← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Classic Replay-The Top Five Most Downloaded Episodes of 2024-John Oates
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Nikki Glaser
Hi friend, it's your inner child calling and they want churros, a new toy and a new adventure. Or maybe five with the bestest besties on earth. Find your moment at Walt Disney World Resort. Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, Spectrum Business knows that you put in unlimited effort to unlock the unlimited possibilities of your small business. Get Internet, mobile phone and TV services to connect all aspects of your business and see your business made limitless.
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John Oates
Learn more@spectrum.com business right now get up.
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Nikki Glaser
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John Oates
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Nikki Glaser
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John Oates
Season two is coming to Apple TV. What you all did five months ago was one of the most painful moments in the history of this company. Our message got out. We're famous. All of us equally are. One of us is like the star.
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Nikki Glaser
What did you see? My audi's wife was Ms. Casey. If you want to find out what happened to her, I'll help.
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John Oates
She's still alive. I want to see my wife. He should have left severance. New season streaming January 17th only on.
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Buzz Knight
Apple TV plus taking a walk.
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John Oates
I think it's pretty timeless. Some of those songs are have they've already, you know, withstood the test of generations. Great songs endure. I'm very proud and happy to know that I was part of something that will endure and you know, which is fabulous and you know, it's a blessing. It's something that most musicians and songwriters would hope that they would have won much less than, you know, multiple songs that fit that description.
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Buzz Knight
Well, welcome to our top five Taking a Walk podcast holiday countdown, the top five most downloaded episodes of Taking a Walk for 2024. I'm Buzz Knight, your host. It's my pleasure to welcome for the reveal on the countdown, Harry Jacobs from the Taking a Walk music history desk. Hello, Harry, Buzz. Pleasure to be here again for this. So number four was a super cool one to get as well. He was revealing information about a new album that he was putting out. It was off limits to kind of talk about the most obvious thing which he had already talked about, and that was the split with his longtime partner. But nevertheless, it was super cool to be able to have on Taking a Walk John Oates of Hall and Oates fame. Yeah, I, you know, to me, the fact that you had Daryl hall and John Oates separately, there was really something kind of special. And very quickly during that split too, there's a, you know, to me, this is a big get for, for taking a walk to have hall and Oats basically within a very short period of time together. And certainly we all would have had questions about, about the split, but, but I, I'm glad that you did it without doing anything related to the split. He's a, He's a great, great. Another great guitar player. Right. You featured a lot of wonderful guitar players, and he's up there on that list. And he's got tremendous respect for Americana roots and sort of roots music in his own regard. Really intelligent about that and respectful to that past in a big way. And he's also very positive and respectful of Darryl. Right. I saw him on a. On an interview. I've seen him a couple times subsequent to the Taking a Walk interview we're about to hear. And he's very respectful of Daryl. And it's, to me, their history. You know, they found each other when John was a folk guitar player, basically, and Daryl was into soul. And so the history that got them together and certainly those first few albums that. That before they hit it big, before mtv. Right. The second iteration of that band, Sarah Smile and Rich Girl, you know, those songs were. Are particularly meaningful to me. And he had, you know, obviously he had a huge role in those. So I love this one as a guest. Oh, but you know what was also funny. So in his own way, though, he did kind of talk about the split aspect of hall and Oates. And here's how there was a song, There is a song on his, his latest album, I believe it's called Sonny, Terry and Brownie McGee. Or Sonny Sonny and Brownie. And the truth of that story about Sonny, Terry and Brownie McGee. Great, you know, long time, sort of classic blues players who were out on the road for many, many years into the 1970s, I think maybe early 1980s, possibly. So the thing that we all knew about Sonny Terry and Brady McGee in those days is they didn't speak to each other, they just performed. So isn't that interesting, really? So I think in his own way, as John sort of wrote that song and sort of touched on it a little bit, that was his way, I think, of, of talking a little bit about the past while staying in the present and in the future. Kind of like Greg Allman and Dickey Betts, right? There was a. There was someone that ran in between those two guys, right? Absolutely, yeah. But I love talking to John Oates. It's the number four most downloaded podcast for taking a walk of 2024. Let's listen to it now. Well, John Oates, it is a terrific honor to have you on this virtual of taking a walk. We're going to take a walk down.
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John Oates
Memory lane a bit.
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Buzz Knight
We're going to talk about your new project, Reunion, but I'm grateful to have you on.
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John Oates
Thanks. Thanks. Nice to be here.
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Buzz Knight
So Reunion is the new project, the singles out. We want to get into a lot about that project, but can you just talk about how the creative process worked for you for this new reunion project and any differences in the creative project to the way you've done it in the past?
