"Be what you are" -- if only more people could and would do that, how much more sense things would make and how much better a world this would be.
"If you think life is so hard, gotta take a lesson from your heart" -- so right. Going against your heart (if you have one) is the hard way. It catches up with you sooner or later. You may even find yourself with a heart attack, or some other physical or mental malady. Following your heart, despite all appearances, is the easy way.
This is the tune that gave people around the world a sneak peek at who was going to dethrone The Everly Brothers as THE BEST DUO IN POP MUSIC HISTORY!Hell, this was better than "Rich Girl", and that went to #1 in 1977. Long live Hall and Oates!
Love this song. The guitar guitar solo at 3:00 minutes is really lush, so unusual. If I'm right, the solo on the original recording was played by the producer Christopher Bond himself. And Todd plays it exactly the same, which was a real thrill for me when I went to see them live at Oxford New Theatre in the 70s. Happy days!
One of the things that strikes me about this concert and other filmed concerts of the 1970's-1980's is that the audience actually shuts their yaps during the performances and devotes their attention to the artists. Good luck finding a lot of that nowadays.
This has always been my favorite Hall & Oates song!!! Todd Sharp guitar solo is nice! Always loved the 1979 version of this song with GE Smith on guitar!!
Eddie...thanks for sharing the videos!!! I have this on DVD but geez, all the other Musikladen footage isn't on it. Where is "Falling". I've only ever seen it on Youtube. You guys will ALWAYS be my favourite lineup. Can you hookup once more???? Reunion??? Maybe Stratford, Canada??? I'd LOVE to get a Hall & Oates necklace too...Can I have yours? Just joking!!! Love you guys and keep on making me smile!!!! Love yas!!
I think a lot of people appreciated this lineup of the band. I thought that a reunion would be a great idea but someone else needs to suggest it other than myself. I just played a few shows with Stephen Dees in a project he produced. He still looks exactly the same and plays even better. All the guys are still playing and I think it would be amazing. They just had a reunion of all the musicians that played in the band with T-Bone Wolk for a tribute to T-Bone on the new Live From Dayrl's House.
@ezyne Thanks for the replies!!! I am so glad that you guys are still playing!! Let me know who I should talk to about this reunion thing, and I'll bug them!!! HA HA!!! I"m not the only one who'd love it!!! Anyways, thanks again and take care!!
My silver wings are somewhere amongst all the stuff that I brought down from my NYC apartment stored in one of the two warehouses that I keep my seven drum sets in. If I ever find them, I'll probably keep them. Daryl and John signed them using a jeweler's tool, so they're pretty special.
I love lots of H&O tunes, but this is probably my all-time favorite, & I still want to play this one (my group plays a few H&O tunes already, & we're a jazz group). I've been a fan since the mid-70s, & played some with guitarist Pat Buchanan, who was with them for a time in the mid-80s...
Cool that you did a few years Eddie, nice playing...
I also have a Saxello, that Charlie is blowin on this & She's Gone....
RIP T-Bone ...you're a huge reason why I love Hall and Oates since my childhood....you were always just as important and I know Hall and Oates would agree
I've commented on this performance before, but no matter how many times I watch it, it still takes my breath away. Every single one of the musicians totally knocked it out of the park.
Merci monsieur Zyne: What a wonderful tune, great performance, your video has that unique crisp 70's quality, great memories at age 12 hallucinating at Mr Hall's stunning vocal range, what a treat!
What a GREAT video. I can't tell you how much I listened to H&O in the 70's. This, "Karrie," "Back Together Again," "Camellia," "Las Vegas Turnaround," "Sarah Smile," "Abandoned Luncheonette," "She's Gone:" They all got SO much play time on my cassette deck in my '72 VW Bug. Such memories. Ezyne, thanks for that great, great drumming!
This was the band before the Live Time lineup. Get the Do What You Want Be What You Are new CD box set and you'll find this band on tracks 16, 17 ,18 & 19 on disc 1.
