo artists, but never officially split up, and both are currently on their own tours.