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John Oates
Well, this particular project, I think is in a sense a culmination of my Nashville experience, moving here, being embraced and participating in a lot of the Americana music communities, not only in terms of musical relationship or friendships and all sorts of things like that. So in a way, I think this record really kind of crystallizes all those things. There's, there's many, many of my amazing musicians who have become my good friends over the years who we've recorded and toured together with. You know, people like Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck, Jim Lauderdale, you know, some great, amazing also players like Guthrie Trapp, Tom Bukavac. So it's really chock full of this kind of all star cast. Sierra hall on mandolin. Just more recently, Russ Paul, you know, people like that. I could go on and on, but it's really. And, and a lot of. I think what makes this record unique too is there's songs on this record that are, that were written a long, long time ago. Some, some as early as the early 90s and, and on up to songs that I knew that someday would see the light of day. But I didn't have a project that they seemed to fit. And finally I had this body of work that seemed to embrace some of these other songs that have just Been sitting around in the In. So really, I think in a way, it's a little bit of a retrospective on my singer songwriter side, on my folk acoustic side, all of which are very important in my background and my musical DNA.
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Buzz Knight
In back here, you can't quite see it, but there's a photo of the great John Prine back there from an album cover. And you do an absolutely beautiful, beautiful rendition of the song Long Monday. Congratulations on that. Tell me about what John Prine, that song and his music means to you.
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John Oates
Well, I think there's a, you know, probably, you know, a fact, a hidden, unknown fact that John. John was doing, if not his first album, one of his first albums at Atlantic Records at Atlantic Recording Studios in New York City in the early. With the producer Arif Martin, at the exact same time that Daryl and I were doing our first albums in the same studio with the same producer. So there's a lot of. A lot of synergy there in terms of, you know, we'd be passing each other in hallways as, you know, him going to his session or coming out and vice versa. So, you know, even though I wasn't super close with John in the later years, we did play together of one once or twice, just casually. And I've just been a huge fan, you know, one of the great American songwriters. And when I was asked to celebrate his birthday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville a few months ago, they asked me if I would participate. And I said, of course. And, you know, I picked Long Monday. And then I thought about it, you know, and I thought, well, here's a challenge, you know, because I have a great respect for songwriters, so I don't. I wouldn't want to mess with the beauty of his lyrics and his melody, for that matter. So I thought, well, the only way I can make this my own is by. In terms of the arrangement. So I dug into the arrangement and I tried to make the arrangement a little bit more personal and a little bit more comfortable for me. And then when I played it live on stage, everyone seemed to really like it. Then I said, well, I guess I should record it. So I did, and of course, I included it on the album.
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Buzz Knight
It really is beautiful.
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John Oates
Thanks. Yeah.
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Buzz Knight
Tell me about collaborating with AJ Croce.
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John Oates
Well, it's a perfect segue because I met AJ Croce at that exact John Prine event at the Ryman Auditorium. We were put into the same. We were assigned the same dressing room, and of course I knew of him, but we had never met. And we hit it off Immediately he's just got a very, very. He's a really warm, engaging guy. And I could tell from immediately that there was something going on. We had a real, you know, it was very compatible and I could just, I sensed that we could do something together. I didn't know what that was going to be. But we did talk about, you know, getting together to write. And when we did, I had this idea for reunion. I had the concept, I had the part of the chorus and I had a key line. The lights at the party burn bright But I'm leaving early tonight. And to me, that. That kind of symbolizes the spirit of the whole song. We talked about it. I told him about my 100-year-old father who gave inspiration for this song. We start discussing, you know, what it's like to, to really find the essence of yourself. And of course he related, I think in a lot of ways due to the fact that his father was such a famous and well known songwriter and he was in the midst of doing a tour, Croce Sings Croce There was a lot going on that really we were both able to relate to the idea of the song on. In our own personal way. And it, it really, it was beautiful. It flowed really quickly. I think we wrote the song in a few hours.
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Buzz Knight
Had you encountered his father through your career?
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John Oates
No, not personally, no. But of course I was a fan.
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Buzz Knight
What a legacy, right? My God.
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John Oates
Yeah.
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Buzz Knight
I think really, in a way it's sad, but many times people's legacy is more appreciated after they pass away. And it feels like that was the case with his father.
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John Oates
Well, you know, I think he was also appreciated, you know, in his own time. You know, he had big hits. He had big hits with a very kind of acoustic, folky kind of recording style and which was unusual for the time, which was great. It made him stand out for sure.
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Buzz Knight
So I'll put you on the spot here and ask you maybe five quintessential albums that have really mattered to you and had an influence on you.