Thank God that one day I randomly heard this song on the radio. I had never heard it at the time, and now I can't even imagine life without it. These guys have so many great songs that touch the and soul of me! I saw them last year in Boston, and they still sound so good. If this song isn't baby-making music, I don't know what is! We need more music like this around today! Thanks for the post!
This is still one of the most amazing songs ever... I never tire of listening to
it. Thanks Eddie... I'm guessing you played at Hammersmith Odeon London in Jan.1977... that was the first time I saw them live and I am still captivated. If it was you on drums I'm sorry I didn't recognise you but was just a little distracted by Daryl !! during the encore I stood right by the stage and Daryl's sweat dripped on to me... didn't wash for a week, ha ha... thanks again Eddie xxx
If I was Daryl Hall, and I could sing, "Do What You Want, Be What You Are" the way that he does (especially during this performance), I would never speak again. I would never talk. I would simply walk around singing this song over and over as much as I could until the day that I died. I wouldnt have many intellectual conversations, but I would be getting laid nearly every second that I took a break from singing. That is how good he is while singing this song.
Thank you! Here's a small bit of personal trivia about this particular song. The tempo is so slow that I mounted a Franz metronome with a light on it an the sound off inside my drum stick tray. I only used it to count the song off and never looked at it afterwards. But this insured that any song that came before it would not influence the tempo that I counted it off at. The slow tempo really sets the mood. Thanks again for your kind comments.
@ezyne well thanks for playin it right! That's one of my pet peeves, when they play songs too fast. H+O almost *always*, except for recent years, would speed up their songs. More exciting, maybe, but some of them (like "One on One") are supposed to be slow. Speeding them up essentially changes it into a different song!
and btw, good work bangin those drums! And for my curiosity, what happened to John's voice? early on he sounded good, and was IMO stronger than Daryl on the first couple albums. But into the late '70s and '80s it seemed like he kinda gave up. Did he overstrain his voice or something, smoke too much, have bad allergies (like I do), or just fall into Daryl's shadow (literally and otherwise) and just resign to being mostly a BGV?
@africkinamerican I completely agree about the tempo issue. In order to insure that I get get it to go that slow every night I used an old fashioned Franz metronome with a light on it and the sound off. It sat in my stick tray and only used for that one song. Nowadays drummers use a lot of really high tech gizmos, but I only used it to count the song in and then it was shut off and we were on our own just feeling it. It's one of my favorites. I wish they had included that version on the box set.
Thank's for the response. I didn't realize I was talking with you, Eddie. Great percussion work. Are you still in touch with any of the old band members? I actually remember quite a bit off that set list. One of the best concerts I've ever seen. The next time I saw Hall & Oates I believe they had gone with Roger Pope as drummer and he didn't quite cut it for me. Once again, thanks for the kind response. How long did you play with H & O on the road and what specific albums did you play on?
I saw you play with H & O quite a few times. ...Wow! I was 14 years old the first time I saw you guys. Very cool. Have you listenned to any of your old concert stuff on Wolgang's Vault? If not, you should check it out. I know there's a H & O show from Saratoga New York in '77 that you guys played on.
"Be what you are" -- if only more people could and would do that, how much more sense things would make and how much better a world this would be.
"If you think life is so hard, gotta take a lesson from your heart" -- so right. Going against your heart (if you have one) is the hard way. It catches up with you sooner or later. You may even find yourself with a heart attack, or some other physical or mental malady. Following your heart, despite all appearances, is the easy way.
africkinamerican 2 days ago
Goddam the 70's ruled.
GirlPaint 1 month ago
What talent !!! What a voice !!! All day listening to these guys .
ABSOLUTE HAPPINESS. Love Daryl.
