For John Oates, the North Wales native and half of the legendary pop duo Hall & Oates, making music was always about balance, writes Ultimate Guitar.
It’s not just melody and rhythm, but partnership and humility. Speaking on the Broken Record podcast, Oates reflected on the unique energy of working as a duo and why true collaboration means sometimes setting your ego aside.
“When you’re a part of a partnership, you subjugate a certain part of not only your personality, but your musical personality, for the good of the whole,” Oates said. He explained that while his love of folk and roots music never disappeared, it often took a back seat to the sound he and Daryl Hall crafted together over five decades.
Oates also noted how their shared Pennsylvania upbringing shaped that sound. “We listened to the same radio stations,” he said. “We had this common musical lexicon that we could draw from.”
Though their partnership has ended amid legal disputes, Oates continues to carry forward the lessons learned from a lifetime of collaboration and compromise.
To read more of the transcript from John Oates’ interview with the Broken Record Podcast, visit Ultimate Guitar.