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John Oates
Well, I don't know where to begin. Okay, sure, I would say, you know, going back, the first, the first long playing album LP that I ever heard, other than early rock and roll single 45s, was Ray Charles, Ray Charles Greatest Hits. And I, I did not have a long playing record player at home. I had only had a little 45 recording record player and this was probably late 50s. And I remember a friend of mine's parents had a console record player and they had this Ray Charles record and I just absorbed it. You know, it had what I say, and it had, you know, you know, all some of his early classics. And it was just. It just grabbed me immediately. So I would definitely say Ray Charles was a huge influence on me. And then, you know, when the folk movement, the folk revival hit in the early 60s, I. I was exposed to music that I had never heard from, never heard roots music that was being rediscovered and spread around the college campuses in the early 60s. So I would say Dave Van Ronck was a big, big influence on me because I loved his voice. It was so gritty and he had this powerful personality. Also, the first Doc Watson record on Vanguard was a real touchstone for me because it was the first time I heard virtuosic acoustic guitar playing. So I absorbed that record and I try to learn, as, you know, eventually, over the years, I learned all the songs on the record, but, you know, that was a challenge and a real inspiration for me. And then, you know, you know, there's so many more. The Temptations, they had a particular live album that was incredible that they recorded at a club somewhere, which was amazing. And then, of course, the classic James Brown Live at the Apollo, which was probably the most kinetic and exciting recording that I ever heard. The tempos were all jacked up. It was just a. It's just James Brown at his best at the Apollo Theater and. And then moving on later on in the 60s, you know, the band. The band was a big influence on me. And I, you know, and I. I just thought that it was music that I'd never heard before. It was a style of music, but I understood the roots of it. I understood where the influences were, but their. Their unique take on it and their unique. Not only the songwriting, but they're playing and singing was so unique. There was no one sounded like them. So that was highly influential to me. And then the record that I consider the classic of all time is Blue by Joni Mitchell. I think that's the perfect album. I think every in. On every level, there's nothing I've never heard anything better. Her singing, her playing, the production, the engineering, the songs themselves, even down to the album cover. It. It's the perfect. The perfect combination of sensitivity, sensibility, music, lyrics, creativity, all wrapped into one perfect album.
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Buzz Knight
It's a brilliant list. Brilliant list. How did you feel watching Joni at that Newport Folk Festival event? Wasn't it beautiful?
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John Oates
You mean, most recently?
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Buzz Knight
Yes.
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John Oates
Yeah. Well, you know, congrats to her. Kudos to her. I'm really, you know, I'm just glad that she she left her house and decided to, to make that, that step. You know, a very good friend of mine who was my guitar tech during the 80s and also who's currently the guitar tech for the Edge and you two, he was asked to go to her house and help her with her acoustic guitars and help her kind of prepare for that show. So he gave me a lot of inside scoop on what, what she was like and, and the, you know, the, I'm sure the, the, the, you know, she was concerned and, and I' trepidation about what she was going to do and how she was going to do it. As you age, you have certain limitations to your, to your skill set, whether that be vocally or, or instrumentally. And I think, you know, she was concerned and, but she had an amazing group of people to support her and it was great to see her honored and appreciated by a newer generation.
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Buzz Knight
Yeah, it was a magical moment, for sure. Speaking of magical moments, first concert that you experienced as a fan, what was it?
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John Oates
It was when I was four years old, it was Bill Haley and the Comets. I saw them play at Willow Grove Amusement park in Pennsylvania in a band shell. And I had just, my family had just moved us from New York City to Pennsylvania and it was one of my first memories of Pennsylvania to go to the amusement park and hear this band. I had never heard live music before. Well, of course I was four years old, four or five, maybe four and a half. And I remember running down to the band shell, down to the stage, and the stage was probably only, you know, two feet high. So I was, even as a little kid, I was able to stand there and I remember standing right in front of the upright bass player. And then when, at a certain point in the show, which was a kind of a rockabilly tradition, which of course I didn't know at the time, you know, he put it on its side and rode it like a horse while he was playing. And of course to a four year old that was big. That was, that was the, the apogee of show business there, right there.
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Buzz Knight
Did that cement you for life that you'd be a musician?
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John Oates
I was already a musician, believe it or not. I have recordings of me at 4 years old singing songs that we did at the Coney Island Amusement park in the little booth, in the record booth booth where you put a coin in and you'd go in and sing. So for some reason I just had this ability to sing and my, my parents, my mother in particular was, you know, she really pushed me and supported me about that.
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Buzz Knight
So do those recordings still exist?
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John Oates
I've got them, yep.
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Buzz Knight
Wow, that's amazing.
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John Oates
First one, first, the first one was Here Comes Peter Cottontail when I was about three or four. And then the second one was later, a few years later, it was all.
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Buzz Knight
Shook up by Elvis US Tremendous. Who are some of the mentors in your career that have really mattered to you?
