John Oates is setting the record straight amid a bitter legal battle with music partner Daryl Hall. Hall is suing Oates after Oates tried to sell his share of their Whole Oates enterprises.
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Oates wants to sell his share to Primary Wave Music. The company has acquired several other music catalogs of famous musicians including Stevie Nicks, Prince, and Ray Charles. However, Hall has vetoed the transaction, calling it a “completely clandestine and bad faith move”
Hall believes Oates has violated their partnership and business agreements. The Tennessee court has temporarily granted a restraining order against Oates preventing the sale. Oates has described the lawsuit as “inflammatory.” Now, he’s expanding on his viewpoint.
Speaking with David Yontef on the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, Oates believes their partnership will outlast the lawsuit, saying their works “will stand the test of time, that will hopefully live on forever.”
According to Oates, the singer’s current fractured partnership doesn’t affect all of the work that they’ve already done. He’s proud of their legacy.
“You can’t ignore the fact that the Hall & Oates catalog of hits and the 50-year career will always trump almost anything that Daryl does on his own or I do on my own, which is OK because I’m very proud of that music,” he said. “I’m really proud of what Daryl and I created together.”
John Oates Is Looking Forward
However, Oates wants to move forward with both his career and life. He’s forward-looking rather than dwelling on their past accomplishments.
“I don’t like to live in the past — I make the analogy of what it’s like when you go to a great museum and you’re really excited to go and see all the beautiful paintings or the exhibits or whatever it might be, and then near the end, when your feet start to hurt, you say, ‘You know what? I can’t wait to get out of here.’ That’s kind of how I feel about it,” he said.
Oates says he’s not touring with Hall. He’s happy to be performing solo and working on new music. It seems the partnership may have had its day.
“To be honest with you, I am not really touring with Daryl these days. I’m doing solo shows and I’m really glad I can play new music now because it feels like a breath of fresh air for me,” he said. “I have moved on. It’s just a matter of living in my present,” he added.
[Photo by Keith Griner/Getty Images]
