It turns out Daryl Hall and John Oates are not on the friendly terms their string of ’70s and ’80s hits as Hall & Oates might lead you to hope. The name they’ve commonly been called is a point of contention in and of itself, with Oates telling Esquire in 2012, “There isn’t one album that says Hall and Oates. It’s always Daryl Hall and John Oates, from the very beginning. People never note that. The idea of ‘Hall and Oates’, this two-headed monster, this thing, is not anything we’ve ever wanted or liked.” Ten years later, in a 2022 interview on Bill Maher’s podcast Club Random, Hall referred to the partnership as a business one, not a creative one. And after breaking up and reuniting multiple times over the years, Hall has now sued Oates, Philadelphia reports. The contents of the suit, which was filed in Nashville Chancery Court on November 16, remain under seal, but Philadelphia says it’s “classified as a ‘contract/debt’ matter.”
Variety reports that Hall has also been issued a restraining order against Oates by the court; it’s set to go into effect on November 30. Because the suit is sealed, the Nashville Chancery Court declined to comment further to Variety other than confirming the existence of the lawsuit. Stay tuned for more details.
Hall recently relaunched his Live From Daryl’s House web series after a five-year hiatus, and he had King Crimson’s Robert Fripp on to tell stories and play songs from both of their solo albums, David Bowie’s “Heroes,” King Crimson’s “Red,” and more.