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John Oates
Well, a few. I, I had an English teacher in seventh grade who gave us an assignment to write a poem. And it was at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And I, I, I was kind of aware of the, kind of the early days of the protest song movement with Phil Oaks, people like that, Bob Dylan, Phil Oaks. So I wrote this poem about the Cuban Missile Crisis and the teacher knew that I played guitar and said, you know, you should put this to music. And I never thought of the idea that I could write a song. And that was kind of an, you know, that was an incentive to try it. So I would have to that English teacher as, as an early mentor. But my real mentor was a guy named Jerry Ricks who I met in Philadelphia in 1967. He or 66. I can't, it's probably 66. I had my first year of college. I was, I needed a job. I needed a part time job. Of course, I was too lazy to work. So I, I went to a place called Esther Halpern's Folk School in Philadelphia and I applied for a job as a guitar teacher. And she auditioned me and I played her a few things and she said, okay, you'll be, you'll be good to teach, like the beginners and the intermediates. And I said, okay, fine. I just needed a job. The guy who's teaching the advanced lessons was a guy named Jerry Ricks. And he, he was unbelievable. And he also had been involved with helping a guy named Dick Waterman. Dick Waterman was the manager to a lot of the early blues men. People like Sunhouse, sonny Terry, Brownie McGee, Robert Pete Williams, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, people like that kind of helping them. Because when a lot of these, these performers, rural performers came to the big cities and were performing for the first time at these folk festivals and things, they had no clue on what to do. They had no money, they couldn't stay in a. So they would stay at Jerry's house because Jerry lived right across the street from Dick Waterman. And a little fun fact. Sidebar. Bonnie Raitt was Dick Waterman's girlfriend. So if anyone ever wonders why Bonnie Raitt is so good and why she's so authentic, it's because she sat in the living room with some of these great authentic performers and learned directly from them. But anyway, and actually one day Bonnie and I had to drag Robert Pete Williams out of a bar in South Philly and bring him back because no one could find him. These guys didn't know. They, they, they did tend to like to drink. But anyway, Jerry became my initially, when I realized how good he was, I asked him if he could teach me some things. So I became his guitar student and eventually we played together. In fact, Jerry is playing Jerry Ricks is playing on the first two hall and Oates albums with me on acoustic guitar on some of those songs. And interestingly enough, here's another sidebar After Mississippi John Hurt died, his guitar that he played at new festival in 63 was given to Jerry. And when I asked Jerry to come to New York in the early 70s and play on the Whole Notes albums, he asked me, he said, do you want me to bring Mississippi John's guitar so you can play it? And I said absolutely. So the guitar I'm playing on the first two Whole Notes albums is Mississippi John Hurts Acoustic guitar, which I now own, by the way. Wow. I know, it's crazy. And is on display at the Phoenix Musical Instrument Museum as we speak week. And I'm playing there as well in a week or so. But so Jerry was incredible. And not only, you know, he became a good friend, a teacher, a mentor and I really learned so much from him. Not only about actually how to play some of these songs and, and how to authentically finger the finger picking and the styles, but also just some basic, just basic learning about musicianship and listening and a more sophisticated way of he made me a more sophisticated musician in a way. So, so I would say they're they're my real mentors.
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Buzz Knight
We'll be right back with more of.
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John Oates
The Taking a Walk podcast.
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Nikki Glaser
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99 of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report, 2025 is bound to be a fascinating year. It's going to be filled with money, challenges and opportunities. I'm Joel. Oh and I am Matt and we're the hosts of how to Money. We want to be with you every step of the way way in your financial journey this year, offering the information and insights you need to thrive financially. Yeah, whether you find yourself up to your eyeballs in student loan debt or you've got a sky high credit card balance because you went a little overboard with the holiday spending, or maybe you're looking to optimize your retirement accounts so you can retire early. Well, how to Money will help you to change your relationship with money so you can stress less and grow your net worth. That's right, how to Money Money comes out three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For money advice without the judgment and jargon, listen to how to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [25:46]
John Oates
Hey y'all, I'm Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford.
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Nikki Glaser
Host of Therapy for Black Girls, and I'm thrilled to invite you to our January Jumpstart series. For the third year running all January, I'll be joined by inspiring guests who help you kickstart your personal growth with actionable ideas and real conversations.
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John Oates
We're talking about topics like building community.
- [26:06]
Nikki Glaser
And creating an inner and outer glow.
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John Oates
I always tell people that when you buy a handbag, it doesn't cover a childhood scar. You know, when you buy a jacket, it doesn't reaffirm what you love about the hair you were told not to love. So when I think about beauty is so emotional because it starts to go back into the archives of who we were, how we want to see ourselves and who we know ourselves to be.