BabsTen 3 months ago in playlist Hall and Oates 10
This is the tune that gave people around the world a sneak peek at who was going to dethrone The Everly Brothers as THE BEST DUO IN POP MUSIC HISTORY!Hell, this was better than "Rich Girl", and that went to #1 in 1977. Long live Hall and Oates!
kja427 3 months ago
Love this song. The guitar guitar solo at 3:00 minutes is really lush, so unusual. If I'm right, the solo on the original recording was played by the producer Christopher Bond himself. And Todd plays it exactly the same, which was a real thrill for me when I went to see them live at Oxford New Theatre in the 70s. Happy days!
Johnboysings 3 months ago
I did the audio & blocked the camera shots on these shows from Bremen, Germany--also Produced & Engineered "Livetime".
1046rzac 6 months ago
This stuff is great. Daryl Hall is one of my fav vocalists of all time.
Matlike1 11 months ago
A lot of girls came to this in the 70's-80's i imagine
12x 1 year ago
These guys sing like black guys!! Whooo! I like that.
flingsRus 1 year ago
One of the things that strikes me about this concert and other filmed concerts of the 1970's-1980's is that the audience actually shuts their yaps during the performances and devotes their attention to the artists. Good luck finding a lot of that nowadays.
fortehlulz9999 1 year ago 2
The talent of this band
myownservant 1 year ago
of the 21,162 views of this, i personally have to be accountable for roughly about 10,000 of those
downcard11 1 year ago
Fuckin A they rip it on that double solo at the end there with the dueling sax and guitar work.
downcard11 1 year ago
Man, some great blue eyed soul musicianship and good hair from back in the day. Enjoyed this very much and audio quality is astounding.
TheDrtunes 1 year ago
This has always been my favorite Hall & Oates song!!! Todd Sharp guitar solo is nice! Always loved the 1979 version of this song with GE Smith on guitar!!
BLANCH1957 1 year ago
@BLANCH1957 My favorite of theirs as well.
downcard11 1 year ago
After 25 years of life, and of listening to all types of music, this is still my favorite song of all time. I keep coming back to it.
downcard11 1 year ago
Still my favorite song of all time.
downcard11 1 year ago
DE POCA MADRE ESTE GRUPO !! ARRIBA MEXICO PERO SIN GOBERNANTES CULEROS
JUDIORAIN 1 year ago
@asmodeusix Hi!! What?? Are you telling me to watch Falling??? Trust me...I have...Many many times!! :) I'm sorry, I don't quite understand.
Hokdonfonix 1 year ago
Eddie...thanks for sharing the videos!!! I have this on DVD but geez, all the other Musikladen footage isn't on it. Where is "Falling". I've only ever seen it on Youtube. You guys will ALWAYS be my favourite lineup. Can you hookup once more???? Reunion??? Maybe Stratford, Canada??? I'd LOVE to get a Hall & Oates necklace too...Can I have yours? Just joking!!! Love you guys and keep on making me smile!!!! Love yas!!
Hokdonfonix 1 year ago
I think a lot of people appreciated this lineup of the band. I thought that a reunion would be a great idea but someone else needs to suggest it other than myself. I just played a few shows with Stephen Dees in a project he produced. He still looks exactly the same and plays even better. All the guys are still playing and I think it would be amazing. They just had a reunion of all the musicians that played in the band with T-Bone Wolk for a tribute to T-Bone on the new Live From Dayrl's House.
ezyne 1 year ago
@ezyne Thanks for the replies!!! I am so glad that you guys are still playing!! Let me know who I should talk to about this reunion thing, and I'll bug them!!! HA HA!!! I"m not the only one who'd love it!!! Anyways, thanks again and take care!!
Hokdonfonix 1 year ago
@ezyne How old were you back then? More or less than H&O?
