Happy Birthday, Daryl Hall

Since I'm on something of a musical trend this week, I figure I'll keep it going today with one of my all-time favorite bands.

Happy birthday wishes go out to Daryl Hall, the local guy who formed half of the top-selling pop duo of all time.

You read that correctly. Hall & Oates, the local guys who grew up in Montgomery County and went to Temple, have sold more records than any other duo in history. Take that, Simon and Garfunkel.

Their blue-eyed soul, powered by Hall's incredible voice, became another trademark sound of Philly.

Like so many bands, it's not their hits that I really like. I can live without songs like "Maneater," "Sara Smile," and so many of the other hits they sprinkled all over Top 10 lists.

Give me their more arcane stuff.

If you've heard a better vocal this side of Teddy Pendergrass than Hall on "Throw the Roses Away," I've yet to hear it. I can listen to the 'Marigold Sky' and 'Do It for Love' CDs forever.

Like most music these days, they make me feel young.

I'm still kicking myself for missing your Tower Theater Show last weekend. How long have I been following these guys? I saw them at the Stone Balloon, the legendary bar in Newark, Del., back in about 1979 or so. They blew the roof off the place. So happy 67th birthday, Darryl Hall.

My birthday wish for you? That the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame correct one of the more incredulous omissions from their vaunted list and give the best-selling pop duo in music history their due. That's correct, Hall & Oates are not in the Rock Hall.

In the meantime, think of it like this:

It's A Laugh.

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