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Nikki Glaser
And who we can be.
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John Oates
So a little bit of past, present and future all in one idea. Soothing something from the past. And it doesn't have to be always an insecurity. It could be something that you love.
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Nikki Glaser
All to help you start 2025 feeling empowered and ready.
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John Oates
Listen to Therapy for Black Girls starting on January 1st on the iHeartRadio app.
- [26:46]
Nikki Glaser
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Nikki Glaser. I'm not here to roast you. I'm here to overshare everything that went down at the Golden Globes. Everyone is already talking about what happened on air at the Golden Globes, but you are going to hear about what happened off air from the horse's mouth. Yes, I'm the horse. Me, Nikki Glaser. Join me on my podcast, the Nikki Glaser Podcast, where I will be telling you all the details. I can finally relax with my besties, my listeners, and dish what happened Backstage. What went down? The things people are already talking about. The things that people should be talking about. I've got it all. From what it took to prep for the Golden Globes to the behind the scenes of the Golden Globes. What went down in the rehearsals? Who said what at the after party? Who I saw at the after party, who was dancing with who? I'm gonna spill it. All secrets will be revealed. You do not want to miss this episode. Listen to the Nikki Glaser podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [27:45]
John Oates
I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the really Know really podcast, our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions, like why they refuse to make the bathroom.
- [27:56]
Buzz Knight
Door go all the way to the floor.
- [27:57]
John Oates
We got the answer. Will space junk block your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured.
- [28:05]
Buzz Knight
Out if your dog truly loves you.
- [28:07]
John Oates
And the one bringing back the woolly mammoth. Plus, does Tom Cruise really do his own stunts? His stuntman reveals the answer. And you never know who's going to drop by. Mr. Bryan Cranston is.
- [28:18]
Buzz Knight
What are you.
- [28:19]
John Oates
Hello, my friend, Wayne Knight about. About Jurassic Park.
- [28:21]
Nikki Glaser
Wayne Knight.
- [28:22]
John Oates
Welcome to really. No, really, sir. Bless you all. Hello, Newman. And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging. Really?
- [28:30]
Nikki Glaser
That's the opening. Really?
- [28:31]
Buzz Knight
No.
- [28:32]
John Oates
Really? Yeah, really?
- [28:33]
Nikki Glaser
No, really.
- [28:34]
John Oates
Go to reallynoreally.com and register to win 500 a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition sign Jason Bobblehead. It's called really?
- [28:41]
Nikki Glaser
No, really?
- [28:42]
John Oates
And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. Podcast.
- [28:52]
Buzz Knight
Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast. Well, throughout your career, you've always had an eye on, you know, rising talent and how to help them and work with them. We had one of those talents on this podcast named Annalee, who was a delightful person for us to encounter and very talented. Tell us about how that collaboration came about with Annalee.
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John Oates
Well, she's my niece. Yes. She's my wife's brother's daughter. And she was always a very, you know, I watched her grow up from the time she was a baby, and she's always very outgoing. She had always had a real big personality. And she, she. She began to sing, and I. When I first heard her sing, I, you know, I knew that she could really sing. And I remember she came she came to Nashville quite a while ago when she was just out, maybe in high school or just in college, and she really wanted to come to Nashville, and she said she wanted to make it and all this stuff. And. And I remember we went to a restaurant with her parents, and we were sitting there, and. And I. I said to her, look, I said, you see all these waitresses? They're all trying to do exactly what you're trying to do. I said, so if you're going to come here, you better be prepared, because the bar is set very high, and it is not easy. And I thought maybe she would get scared off or maybe just lose the vibe. But she came and she worked her butt off. She went down on lower Broadway, she sang in the bars. She did all the COVID songs. She really, really worked hard. I didn't help her very much, to be honest with you, but I did help her when she needed it. And we wrote a song together. I put her. The great Nathan Chapman, who produced Taylor Swift, and she, Nathan, myself, and Anna Lee, we wrote a song together. And I think that was the first time she got a chance to write with professional songwriters. And we wrote a really cool song called hey There, Walls, which I believe she recorded. So, I mean, I didn't. You know, I just. I've always there for her, but didn't really want to be, you know, like, kind of pushy and. And it was really her career, and. And I just. I'm so proud of her for really doing it herself and really find she's making some new music now out in California. She's found some producers who she's working with, and she runs things by me. I give her my two cents, but she knows what she's doing, and she's amazing.
- [31:26]
Buzz Knight
She's a good soul. Could tell. Yeah. Tell me about the Nashville community. You've been there a while, and it is a unique and, I think, special community. Talk about what it means being part of that community in the way that you are. Far.
