4 months ago
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John Oates was interviewed by Michael Strahan on Good Morning America last Friday to promote his newly released, eighth solo album Reunion. While they definitely talked about the album, Strahan also had to ask Oates about the ongoing legal drama between him and (former) creative partner Daryl Hall. A quick refresher on what went down between the dulcet-toned duo last November: Hall got a restraining order against Oates, unsealed court documents later revealed it over Oates trying to sell his share of Whole Oats Enterprises (their catalog) to Primary Wave Music, and news outlets had a field day with running “I Can’t Go For That” headlines. So now Oates is commenting on the dispute and according to him, everything he’s done has been for Hall’s dream of flying solo. Sure, Jan John.
Oates on why he wanted to sell his share: “When this whole situation got mired in legality and really complex legal wranglings, I got frustrated,” he said. “And I said, ‘You know what? Daryl has always wanted to be his own man.’ I said, ‘I’m gonna give him the opportunity to do that. If I sell my half, he can either, you know, he can do what he wants.” He continued, “And it was kinda ruining my life, to be honest with you…I wasn’t happy. And I said, ‘Well, I’ll just step aside,’ people do it all the time. I mean, you look at all the artists who are selling all their catalogs…it’s pretty common…It’s not that big a deal. But Daryl didn’t like the idea that I would sell to a certain third party.”
Hall said he was blindsided and betrayed: According to court documents filed Nov. 29, Hall claimed Oates’ plan was unauthorized because he allegedly did not receive Hall’s consent, which Hall said Oates is required to do. Hall said in the documents that Oates and his co-defendants engaged in the transaction “completely behind my back and without my written approval.” Hall, who said in his court filing that he was “blindsided” by the ordeal, also called Oates’ actions the “ultimate partnership betrayal,” noting that paperwork shows negotiations between Oates and Primary Wave “began, at latest, on October 2, 2023, when a nondisclosure agreement was signed.” He added that he first learned of the deal on Oct. 20, 2023.
They were in mediation for their business ‘divorce’: Hall went on to claim in the court documents that “most egregiously,” Oates did this while they were in the middle of a mediation, which began in August, to determine what was going to happen with the assets of Whole Oates Enterprises amid the duo’s “divorce” and the “dissolution” of their LLP. As a result, Hall claimed Oates’ actions represent a “completely clandestine and bad faith move.” Asked if Oates also views it that way, he replied, “Not at all. I don’t.”
Never really talked: “We never really talked to each other very much,” he recalled. “Over the past 20 years, we’d show up at a show individually, walk on stage, play, and then we’d go our separate ways…it really wasn’t as tight as people might, you know, would like to imagine in their, kind of a fantasy imagination of our relationship.” When Strahan inquired if the duo, Hall and Oates, would ever perform together again, Oates answered, “Not from my point of view, but you need to ask Daryl how he feels about it.”
Love you like a brother: In his message to Hall, Oates said, “I love you like a brother, if I’m talking to him directly, but you know what? Brothers have disagreements, families grow apart…I would say, I 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 he’s always wanted.”
I’m no Daryl Hall stan, by any means, as were many of you who commented when last we covered these two. That being said, John Oates insisting “but I did this for YOU, brother, it’s what YOU always wanted,” doesn’t exactly ring true either. There may be truthiness to it, but it’s not the whole story, and I highly doubt it’s Oates’ number one motivator. But mainly I can’t get over just how much music they made together, when all that time they apparently were, at best, supremely indifferent to each other. Say it isn’t so! All those hit tunes performed one on one to make our dreams come true, but when they looked at each other with private eyes, out of touch, they decided that some things are better left unsaid. Until now, that is. And I can’t go f— no, nope, sorry, it’s been overused for this story. Even I can’t go— oh for Oates’ sake!
Photos credit: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon, Retna/Photoshot via Avalon, Rob Cable / Avalon, Mike Gray / Avalon and via Instagram
