Hot Summer Days Mean Hall & Oates To Me

Does anyone out there remember when Daryl Hall & John Oates first started having hit songs? As a reminder, their first two hits were the big summer ballads of 1975 and again in 1976. In 1975, it was “Sarah Smile”, and the following year, it was a re-release of “She’s Gone”, a song the duo had recorded back in 1973. For some reason, stepping outside in the blistering heat this morning reminded of the summers that I bought those two albums. To be perfectly honest, I was too young and too-without-a-girlfriend-in-my-life at the time to understand those albums. I distinctly remember the sale price on the “Silver Album” from 1975 being $3.99 at AirWay. Remember that department store? Then, the following year, that same store put Abandoned Luncheonette on sale for $4.99. Remember those prices? Man, this opening paragraph is way too “old guy reminiscing”. Let’s get on with the blog.

I remember both of those summers being hot as blazes as it is today. And, we could be playing baseball with my boombox blaring a radio station that was playing one of these two songs. Or, we could be on my parents’ porch, blasting Hall & Oates because I thought I was a cool middle school kid. Or, I could have been down at one of the neighbors, bugging one of the girls down the street while they were sunbathing. As a matter of fact, it seemed not to matter what was going on, but I could always find one of those two Hall & Oates summer songs. Sure, neither song says the word “summer” in it, but I just remember hearing those songs during the summer.

Now that I have been a Hall & Oates fan for 40 years, I find that listening to their music today is soothing. I can go back to my music room, and when I am feeling beat up from the pain I have been experiencing, I can always put on Hall & Oates and their albums NEVER fail me. Those albums are therapeutic for me.

I am having a very bad day pain-wise, so I will be going through my Hall & Oates collection and try to read a book while I can focus. I hope Hall & Oates will help you jog your memories of one of your first slow dances or maybe even of one of your first kisses. Me? More the former than the latter. I was too much of a geek who could not read social cues. But, then again, when have I ever been able to read social cues?

Author: ifmyalbumscouldtalk

I am just a long-time music fan who used to be a high school science teacher and a varsity coach of several high school athletic teams. Before that, I worked as a medical technologist at three hospitals in their labs, mainly as a microbiologist. I am retired/disabled (Failed Back Surgery Syndrome), and this is my attempt to remain a human. Additionally, I am a serious vinyl aficionado, with a CD addiction and a love of reading about rock history. Finally, I am a fan of Prince, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Hall & Oates, Springsteen, Paul Weller & his bands and Power Pop music. View all posts by ifmyalbumscouldtalk