- [31:42]
John Oates
Well, in the 90s, when Daryl and I weren't doing very much, I. I started going to Nashville and meeting some people. I did a few demo sessions and things like that, and immediately the first thing that struck me was the. The. The. The caliber and quality of the. Of the players, the musicians. I realized that they were really, really good. And, you know, I had spent my whole. Basically my hope, you know, I was in bands and playing. Playing by myself prior to meeting Daryl. But once Daryl and I started, you know, it was all hauling oats, all the time 24, seven for, you know, for 15, 20 years, whatever. So I was used to playing with a certain. In a certain style with a certain band, with a certain ensemble. So all of a sudden I was playing with different people in different settings, and I was really impressed. And I also realized that. That I couldn't kind of. Kind of skate and. And kind of. I couldn't make it on my reputation. I really had to up my game. So, to be honest with you, I started practicing really hard in the late 90s, early 2000s. I realized that I needed to really up my game if I wanted to be in that caliber of player. So it's really been an incredible incentive to me to get better and to really realize my full potential.
- [33:00]
Buzz Knight
There's a couple of historic moments in your career that I wanted to get. Your. Your memory of Live Aid and the We Are the World sessions. Those two in particular. Any reflections you could share with us about those two historic events?
- [33:19]
John Oates
I don't think you have enough time, but. Okay, well, you want to start with Live Aid? I guess we can start there.
- [33:25]
Buzz Knight
Yeah.
- [33:26]
John Oates
Well, the, you know, the American version was going to be in Philadelphia, of course. Daryl and I being from Philadelphia and being, of course, at almost, you know, at the top of our. Our commercial. You know, we were at the top of the pop pyramid at the time. So we were. We were. We were asked to basically close the show, and we wanted to do something really special and something, you know, above and beyond. We had just played the Apollo Theater with Eddie Kendrick and David Ruffin, who were the lead singers of the Temptations. And we did a Temptations, you know, kind of retrospective of songs metal, and it was great. So we thought, well, why not bring Eddie and David and we'll do some Temptation songs in addition to our own set, of course. And then Mick Jagger reached out, and he was doing a solo album at the time, and he didn't have a band, so he asked if we. If our band would back him. So, of course, you know, we said, yeah, of course. And I remember one, you know, one anecdote that's really amazing to me is we were rehearsing at sir, which was studio instrument rentals in New York City, so, you know, where they have a sound stage and you could rehearse and all that. And we had rehearsed the songs that Mick wanted to play, and so we knew the songs, we had learned them. And then Mick was going to come in and just go over them with us. And I thought, you know, well, he'll just come in and, you know, we'll go through the motions and we'll play the songs and he'll say yes or no or change, whatever. But what I didn't expect was for him to literally jump on stage, grab the mic and count the song off, and go into his full Mick Jagger routine in rehearsal with nobody in the room except us. I mean, I'm talking about the full thing, the chicken wings, you know, the jumping around, doing. He did. He did it as if he was playing, you know, Madison Square Garden. It was unbelievable. And, you know, and it was incredible, and it was exciting. And I immediately said, okay, well, this. Why. This is why this guy is who he is. And then, of course, he didn't tell us. We didn't know that he was going to bring Tina Turner out on stage. That was a surprise. And literally, he didn't. We didn't know. And when he brought her out on stage, and then, of course, he ripped her leather skirt off, which was kind of cool, too, I guess they had it all planned, but, you know, but it just made it so exciting because it was like it was happening all, you know, at the. For the first time. So that was. That. That was an amazing night. And I believe that was the biggest rock concert to ever be simulcast around the world, you know, at the time. Time. And then, you know, on We Are the World, that was. That was scheduled to be done after the American Music Awards. And back in those days, you know, there was really only the American Music Awards and the Grammys. So everybody who was anybody in pop was pretty much at that show. And they. They carted us all over to the studio and put us, you know, in those things. And there I was standing next to Bob Dylan and Ray Charles, two of my heroes. So I thought, hey, this is pretty good. Good. Pretty good spot to be. And. Yeah, and then I went around and got everyone to sign my manuscript. My music, the music. The lead sheet. The sheet music which they handed us. I got everyone to sign it. And I have that frame now, so it's a. It's a. Definitely one of my prized possessions.
- [36:46]
Buzz Knight
Love it. How do you think the music of hall and Oates will be viewed for years to come?
- [36:52]
John Oates
I think. I think it would be. I think it's pretty timeless. Some of those songs are. Have that already, you know, withstood the test of generations. So I don't see that they're going to go away. Great songs endure, and I'm very proud and. And happy to. To. To know that I was part of something that will Endure and, you know, which is fabulous. And, you know, it's a, it's a blessing. It's something that people, you know, people would, you know, most musicians and songwriters would hope that they would have one much less than, you know, songs that fit that description. So I'm, I'm proud of it. And at the same time, I, I feel like I, I, I, I think those songs should be respected and heard in, in the, in the context of, of the records that were made in the 70s and 80s. And I really don't. I feel like I've moved beyond it now. I'd rather hear those songs the way they should sound as opposed to kind of a, you know, a live reproduction of them. At this point in my life, I've kind of moved away from that.
