Daryl Hall Says the Press Were ‘F—ing A–holes’ to Hall & Oates
Even though Hall & Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, Daryl Hall can easily remember a time when the same writers who voted them were trying to take them down. In a new interview, he discussed how he and Oates, who will be touring with Train this summer, went from being punchlines to getting their proper respect.
“The media were a bunch of f---ing a--holes, as far as I’m concerned,” Hall told Yahoo Entertainment. “They always like a scapegoat. It’s part of the journalistic attitude. And they decided, way back in their infinite cynicism and ignorance, that me and John were going to be their goats. [Rolling Stone’s] Jann Wenner has a lot to do with it. It’s a mindset that they basically created, and people fell for it. It was unbelievably angering and disappointing to me. But it happened, and I turned it around, and there it is.”
Hall believes it was the 2007 premiere of Live From Daryl's House, which began as a web-based series and moved to broadcast television in 2012, that helped turn the tide. The show features him chatting and playing with his influences, peers and the many newer bands that grew up on his music. The early episodes took place at his home in Millerton, N.Y., and later moved to Daryl's House, a restaurant and live music club he owns in Pawling, N.Y.
"When I started doing Live From Daryl’s House, which was about 11 years ago," he added, "there was this sea change. I think people saw who I really was. I don’t think people understood what I was about, and so, in a vacuum, they made up some alternative to what my personality is, what my motivations are, and the way I am as a person. As soon as they saw me in my house, being a real person, and dealing with the music in a real way, things changed. I think it’s a great thing. I feel proud of it — vindicated.”
Although Hall & Oates' hits have long been sampled in hip-hop, the past decade has seen people more willing to recognize their talent for crafting pop-soul singles that fit in perfectly with the times. This includes the use of “You Make My Dreams” in The 500 Days of Summer, a covers album by indie band the Bird and the Bee and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And, of course, their induction into the Hall, of which the singer snarls, “That’s not the kind of vindication I give a s--- about.”