Daryl Hall and John Oates return to Giant Center in Hershey with Squeeze on Feb. 26
From a press release:
It was announced today that multi-platinum Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Daryl Hall and John Oates, the No. 1 selling duo in music history, will return to the Giant Center in Hershey on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m.
British rock band Squeeze, known for 1980s new wave hits like “Tempted,” “Hourglass,” and “853-5937” in the United States and many more songs in the U.K. like “Cool for Cats,” “Up the Junction,” and “Another Nail in My Heart,” will open the show as special guests.
Tickets, which start at $49.50, go on sale this Friday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. and will only be available online at ticketmaster.com for the first day. After that, tickets can also be purchased at the Giant Center box office (550 Hersheypark Dr., Hershey).
Hall & Oates previously performed at the Giant Center in 2015, and the duo has a long history with Hershey. In 1978, they released a live album called “Livetime” that was recorded in late 1977 at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, not far from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where Hall was born and grew up. Former Elton John band members Caleb Quaye, Kenny Passarelli, and Roger Pope were their band musicians on this tour. At the end of “Sara Smile,” Hall can heard asking the crowd, “How come you didn’t like me when I was a teenager?”
Starting out as two devoted disciples of earlier soul greats, Daryl Hall and John Oates are soul survivors in their own right. They have become such musical influences on some of today’s popular artists that the September 2006 cover of Spin Magazine’s headline read: “Why Hall and Oates are the New Velvet Underground.” Their artistic fan base includes Rob Thomas, John Mayer, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, and Gym Class Heroes, who dubbed their tour “Daryl Hall for President Tour 2007.” One of the most sampled artists today, their impact can be heard everywhere from boy band harmonies to neo soul to rap rock fusion.
Signed to Atlantic by Ahmet Ertegun in the 1970s, Hall & Oates have sold more albums than any other duo in music history. Their 1973 debut album “Abandoned Luncheonette,” produced by Arif Mardin, yielded the Top 10 single “She’s Gone,” which also went to No. 1 on the R&B charts when it was covered by Taveras. The duo recorded one more album with Atlantic, “War Babies” (produced by Todd Rundgren), before they left and promptly signed to RCA. Their tenure at RCA would catapult the duo to international superstardom.
From the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, Hall & Oates would score six No. 1 singles, including “Rich Girl” (also an R&B No. 1), “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” (also an R&B No. 1), “Maneater,” and “Out of Touch” from their six consecutive multi-platinum albums – “Bigger Than Both of Us” (1976) “Voices” (1980), “Private Eyes” (1981), “H2O” (1982), “Rock ‘n Soul: Part 1” (1983), and “Big Bam Boom” (1984). The era would also produce an additional five Top 10 singles: “Sara Smile,” “One on One,” “You Make My Dreams,” “Say It Isn’t So,” and “Method of Modern Love.”
Hall wrote the H&O single “Everytime You Go Away,” which singer Paul Young scored a No. 1 hit with when he covered the song in 1985. That same year, Hall and Oates participated in the historic “We Are the World” session, as well as closing the Live Aid show in Philadelphia.
By 1987, the RIAA recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the No. 1 selling duo in music history, a record they still hold today.
On May 20, 2008, the duo was honored with the Icon Award during BMI’s 56th annual Pop Awards. The award has previously gone to the Bee Gees, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, James Brown, Ray Davies, Carlos Santana, Dolly Parton, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
In 2014, Eagle Rock Entertainment released their first new concert video in seven years, “Daryl Hall and John Oates: Live in Dublin,” on DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and digital formats. Filmed at the Olympia Theatre on July 15, 2014, this set features their first-ever concert performance in Dublin. Hall & Oates dipped into their 40+ year rich repertoire to deliver a setlist steeped in hits: “Sara Smile,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” “Out of Touch,” “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “Rich Girl,” “Maneater,” and many more. It’s fitting that this high-energy 15-song concert film traverses songs from across their career, as Hall promises the audience that they’re “making up for lost time” in a city they’ve never performed in before.
Daryl Hall and John Oates were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Hall opened “Daryl’s House,” the restaurant and music club, on Halloween night in Pawling, New York with a special performance featuring H&O. “Daryl’s House,” which also serves as the backdrop for his web series and television show “Live from Daryl’s House,” combines top-notch food with amazing artists.
Oates released his book, “Change of Seasons: A Memoir” (St. Martin’s Press), on March 28, 2017. Relying on his many handwritten journals, he brings to light many fascinating stories from his entire life with a journalist’s eye and a poet’s heart. He shares his highs, lows, triumphs, and failures, taking the reader on a wild ride through all the eras, personalities, and music that have shaped him into who he is.
In 2018, Hall & Oates released their first original track since 2002, “Philly Forget Me Not,” with Train before their co-headlining summer tour, touching on the duo’s roots in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
“This song pretty much describes my feeling about Philly, my music home,” Hall said.