- [38:01]
Buzz Knight
You moved to Colorado to just sort of change the pace of your life a bit and sort of go into a different mode. And as part of that move, I think you did encounter the great Hunter Thompson while you were out there. Can you share anything about an experience with Hunter?
- [38:23]
John Oates
Many, many. Some of which I can't tell you, but. Well, you know, I had been going to Colorado since the late 60s when I was in college, and I finally, finally moved there in the late 80s, in the early 90s, I met my future wife, and we were looking for a place to live. She, she found a little piece of land in place called Woody Creek outside of Aspen, Colorado. And it was like a little, little farm, a little ranch. And I remember the first time we went to see it with the real estate agent. We're standing there on this kind of. There was only a horse barn and a little log cabin. And we're standing there, and all of a sudden we heard, you know, boom, boom. And then we heard shotgun pellets all on the metal roof of this little barn, like, you know, and I was like, whoa, what's that? And he go. And the real estate agent was like, oh, that's your neighbor. That's, that's, that's Hunter. That's your neighbor. And I said, well, is this something we should be concerned about? And he said, no, no, he said, he's fine, he's fine. He's just sending a warning shot, you know. So I, I thought to myself, well, this is either really good or really terrible. As it turned out, it was really good because he slept during day and worked at night. I did, I work during the day and slept at night. So that worked out pretty well. The interesting thing that I noticed immediately in the little log cabin, there was the big. There was a big red convertible, which was that land shark that he used in fear and loathing his car because no one had been on the property for years. So even though he didn't own the property, he just put his car in the cabin and put a padlock on the door. And I said, what are we going to do with this guy's car. Car? Because we wanted to turn the cabin into. Into a little apartment where we could live while we built the rest of our house. So I would go and knock on his door and he never answered. Then I'd go again. I'd knock it. I'd leave a note because I. Because they. We wanted to, you know, re. We wanted to have the Carpenters come in and start rebuilding this cabin. So the keys were in it. I jump started it, I backed it out, I drove it up on his lawn. I put it directly in front of his door and I just left it there. And I knew him for 25 years and he never said a word to me about it. I guess he just thought the car just appeared one day, you know. So we went to his funeral that Johnny Depp organized, and it was amazing. We played at his funeral with Lyle Lovett and Johnny Depp, and it was just absolutely amazing. He was an amazing guy and one of the great, you know, classic journalists, you know, who invented a style of journalism really. You know, know, he loved being Hunter Thompson. He loved the image of himself. And I think what happened when he broke his hip and his leg and he couldn't really be that guy anymore. I don't. I think that's when he decided to. To pack it all in. But he. We used to go up there and watch Monday Night Football with the sheriff and we like. It's just kind of crazy.
- [41:26]
Buzz Knight
Let's come back to reunion here. I want to get your. Your. Your take on a couple of the specific songs here. We've already touched on Long Monday and Reunion. I want to talk about Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, who you mentioned earlier in the conversation. So talk about them and that song.
- [41:46]
John Oates
That song was written during the pandemic when I was out in Colorado spending more time in Colorado during the pandemic just to get out of the city, breathe some fresh air and all that. And I ran into a guy who was a. Whose neighbor, who I knew for years and years, but we never did anything together. He. This guy named Joe Henry who has written lyrics, he's an author, he's written books. And we were just shooting the breeze and he said you know, we, we should write a song Wednesday. And I said, yeah, we should. And so he came up to my little cabin and the cabin where that car was, by the way. And we, he. We'd start talking about, you know, ideas for songs. And he told me, he related this story about Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, how as time went on in their career, they were together for over 40 years. They began to really dislike each other and they didn't want to play together anymore. So obviously there was something going on that resonated with me and. But he said the interesting part was that one of them lost his ability to see and the other one lost his ability to walk, talk. And it brought them together in a way and they needed each other to get on stage. And when, when I thought about it, I said, well, you know, we could write about them specifically or we could use their story and, and their experience as a metaphor for kindness and lending a helping hand and helping your fellow man, so to speak. And I thought that was a more broad subject. So in the end, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee became more of metaphor for the meaning of the song.
- [43:20]
Buzz Knight
How about the song All I Am that you. You co wrote with Adam Ezra?
