Daryl Hall, John Oates
Daryl Hall, left, and John Oates of the rock band Hall & Oates perform in concert at Pier Six Pavilion on Thursday, Sept.18, 2014, in Baltimore.
(Owen Sweeney | Invision | AP)
Daryl Hall and John Oates, better known as '80s hitmaking duo Hall & Oates, will perform at the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse Saturday night.
Everyone's heard their biggest hits, like "Maneater," "Rich Girl," "You Make My Dreams," "Sara Smile," "Private Eyes," "Out of Touch," "Kiss on My List" and "Everything Your Heart Desires." But there's more, partly because the songwriters haven't always done everything together.
"There isn't one album that says Hall and Oates. It's always Daryl Hall and John Oates. From the very beginning," Oates told Esquire magazine in 2014. "The idea of 'Hall and Oates,' this two-headed monster, this thing, is not anything we've ever wanted or liked."
"'You play your song and I'll back you up, and I'll play my song and you back me up.' That's what we do."
So Hall and Oates, separately, have created some fantastic songs. Together, they've also inspired even more great music.
Here are the five best Hall & Oates songs not by "Hall and Oates":
Handsome Boy Modeling School - "Greatest Mistake" f/ John Oates, Jamie Cullum
DJs Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul (De La Soul, Stetsasonic) collaborated on two funky albums, often working with special guests like DJ Shadow, Mike D and Jack Johnson. One particular gem is this tune with Oates and Cullum on vocals, expressing heartbreak over a hip-hop beat.
Daryl Hall and Travis McCoy - "The Queen & I"/"You Make My Dreams"
"Live From Daryl's House" is a fantastic online video series where artists come to Hall's studio in Upstate New York and perform each other's songs. Geneva, N.Y. native Travis McCoy, now known as Travie McCoy, rapped his Gym Class Heroes hit "The Queen & I" over Hall & Oates' "You Make My Dreams." Other highlights include appearances by Grace Potter, Chromeo, Jason Mraz, Ben Folds, Keb' Mo', Neon Trees, Smokey Robinson and Rob Thomas.
Ballin' Oates
DJ Scott Melker's The Melker Project released an epic mashup mixtape in 2013 consisting entirely of Hall & Oates songs with rappers like Wu-Tang Clan ("Claneater"), Rich Boy ("Throw Some D's" vs. "Rich Girl") and Kanye West ("Twista's Kiss is on My List").
The Bird and the Bee - "Heard It on the Radio"
Indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee (Greg Kurstin, Inara George) covered eight classics for Blue Note Records' 2010 album "Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates." Highlights include "Maneater" (feat. Garbage's Shirley Manson) and an original song called "Heard It on the Radio."
Notorious B.I.G. - "I Can't Go for That"
Many artists sampled Hall and Oates, from LL Cool J and Wu-Tang Clan to Lil Wayne and Jagged Edge. "I Can't Go for That" was especially popular, used by 2 Live Crew, Heavy D, De La Soul and Biggie Smalls. Note: Explicit lyrics.
Daryl Hall and John Oates perform at the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse on Saturday, June 25. Mayer Hawthorne opens the concert at 7:30 p.m.