The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that Daryl Hall is suing his longtime partner John Oates. The pop/R&B duo has been together since 1970, scored nearly 30 Top 40 hits and has been inducted into both the Songwriters and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Inquirer calls it “mysterious litigation … at least for now, all of the filings in the litigation are under seal.”
The duos relationship has been previously been described as “strange” by Rolling Stone, and that the pair “are a cross between business partners and brothers. Hall doesn’t seem to really like Oates, and Oates seems removed, even distant, from the entire Hall and Oates organization.”
Hall didn’t seem thrilled with the relationship as recently as last year in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Everything you do is juxtaposed against another person,” he said. “Try doing that sometime. I don’t want to use the word ’emasculating,’ because that’s male, but it takes away your individuality.”
Philadelphia Magazine reports that the proceedings are “classified as a ‘contract/debt’ matter,” and a temporary restraining order and the request to file under seal means the details of the suit are likely to remain for private eyes only. The duo last released an album of all original material in 2003, and after playing just a handful of concerts in 2022, they played none together this year.
The pair has had six Billboard No. 1 songs including “Out of Touch,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” and “Maneater.”