- [43:26]
John Oates
Yeah, Adam's great. He and I just did a song that we just played together in New York just a couple weeks ago. He's. He's great. He's from the Boston area, a really good soul, talented guy. And we played. We've done shows together over the years. We've written a few songs together and All I Am is probably my favorite of the ones we've written. It's just a song. He came to Nashville, we sat down and we wrote it. It was, it was, it just worked. And I love that song. We play it all the time.
- [43:57]
Buzz Knight
And how about the song this Field Is Mine, which is just wonderful to talk about that one.
- [44:04]
John Oates
Thank you. That. That song was supposed to be included on the Arkansas album, which came out in 2000 2018, but it just didn't. There was something about it that I didn't think it was right for that album. So I held it, but I knew that I was going to release it someday. That song was inspired by my wife's family who's. They own a farm in Southern Illinois and they're very, very passionate about keeping the farm as the. As the surrounding area gets developed by suburbs and housing developments. And when I know the passion that they have for their land because it's a gen. You know, it's been in their farm family for generations. So I thought about it and I thought about what that really means. I thought about what owning a piece of land. Do you really, really own it or you're just the caretaker for a while, you know. And so that was the impetus for it. And I ran the idea by Sam Bush and the great Jeff Black, who's an incredible Nashville song songwriter and we wanted to try to write something together. So the three of us got together and we wrote that song together. Yeah. So that was, that was, that was really great to be able to. I had never written anything with Sam and it was first time and I think we, we did pretty good.
- [45:19]
Buzz Knight
Did awesome. In closing, you've always explored diverse influences and in your career and you continue to do that, that. Are there some influences that you have not explored that you'd still like to explore?
- [45:38]
John Oates
I, I wouldn't say there's any particular influence like style. I, I, but I still have a lot of interest. You know, I, I just wrote a song with a young artist named Devin Gilan who's fantastic. He's a R and B singer from Philadelphia and once saw him live and he's great. And I introduced myself and we hit, wrote a song. It sounds like a vintage soul song and so I'm not going to be stuck in any particular style. I'm just going to, you know, do whatever feels right at the time. That's a song that I want to release this coming fall and it's a really cool song. So. And then, you know, I just recently I was on the Joe Bonamassa Blues cruise and I got a chance to sit in with a band called Robert John and the Wreck. They're a California based rock band and they're really, really good and I really like them and got together and wrote a song just a few days ago with them and Dave Cobb is producing them. Hopefully it'll make it onto the album. And so, you know, I'm just, I'm just open to interesting ideas.
- [46:47]
Buzz Knight
Congratulations on reunion. I'm so grateful that you took the time to be on Taking a Walk. I've been a fan forever and thank you for the music that you continue to give us, John.
- [46:58]
John Oates
Thanks. That was a good interview. I like talking about that stuff. So thanks. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode.
- [47:12]
Buzz Knight
Taking a Walk is available on the.
- [47:14]
John Oates
Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get get your podcasts.
- [47:21]
Nikki Glaser
Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days. Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn more@discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Thursdays on ABC get ready to move that bus. The beloved series Extreme Makeover Home Edition is making a triumphant return to kick off the new year. Join the makeover mavens Joanna Teplin and Clee Shearer as they hit the road on a mission to transform lives of deserving families. They have just four days to rally communities, demolish old homes and rebuild notches houses but lives. New episodes of Extreme Makeover Home edition Thursdays at 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream next day on Hulu. Hey y'all.
- [48:24]
John Oates
I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, host of.
- [48:26]
Nikki Glaser
Therapy for Black Girls this January. Join me for our third annual January Jumpstart series. Starting January 1st, we'll have inspiring conversations to give you a hand in kickstarting your personal growth. If you've been holding back or playing small, this is your all access pass to step fully into the possibilities of the new year. Listen to Therapy for Black Girls starting on January 1st on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Nikki Glaser. So I hosted the Golden Globes at Hollywood's biggest party. Honestly, you've probably seen all the headlines this week, but like any good party, there's a lot of wild stuff that goes down behind the scenes that you don't know about. And since I hosted the Golden Globes, I'm letting my podcast listeners, my besties in on all the behind the scenes tea stuff that didn't make it to the live TV taping. What went down at rehearsals? Who said what at the after party, you're going to hear it all. Listen to the Nikki Glaser podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Joel, the holidays are a blast, but the financial hangover? That can be a huge bummer. If you are out there and you're dreading the new statement email email that reveals the massive balance that you may have racked up. Well, you could use our help. That's right. I'm Joel. And I am Matt and we're from the how to Money podcast. Our show is all about helping you make sense of your personal finances so you can ditch your pesky credit card debt once and for all, make real progress on other crucial financial goals that you've got, and just feel more in control of your money in general. You know it. For money advice without the judgment and jargon, listen to how to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.