Jaheartsjonas 2 weeks ago in playlist Watch Later Playlist
@Jaheartsjonas I was in my mid twenties, just a tad younger than them.
ezyne 2 weeks ago
My silver wings are somewhere amongst all the stuff that I brought down from my NYC apartment stored in one of the two warehouses that I keep my seven drum sets in. If I ever find them, I'll probably keep them. Daryl and John signed them using a jeweler's tool, so they're pretty special.
ezyne 1 year ago
I love lots of H&O tunes, but this is probably my all-time favorite, & I still want to play this one (my group plays a few H&O tunes already, & we're a jazz group). I've been a fan since the mid-70s, & played some with guitarist Pat Buchanan, who was with them for a time in the mid-80s...
Cool that you did a few years Eddie, nice playing...
I also have a Saxello, that Charlie is blowin on this & She's Gone....
StevenCharlesJazz 1 year ago
one of my fav song of hall & oates.
this video is really awsome.
i like breaking part at 4:10.
great performance, i really impressed.
thanks for sharing!!
heinie 1 year ago
RIP T-Bone ...you're a huge reason why I love Hall and Oates since my childhood....you were always just as important and I know Hall and Oates would agree
Thank You for sharing your gifts with the world
loozer4life69 2 years ago
Amen to that. I last was with him after the Spectrum show in Philly and he was great. I will miss him.
ezyne 2 years ago
every time i hear this song..I fall in love again...god damnnnnnn sing your heart out my man..we feel you..we surely do...whoo
microscepter 2 years ago
You bring me all the way back!! The smiles, the tears, the hopes and dreams. I'm young again... Thank you!
ejmarquis 2 years ago
I've commented on this performance before, but no matter how many times I watch it, it still takes my breath away. Every single one of the musicians totally knocked it out of the park.
nhpm900 2 years ago 5
Merci monsieur Zyne: What a wonderful tune, great performance, your video has that unique crisp 70's quality, great memories at age 12 hallucinating at Mr Hall's stunning vocal range, what a treat!
hugojauregui 2 years ago
What a GREAT video. I can't tell you how much I listened to H&O in the 70's. This, "Karrie," "Back Together Again," "Camellia," "Las Vegas Turnaround," "Sarah Smile," "Abandoned Luncheonette," "She's Gone:" They all got SO much play time on my cassette deck in my '72 VW Bug. Such memories. Ezyne, thanks for that great, great drumming!
mudhens4ever 2 years ago
Damn I wish I still had my Live Time Album....H&O's early stuff is arguably their best. Nobody makes music like this anymore :(
treinhart58 2 years ago
This was the band before the Live Time lineup. Get the Do What You Want Be What You Are new CD box set and you'll find this band on tracks 16, 17 ,18 & 19 on disc 1.
ezyne 2 years ago
Daryl Hall was really into Aleister Crowley during this period. The lyrics reflect the "Do what thou wilt..." dictum.
chthonic19 2 years ago 4
@chthonic19 although I would hope he harmed none.
africkinamerican 2 days ago
The Best!
micros45 2 years ago
man this is great music!!
tamarw1 2 years ago 5
thank you so much for putting this on the internet
skateboardinginskate 2 years ago 5
The must have coined the term "blue-eyed soul" after listening to Daryl Hall. What a great voice. And John's is amazing, too.
markndogs 2 years ago 5
bloody priceless clip of a truly incredible tune...the simplicity man, voice and guitar...oh yeah and a hairdryer the travelling essential!!
therhythmsection 2 years ago
LOL that made me LOL for sure.
CivilizedJerk 2 years ago
Thank God that one day I randomly heard this song on the radio. I had never heard it at the time, and now I can't even imagine life without it. These guys have so many great songs that touch the and soul of me! I saw them last year in Boston, and they still sound so good. If this song isn't baby-making music, I don't know what is! We need more music like this around today! Thanks for the post!
awebley34 2 years ago 4
Thanks!!!!
micros45 2 years ago 3
Daryl and John, please keep recording!!! The music industry is filled with out and out trash!! Please come back and redeem it!!!
dereka79 2 years ago 15
UNBELIEVABLE! The philly boys have written some of the most beautiful songs of all time . Thanks Todd,Daryl,John !
toddrunt 2 years ago 6
Unfreakingbelievable.
