Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. DLXXIV--Hall and Oates: Sara Smile

Maybe you can believe it, if it helps you to sleep, but...I'm (six days) late again....

There is nothing special about my introduction to this week's tune, as it came when it was released as a single in 1975 when I was but a wee lad of sixteen.  But, oh, the magic--you don't think about it much when you're that young, but fifty years later you realize what a special musical moment it was...

This will mark the third time I've written about Hall and Oates (first time and second time), which is somewhat surprising as I didn't care for much of what they released after about 1980.  The only news to report is that they sued each other in 2024 over publishing rights, have said they will never perform together again, and settled the lawsuit out of court in 2025.  Also, for some odd ass reason I've never posted their discography--for their career, Hall and Oates have released eighteen studio albums (three of which reached the top five), eleven live albums, thirty (!!) compilations, and sixty-three singles (with six #1's).

"Sara Smile" was the third single (kind of a massive fail by their record company that their signature tune was the third single released from the album) from their fourth album, the rather artfully entitled Daryl Hall & John Oates.  The song would be the first hit of their career, peaking at #4, while the album reached #17.

Fun Fact:  "Sara Smile" was written about Hall's real-life partner, Sara Allen.  Sadly, the pair broke up in 2001 after nearly thirty years together.

As my regular readers (all three of you) know, I am a huge fan of blue-eyed soul, and to the best of my remembrance, "Sara Smile" was my introduction to the wonders of that genre.  While the music champions a mellow groove, and the backing vocals saunter through your subconscious, it's Hall's vocals that carry the day.  Alternating between his normal vocals and an urgent falsetto, he captures all the love and desire he feels for his lover.  It's a master class in blue-eyed soul vocals, grasping the heart and the soul of the matter.  Fifty-one years after its release, it sounds as fresh and vibrant as it did the year it graced our aural abilities.  A wonderful song from a band learning its way in the musical world, and an everlasting imprint on the annals that are Friday Night Jukebox.

Lyric Sheet:  "When you feel cold, I'll warm you/And when you feel you can't go on/I'll come and hold you/It's you and me forever..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, CDXLII--Hall and Oates: Everytime You Go Away

 Regular readers (both of you) will remember that I am a big fan of blue-eyed soul (Boz Scaggs, early Rod Stewart, Greg Allman, Van Morrison before he turned into a covidiot), and this week's featured tune is as exquisite of an example of a blue-eyed soul song as one will find.  Quintessential, in a word....

I wrote about Hall and Oates in Jukebox XXI (eight--eight!--years ago), and while my first posts didn't do an artist bio, per se, I think I covered enough of their highlights that another one would be superfluous.  However, I would be remiss if I didn't note that Hall and Oates have had two tours since that post, and have started writing songs for a new album, though its recording and release remain in flux.

Fun Fact:  Hall and Oates hate to be called "Hall and Oates."  The band's official name is Daryl Hall & John Oates, as they consider themselves to be two separate artists and not a conventional duo.  You'll note how much I give a shit as I repeatedly refer to them as "Hall and Oates."

"Everytime You Go Away" was released on their commercial breakthrough album Voices in 1980.  Hall and Oates never released (oh, they should have!) it as a single, but British crooner Paul Young took it to #1 in America and #4 in his native U.K. in 1985 (while Young's version is serviceable, it doesn't hold a candle to Hall and Oates' original).  The album hit #17 on the Billboard 200, though (just to show you the tricks the mind plays) I would have sworn it was a #1 album based on its ubiquity.

While I have listened to "Everytime You Go Away" numerous times through the years, because of time and tide it had been a while since I last heard it...but I was surprised, as I closed my eyes and sang along as I did my half-assed research for this post, that I remembered every lyric and all the nuances of Hall's vocals.  Opening with an extended guitar solo from John Oates that echoes the yearning in Hall's vocals to come, the song details a love on the brink and the longing and heartache that come with separation.  Hall's vocals are a master class in soul serenading as he musters all the love and loneliness that the relationship has wrought.  And the song's close--the back and forth between the backing vocals and Hall's lovelorn scatting--my God, it's like dancing euphorically through Shangri-La. It's been forty-three years since I first heard it, and it still sounds just as fresh, just as infectious, as ever.  A classic.

Lyric Sheet:  "Babe, if we can't solve any problems/Why do we lose so many tears/Whoa, so you go again/When the leading man appears..."

Enjoy:

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. XXI--Hall and Oates: She's Gone

Because no one ever wrote a song about a lost love....

Back when I was still a young man, Hall and Oates were my introduction to what is known as blue-eyed soul and while there are artists whose work I have followed more closely through the years than Hall and Oates (Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, Boz Scaggs) there is still a soft spot in the heart for those early lessons.  They pretty much lost me after their Voices album (like they cared--they enjoyed massive popular success thereafter), but I can still put on any of their songs from 1974-1980 and be mesmerized.

Such is the case with "She's Gone," a beautiful ballad about losing the love of your life.  Originally released in 1974 on their Abandoned Luncheonette album, the song was a mediocre hit (#60 on the Billboard Hot 100--with a bullet!) until Hall and Oates had their first top ten hit with "Sara Smile" (also a wonderful song) in 1976 at which time "She's Gone" was re-released (capitalism at its finest!) and became their second top ten hit.  Little did they know that some forty years later they would be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Daryl Hall would later say that he thought "She's Gone" was the best song he and John Oates wrote, and I wouldn't disagree.  Often overlooked when it comes to rock's great vocalists, Hall's vocals (concurrent with Oates' background vocals) are really what make the song.  There is a back and forth between the two that is magical and stretches the boundaries of white boy soul (and turns me into a split personality every time I hear it as I try to sing along to both parts).  Throw in a dandy little guitar solo from Oates, a touch of saxophone, and an eerie intro and a couple of kids from Philadelphia had one hell of a song.

And who among us hasn't had a love we'd "pay the devil to replace"?

Enjoy:

Peace,

emaycee