She's Gone (Hall & Oates song)

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To this day, I think (the video) its one of the weirdest and coolest things we’ve ever done. A very bizarre and comical pre-MTV music video that has actually developed a cult following since we released it a few years ago.

—John Oates in his autobiography. [9]

To promote the song, Hall & Oates were asked to lip sync “She’s Gone” for a teenage TV dance show broadcast out of Atlantic City, New Jersey. They refused, because they didn't want to pretend to sing the song. A story was crafted that, they were not available to appear live that day for the show, but that they would be willing to instead videotape something for them to air. They asked if it would be possible to come in and shoot something at their WPVI Philadelphia studio prior to the show. [10] [9]

The promotional video for "She's Gone", directed by John Oates] sister, [11] opens with shots of the "abandoned luncheonette" (see note about Album Cover on Abandoned Luncheonette ) in which Hall & Oates sit in recliners, Hall wearing a robe and women's platform sandals, Oates wearing a sleeveless tuxedo shirt and pants and singing the song while a woman in a long dress (played by Sara Allen) and a man dressed in a shiny red devil's costume (played by Randy Hoffman, the band's tour manager) [12] repeatedly walk past the pair. Daryl Hall only lip syncs the portions of the song that he sings in harmony with John Oates during the video (none of the parts where he sings solo), while John Oates does lip sync his solo parts. Towards the end of the video, Oates rises, dons a penguin jacket and proceeds to emulate the song's guitar solo. [13]

John Oates later explained that Hall & Oates had made the video to be shown at a television dance show based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The duo had initially been asked to perform the song live on the show, but feeling that it was not the right type of song to perform live for the occasion, they decided to lip sync the song in a unique format instead. [11] (In an earlier Oates interview, he insinuated that they were in fact asked to lip sync the performance of the song in a "live" context, but that they were against that idea and opted to create a video to be aired during the broadcast.) [14] According to Oates, the dance show declined to broadcast the video. [11] [14] "The dance show disliked the video, they refused to run the piece, called Atlantic Records and told them that we were insane and would never be allowed on Philadelphia TV again and they also threatened to try and get the record banned on Philadelphia radio stations." [9] John Oates called the video "a timepiece that really illustrates just how experimental we could be." [9] The video was described by Mental Floss as "the craziest Hall & Oates video ever." [15]

Reception

Cash Box described the song as "starting out softly, the build is strong with super strings in the background to tie the package together." [16]

After the song's re-release in 1976, the same magazine describe it as a "beautiful ballad" with the "sweet, high harmony" vocals are "immensely pleasing", and the melody line is "full of hooks, particularly in the chorus." [17]

Record World called it " a fabulous song" and said that "top notch production underscores twosome's solid performance." [18]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

"She's Gone"
Shes gone by hall and oates reissue US single 45-3332.png
Side A of the 1976 US reissue (#45-3332)
Single by Hall & Oates
from the album Abandoned Luncheonette
B-side "I'm Just a Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like a Man)"
ReleasedNovember 1973 [1]
(re-released July 1976)
Recorded1973
Genre
Length3:24 (single version)
5:15 (album version)
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Daryl Hall and John Oates
Producer(s) Arif Mardin
Hall & Oates singles chronology
"Good Night & Good Morning"
(1972)		"She's Gone"
(1973)		"When the Morning Comes"
(1974)
"Sara Smile"
(1976)
"She's Gone (reissue)"
(1976)
"Do What You Want, Be What You Are"
(1976)
Chart (1974)Peak
position
Canada RPM Top Singles [19] 63
US Billboard Hot 100 60
US Cashbox Top 100 52

Personnel

Other versions

Following a recommendation from their co-producer, Dennis Lambert, who heard the Hall & Oates version from the Abandoned Luncheonette album, the American R&B vocal group Tavares covered the song for their album, Hard Core Poetry in 1974. [32] The Tavares version of the song became one of the group's first hits on the U.S. R&B chart, peaking at No. 50 on the Hot 100. [33]

Dee Dee Bridgewater recorded the song as "He's Gone" on her one and only album for Atlantic Records in 1976.

Before Tavares cut their version, Al Wilson had cut a version. It was intended to be released as a single for him but instead was given to Lou Rawls to record. Wilson ended up having "La La Peace Song" released, which was recorded at the same session. Between the Wilson and Rawls recording sessions, Tavares had their version recorded. [34] Rawls's version peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard Soul chart.

