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John Oates

 
Artist: John Oates
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John Oates

Similar Artists:

Howard Jones, The Go-Go's, Spandau Ballet, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bay City Rollers, Men Without Hats, The Easybeats, Culture Club, Marshall Crenshaw, The Cars

Influenced By:

Badfinger

Performed Songs By:

Sara Allen, Alan Gorrie, Daryl Hall

Worked With:

Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, John Siegler, Charles DeChant, Mickey Curry, Jimmy Bralower, Christopher Bond, Todd Rundgren
See John Oates Lyrics
  • Born: April 07, 1949, New York, NY
  • Active: '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
  • Representative Albums: "1000 Miles of Life," "Phunk Shui," "All Good People"

Biography

Although he's played on, penned songs for, and/or produced other artists recordings, singer/guitarist John Oates is best known as one half of one of rock's most successful duos of all-time, Hall & Oates. Born on April 7, 1949 in New York City, Oates attended Temple University in Philadelphia, PA during the '60s, where he met a fellow student, Daryl Hall. The duo quickly realized that they shared the same love of rock n' roll and Philly soul, and soonafter, teamed up together in various doo-wop groups. After the duo were briefly members of the group Gulliver, Hall & Oates decided to make a go at it on their own, and signed a record deal with Atlantic in 1972. It took the duo several years to carve their niche, but by the mid-'70s, they had scored major hits with "Sara Smile" and "Rich Girl." But it was the early '80s that would become the group's most successful period, as they racked up numerous hits (including "Kiss on my List," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," and "Say it isn't So," to name but a few), as they unquestionably became one of the U.S.' top pop-rock groups. As a result, Oates became a sought after producer by other artists, as he worked with Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, the Parachute Club, and Chris Sheppard, and guested on recordings by Taj Mahal, Tina B, and Icehouse, among others. Numerous artists have also recorded songs that either Oates penned on his own (or covers of Hall & Oates tunes) over the years, including After 7, Denny Doherty, and Brian McKnight. 2002 saw the release of Oates' very first solo album, Phunk Shui (pronounced "Funk Schway"). ~ Greg Prato

, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: John Oates
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For the British architect (1793-1831), see John Oates (architect).
John Oates

John Oates, October 2008
Background information
Birth name John William Oates
Born April 7, 1949 (1949-04-07) (age 60)
Origin New York City, New York,
United States
Genres Blue-eyed soul
Pop rock
Instruments Vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar
Years active 1967–present
Labels Atlantic Records
RCA Records
Epic Records
Arista Records
U-Watch Records
Associated acts Carly Simon, Hall & Oates
Website www.hallandoates.com
Notable instruments
guitar

John William Oates (born April 7, 1949 in New York City, New York) is an American rock guitarist, musician, songwriter and producer best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates (with founder/lead vocalist Daryl Hall). Though he was a primary guitarist, he also co-wrote eight Billboard Number One songs such as: "Sara Smile" (with Daryl Hall) , "You Make My Dreams" (with Sara Allen & Daryl Hall), "She's Gone" (with Daryl Hall), "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" (with Sara Allen & Daryl Hall), "Maneater" (with Sara Allen & Daryl Hall), "Out of Touch" (with Daryl Hall), "Everytime You Go Away" (with Daryl Hall - as covered by Paul Young) and "Adult Education" (with Daryl Hall & Sara Allen). He also sang lead vocals and has written or co-written a few unpopular songs that did not make it to the Billboard's Top 10 such as: "How Does It Feel to Be Back", "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Possession Obsession" (with Sara Allen & Daryl Hall). In addition to his work with Hall, Oates co-wrote and sang back-up on the song "Electric Blue" by the band Icehouse which was a Billboard Top Ten hit.

Contents

Background

John Oates was raised in North Wales, Pennsylvania, and attended North Penn High School in suburban Philadelphia. He is married to Aimee Oates, and his son Tanner John Oates was born on June 19, 1996.

After high school in 1967, John attended Temple University in Philadelphia. It was there that he met Daryl Hall, also a musician and student at Temple, who was already a senior, while Oates himself was a freshman. The two were involved in several college bands, but after becoming the duo Hall & Oates, they were signed by Atlantic Records in 1972.[1] Since the formation of this partnership, Hall & Oates have gone on to record 21 albums which have sold over 80 million units worldwide, making them arguably the most successful duo in pop–rock history. They have scored 10 number one records and over 20 top 40 hits and have toured the world for decades. Their involvement in the original “Live Aid” concert and the ground-breaking "We Are The World" charity recording have further established them as legendary artists. Their influence on modern pop music has been cited by numerous contemporary bands, like the Gym Class Heroes and The Killers, who have credited and acknowledged H&O's considerable contribution to American music.

Despite 30 years as a chart-topping performer and sought-after producer, Oates did not release a solo album until 2002's Phunk Shui.

Oates took part, along with Jamie Cullum, in the song "Greatest Mistake" by Handsome Boy Modeling School. The song appears on the 2004 album White People.

Oates has recently[when?] been invited to become a member of the board of directors for the R&B Foundation and continues to support many national and local charities.

He has just[when?] finished recording his second solo album entitled 1000 Miles of Life in Nashville featuring a collection of musicians.[citation needed] The album is due for a Fall 2008 release.[citation needed][dated info]

As reported by Billboard, John Oates will be starring in an animated series called J.Stache created by Evan Duby at Primary Wave Music Publishing.[2]

On June 21, 2008, Oates appeared as a special guest during Sam Bush's set at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Together, they raged a bluegrass version of Oates' hit "Man Eater".

On October 27, Oates sang the National Anthem before Game 5 of the 2008 World Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3]

In April 2009, Oates wrote the foreword to [Sweet Stache], a celebrity mustache book published by Adams Media and written by Jon Chattman and Rich Tarantino. In the foreword, he noted that shaving his mustache enabled him to "smile again".[4]

Oates now lives with his son and wife in Aspen, Colorado.

Releases

  • 1000 Miles Of Life (2008)

References

  1. ^ http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=12986499
  2. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003821770
  3. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20081026&content_id=3646206&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
  4. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Stache-Badass-Mustaches-Faces/dp/1440501440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253487797&sr=8-1

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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