Daryl Hall has gotten a restraining order against his former music partner, John Oates. They were in the famous band Hall & Oates and released 18 albums from 1972 to 2006.
Hall asked for this order on November 16 in a court in Nashville. Oates, his wife Aimee J. Oates, and his business manager Richard Flynn, all had to follow this order from November 20.
Nobody knows why Hall needed this order. The court’s website says it’s about a contract or money issue. CBS News tried to talk to Hall’s lawyer and Flynn for more details and is waiting to hear back.
Even though they had big hits like “Rich Girl” and “You Make My Dreams Come True” and got nominated for five Grammys, it seems Hall and Oates have drifted apart. Last year, Hall mentioned in an interview with “Club Random with Bill Maher” that they’ve “always been very separate.”
“John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers,” Hall explained. “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 also pointed out that he was often the main contributor, using their 1980 hit “Kiss on My List” as an example. Oates wasn’t listed as a songwriter for that track, but Hall was.
Hall, who’s 77, and Oates, 75, first crossed paths as freshmen at Temple University. Hall shared in a 2013 chat with Dan Rather that they met at a music show. When a fight started, they ended up in the same elevator, sparking a chat that turned into both a friendship and their musical duo.
Fast forward to 2017, just before going on tour, they joined “CBS Sunday Morning” for a sit-down interview.
“Did I think that I’d be working with John and we’d be sitting side-by-side all these years later?” Hall mused. “No, it didn’t even occur to me.”
Oates chimed in, “Our job’s like a dream come true. Play instruments, sing, write music, make records. Why would you wanna quit?”
“If you look on every album we’ve ever made, it says, ‘Daryl Hall and John Oates,'” Oates pointed out. “Now, it may seem a subtle distinction. But we’ve always looked at ourselves as two individuals who are distinctly different, who work together. And to this day, that’s how we view ourselves.”