In 1998, English actor and singer Matthew Marsden released his version of the song, featuring Destiny's Child on backing vocals. It reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall & Oates</span> American pop rock duo

Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily played the electric guitar and provided backing vocals. The two wrote most of the songs they performed, either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 1980s with a fusion of rock and roll, soul music, and rhythm and blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Hall</span> American musician and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates (born 1946)

Daryl Franklin Hohl, known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Hall & Oates, with guitarist and songwriter John Oates. Outside of his work in Hall & Oates, he has also released five solo albums, including the 1980 progressive rock collaboration with guitarist Robert Fripp titled Sacred Songs and the 1986 album Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine, which provided his best selling single, "Dreamtime", that peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. He has also collaborated on numerous works by other artists, such as Fripp's 1979 release Exposure, and Dusty Springfield's 1995 album A Very Fine Love, which produced a UK Top 40 hit with "Wherever Would I Be". Since late 2007, he has hosted the streaming television series Live from Daryl's House, in which he performs alongside other artists, doing a mix of songs from each's catalog. The show has been rebroadcast on a number of cable and satellite channels as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Oates</span> American musician (born 1948)

John William Oates is an American musician, best known as half of the rock and soul duo Hall & Oates along with Daryl Hall. He has played rock, R&B, and soul music, serving as a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer.

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<i>Abandoned Luncheonette</i> 1973 studio album by Hall & Oates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything Your Heart Desires</span> 1988 single by Hall & Oates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Did It in a Minute</span> 1982 single by Hall & Oates

"Did It in a Minute" is a song performed by American duo Hall & Oates. Written by Daryl Hall with Sara and Janna Allen, the song was released as the third of four singles from the duo's tenth studio album Private Eyes in March 1982. Daryl Hall performs lead vocals, while John Oates provides backing harmony vocals.

References

  1. ↑ "She's Gone / I'm Just A Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like A Man) - Daryl Hall And John Oates". 45cat. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (April 21, 2016). "How Hall & Oates Bared Their Soul". Medium.
  3. 1 2 Molanphy, Chris (January 15, 2022). "Rock 'n Soul Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate . Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  4. ↑ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "She's Gone ranked #336 on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs List". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 242.
  7. 1 2 "She". wweb.uta.edu.
  8. ↑ Sharp, Ken (January 23, 2009). "Hall and Oates: Soul Survivors". American Songwriter . Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Oates, John (2017). "Video Killed Some Radio Stars". Change of Seasons: A Memoir (e-Book version).
  10. ↑ "A Brief History Of Hall & Oates' Insane 'She's Gone' Music Video". UPROXX. April 8, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Locker, Melissa (2015-07-09). "Q&'80s: John Oates on the Legacy of Hall & Oates' 'She's Gone'" Retrieved 1-16-2016.
  12. ↑ "John Oates' favorite Hall and Oates video might surprise you: 'One that we did totally on our own'". Something Else!. December 5, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "John Oates reveals the surprising stories behind some Hall & Oates hits". YouTube .
  14. 1 2 Ryan (August 14, 2009). "John Oates: The Losanjealous Interview: "The Mustache is Not Me, and I'm Not the Mustache…"". Losanjealous. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  15. ↑ Higgins, Chris (April 26, 2012). "The Craziest Hall & Oates Video Ever". Mental Floss . Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  16. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 1, 1973. p. 20. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  17. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 12, 1976. p. 16. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. December 1, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ "RPM Top Singles - March 30, 1974" (PDF).
  20. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5110A." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. October 9, 1976. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Daryl Hall & John Oates: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Hall + Oates". wweb.uta.edu.
  26. ↑ "Hall and Oates Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 30, 1976". Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, January 08 1977". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1976". Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  31. ↑ Hall & Oates - Abandoned Luncheonette @Discogs.com Retrieved 9-17-2016.
  32. ↑ Songfacts. "She's Gone by Hall & Oates - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  33. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 567.
  34. ↑ Billboard, October 12, 1974 - Page 3 General News, THREE DISCS INVOLVED, Davis Pulls Out the Covers By JIM FISHEL
  35. ↑ Official Singles Chart Top 100, Week Ending November 7, 1998

Bibliography

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