Daryl Hall Not Losing Sleep Over Split from John Oates

Daryl Hall released D, his first new solo album in 11 years, last Friday (June 21). Hall worked on the new album with the Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, who Hall referred to as his "shadow partner since 1984" in a May interview with Variety.

The album represents the first new release from Hall since his very public split from John Oates. Despite being billed as a duo, Hall said in a new interview with Billboard, "I always say I’ve been a solo artist my whole life, I was just working with John, mostly."

Hall says the split with Oates "frees me," but noted that Oates "didn't make the parting and breakup easy."

In November 2023, Hall filed a lawsuit against Oates and requested a restraining order, much to the shock of fans and the music world at large.

Little was known about the lawsuit until a handful of days later, when the Associated Press (AP) reported Hall's restraining order on Oates was part of a larger legal issue involving a sale of the Hall & Oates catalog and other business interests. This sale by Oates allegedly violates the terms of an existing agreement he's had with Hall.

At the time, the AP noted, "A Nashville chancery court judge issued the temporary restraining order on Nov. 16, writing that Oates and others involved in his trust can’t move to close the sale of their share of Whole Oats Enterprises LLP to Primary Wave IP Investment Management LLC until an arbitrator in a separately filed case weighs in on the deal, or until the judge’s order expires — typically within 15 days, unless a judge extends the deadline."

Little else is known about the terms of the existing business agreement between Hall and Oates. However, the AP also reported that Primary Wave IP Investment Management LLC has owned "significant interest" in the Hall and Oates catalog for the past 15 years.

In May, Rolling Stone published an interview with Oates, who also said Hall & Oates was over.

"You can ask Daryl the same question, but yes, as far as I'm concerned, I've moved on," said Oates.

The formerly mustachioed half of one of music's most successful duos also noted that the pandemic helped him step back and reexamine what he wants to do with his career. Oates talked about how much he enjoyed doing more philanthropic music work, like partnering with Feeding America for a charity livestream.

Oates also touched on how it was "no longer interesting" to continue playing the same hits as he's done for decades. While he says those songs will "live forever," he did admit, "I just wanted to do something else."

Oates doesn't rule out performing with Hall again or potentially mending their lengthy friendship. He said he "would never say anything negative about [Hall]," but he also said the two of them differ personally and professionally and that they both "deserve to be allowed to do whatever we want to do."

Happy National Kissing Day! The unique holiday falls on June 22 every year. Its origins are a bit murky, but Days of the Year notes, "It seems to have developed over time in certain cultures. Some researchers speculate that it began with mouth-to-mouth feedings from mothers to children. However, other researchers refute this, noting that this would likely have made it present in all cultures naturally."

Besides inspiring us to want to kiss our significant other or even make a move on someone we've got a crush on, National Kissing Day has us thinking about music. There are a bunch of songs about kissing or that have the word "kiss" and its tense variations in the title or lyrics.

To celebrate the holiday, we gathered a short list of our favorite "kiss" songs that will undoubtedly have something for everyone.

Few songs are as dreamy as The Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me." It's definitely one of the best examples of the magic that was Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound." The song has been covered by a number of artists, including The Beach Boys, KISS and St. Vincent. Additionally, it's soundtracked memorable scenes in Adventures in Babysitting and Goodfellas.

The lead single off of Lita Ford's 1988 album Lita, "Kiss Me Deadly" remains one of the best hard rock songs from the '80s that just continues to get better with age. That was apparent when it was featured in the 2019 MCU movie Captain Marvel. The way the song explodes in the first verse never fails to pump us up to this day.

"Kiss On My List" kicked off an incredible streak of singles from Hall & Oates in the 1980s. Featured on the duo's 1980 album Voices, "Kiss On My List" topped the Billboard Hot 100 and was their second number-one hit.

Pretty much any playlist isn't complete without some Prince, and this one is no exception. Naturally, "Kiss" was a must for this list for obvious reasons. It became Prince's third number-one hit single. And who can forget Julia Roberts singing "Kiss" in that fancy bathtub in Pretty Woman?!

"Give to me sweet sacred bliss/Your mouth was made to suck my kiss." Few rock lyrics are both so aggressive and so sweet! "Suck My Kiss" remains a setlist mainstay for the Chili Peppers for a reason!

Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" is nearly 30 years old, and it still slaps! It's just a monster of a song, and it doesn't hurt that it was attached to a unique summer blockbuster like Batman Forever. No wonder it won Grammy Awards for Record of Year, Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance!

Funny enough, this U2 track was also featured on the soundtrack for Batman Forever along with "Kiss From A Rose." In fact, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" was the lead single off the film's soundtrack, and "Kiss From A Rose" was the second single. Even though Seal ended up overshadowing U2, this song still absolutely rocks.