LiveMusicAllTheTime 2 years ago 7
This is still one of the most amazing songs ever... I never tire of listening to
it. Thanks Eddie... I'm guessing you played at Hammersmith Odeon London in Jan.1977... that was the first time I saw them live and I am still captivated. If it was you on drums I'm sorry I didn't recognise you but was just a little distracted by Daryl !! during the encore I stood right by the stage and Daryl's sweat dripped on to me... didn't wash for a week, ha ha... thanks again Eddie xxx
dianel42 2 years ago 4
WOW!!! Love these Blue Eyed Soul Boys from Philly!!! Philly puts out some great artists, don't they?
Thanks for posting this.....words to live by....for sure....
;o)
VenusGrnys 2 years ago 3
If I was Daryl Hall, and I could sing, "Do What You Want, Be What You Are" the way that he does (especially during this performance), I would never speak again. I would never talk. I would simply walk around singing this song over and over as much as I could until the day that I died. I wouldnt have many intellectual conversations, but I would be getting laid nearly every second that I took a break from singing. That is how good he is while singing this song.
downcard11 2 years ago 22
downcard11 - yes, to say he is brilliant here is somewhat of an understatement.
Dipso1985 2 years ago 4
@downcard11 Great comment! DH is still a great singer of course but 30 years ago when at his peak - like in this video - he was without peer.
YouAreBoring1 1 year ago 5
Darryl Hall was soooo cute back then.......what a great song!!!
howekat19 2 years ago
Love it, thanks for posting! This, Is It A Star, Ennui and Abandoned Luncheonette...never knew such great music was out there!
iwiLetter 2 years ago
Yeah!
ESSENCEOFEACHTHING 3 years ago
amazing! a masterful performance of a gem of a song!
tajspace 3 years ago
Been encouraged by this song so many times.
Thank you for posting.
madamedebamboo 3 years ago
Classic performance. Great song, Thank your for the post!
tamarw1 3 years ago
Amazing performance! And gotta love the amount of keyboards on stage! :) Goes to show the 70's was THE decade of music. Thanks for posting.
TheElPajero 3 years ago
this clip is from the 70s and its still captivating...its still so good
Raider4717 3 years ago
Wow. Crushing. A masterclass performance from a group of hungry and ambitious lads.
chelseafcboy 3 years ago
Is a great song,... great music....
cerati2112 3 years ago
This is awesome! You don't see muscianship like this too often these days;(
netra72 3 years ago 3
This is just outstanding!
Thanks for the post.
Lisse1 3 years ago
Daryl is the most incredible singer ever. This song is just pure magical bliss! H2O is the BEST!
purehonestgood 3 years ago 3
Daryl Hall = yummy!
catrod24 3 years ago 2
Is there anyone with more emotion and as good a voice as Daryl Hall? This performance cements the fact that no, there isn't. He is the best.
downcard11 3 years ago 3
Boy, I sure remember being front and center for
some of these concerts and this song was the
highlight of the night. Thanks for posting.
pattykad 3 years ago 4
Just popped over to amazon and ordered DVD is discontinued bought a used. Get it while u can
437thx1138 3 years ago
WOW what a live performance. Ex post thanks.
437thx1138 3 years ago 4
You are an absolute god for uploading this. Thank you so much!
Trookieness 3 years ago
You are very welcome! I hope you liked my drumming in these videos. I really enjoy watching the videos you make. You never cease to amaze me!
ezyne 3 years ago
Thank you Eddie, listening to all these MuzikLaden videos is just great.
WebHubbleTelescope 3 years ago
I did! You're very talented. :) Oh, thank you, that's very kind. I seem to remember you commenting my Gino (The Manager) video a while back. ^_^
Trookieness 3 years ago
5, Five, FIVE ***** !!!
veluby 3 years ago 2
Awesome! I love this song even better Live! Thanks for posting. Thanks H&O For sharing your Great Skills.
tamarw1 3 years ago
One of my favorite songs, EVER! I've never heard it live before. Unbelievable.
