In honor of the 50^th Anniversary of Hall & Oates’ album “Abandoned Luncheonette”, Marc Myers, author of “Rock Concert: An Oral History: and “Anatomy of 55 More Songs,” looks back at what made the album special for The Wall Street Journal.

Though the album wasn’t considered a commercial success when it was first released in 1973, he wrote that “the album’s personal lyrics and artful orchestration pioneered a sensitive rock-soul sound.”

“The whole idea of white guys singing R&B wasn’t appealing yet on a mass scale,” Hall told Myers in a 2020 interview. Both Hall and Oates are Montgomery County natives.

“You have to remember how unique we were at the time.”

By late 1976 when soul and disco songs were dominating the pop charts, however, the album had sold more than a half-million copies.

The biggest hit from the heartbreak-themed album was “She’s Gone,” inspired by Hall’s separation from his first wife and Oates having been stood up on New Year’s Eve.

Read more about Hall & Oates in The Wall Street Journal.

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