CELEBRITY
Daryl Hall Sues, Gets Restraining Order Against John Oates Amid Hall & Oates Legal Battle
hallandoatesofficial/Instagram
Daryl Hall has gotten a restraining order against John Oates amid a confidential legal battle between the former musical partners behind Hall & Oates.
The nature of the legal proceedings is shrouded in mystery as the court documents are sealed, but available records show Hall filed a lawsuit against Oates in Nashville, Tenn., last week, and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order.
Hall, 77, and his organization, The Daryl Hall Revocable Trust, sued Oates and his trust, The John W. Oates TISA Trust, along with its co-trustees, in Davidson County Chancery Court. The complaint is related to a contract/debt issue.
On Friday, the court granted the temporary restraining order, scheduled to begin Nov. 30.
Hall & Oates released their debut album Whole Oats in 1972, and proceeded to release another 17 studio albums together. The pop duo’s popularity peaked in the 1980s and 1990s with numerous radio hits and six No. 1 singles, including Kiss on My List, Private Eyes, and Maneater.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times last year, Hall revealed that although the pair were still recording music together before the COVID-19 pandemic, perceptions changed.
“I dont have any plans to work with John. I mean, whatever. Time will tell,” he told the newspaper.
“Life changed, everything changed,” Hall said. “Im more interested in pursuing my own world. And so is John.”
He also dismissed Oates’ contributions to their long musical partnership during an appearance on Bill Mahers “Club Random” podcast last year.
“You think John Oates is my partner? … Hes my business partner. Hes not my creative partner, Hall told Maher.
“I did all those [harmonies],” Hall said of their hit single Kiss on My List, on which Oates is not credited as a write, but a co-producer. Thats all me, Hall said.
“John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We are business partners. We made records called Hall & Oates together, but weve always been very separate, and thats a really important thing for me.”
Although Hall & Oates has never officially broken up, their last studio album was 2006’s Home for Christmas, and they have pursued solo projects over the years. They are both currently touring separately.
TMX contributed to this article.