Thank you for this.
nhpm900 3 years ago
Thank you! Here's a small bit of personal trivia about this particular song. The tempo is so slow that I mounted a Franz metronome with a light on it an the sound off inside my drum stick tray. I only used it to count the song off and never looked at it afterwards. But this insured that any song that came before it would not influence the tempo that I counted it off at. The slow tempo really sets the mood. Thanks again for your kind comments.
ezyne 3 years ago
I wish I understood the technicalities of your post but I'm ashamed to say I don't. Suffice it to say your drum playing KICKED ASS!
nhpm900 3 years ago
its a real shame that roger pope totally played this song super fast on the live album
it became so fast and lame!!!
fperdomo 3 years ago
@ezyne well thanks for playin it right! That's one of my pet peeves, when they play songs too fast. H+O almost *always*, except for recent years, would speed up their songs. More exciting, maybe, but some of them (like "One on One") are supposed to be slow. Speeding them up essentially changes it into a different song!
africkinamerican 2 days ago
and btw, good work bangin those drums! And for my curiosity, what happened to John's voice? early on he sounded good, and was IMO stronger than Daryl on the first couple albums. But into the late '70s and '80s it seemed like he kinda gave up. Did he overstrain his voice or something, smoke too much, have bad allergies (like I do), or just fall into Daryl's shadow (literally and otherwise) and just resign to being mostly a BGV?
africkinamerican 2 days ago
@africkinamerican I completely agree about the tempo issue. In order to insure that I get get it to go that slow every night I used an old fashioned Franz metronome with a light on it and the sound off. It sat in my stick tray and only used for that one song. Nowadays drummers use a lot of really high tech gizmos, but I only used it to count the song in and then it was shut off and we were on our own just feeling it. It's one of my favorites. I wish they had included that version on the box set.
ezyne 2 days ago
gran canción, que cambio de voces y tonos, realmente hermosa la música ¿ estará en DVD ?
ogama68 3 years ago
Sí, esta grapa y los otros están en un DVD llamó "Hall & Oates: Live 1976-1977" (AISN: B000B5Y0M8) que se puede encontrar a Amazon.
ezyne 3 years ago
What is the name/type of keyboard that the guy with the fro is playing the bell like sounds on during this song? I never have been able to ID it.
kyklopian 3 years ago
I think it may be a Yamaha keyboard. The guy playing it is David Kent. I just emailed him to find out. I'll also ask Charlie DeChant if he remembers.
ezyne 2 years ago
First tour I saw them off of in Chicago. For some reason though I thought they opened with Back Together Again.
mypsmells 2 years ago
Yes, we did have a set that began with "Back Together Again".
ezyne 2 years ago
Thank's for the response. I didn't realize I was talking with you, Eddie. Great percussion work. Are you still in touch with any of the old band members? I actually remember quite a bit off that set list. One of the best concerts I've ever seen. The next time I saw Hall & Oates I believe they had gone with Roger Pope as drummer and he didn't quite cut it for me. Once again, thanks for the kind response. How long did you play with H & O on the road and what specific albums did you play on?
mypsmells 2 years ago 3
I'm still in touch with Charlie DeChant and to answer your question, I toured with them from December 1974 to July 1977.
ezyne 2 years ago
I saw you play with H & O quite a few times. ...Wow! I was 14 years old the first time I saw you guys. Very cool. Have you listenned to any of your old concert stuff on Wolgang's Vault? If not, you should check it out. I know there's a H & O show from Saratoga New York in '77 that you guys played on.
mypsmells 2 years ago
Hands down. GREAT. I'm amazed at how good Daryl Hall is LIVE.
nyctartuffe 3 years ago
Daryl's so pretty in this video. This is definitely my favorite performance from the concert DVD.
kirazinn 3 years ago