By JUSTIN STOKES
Part of the iconic duo that crafted some of the most memorable songs played on the radio in the past several decades, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Oates is a relentless musical force that has weathered the tides of the ever-changing music industry.
He’s returning to Franklin to play Music City Roots with Derek Hoke, Mike Farris, and Todd Grebe and Cold Country November 23rd, and the Franklin Home Page recently chatted with the legendary musician. Our interview is below.
Franklin Home Page: You’re playing this week’s show at Music City Roots? Let’s discuss the importance of that program for you.
John Oates: Well… I don’t remember exactly how many times I’ve done Music City Roots, but it’s one of my favorite shows of all time… I really mean it. Jim Lauderdale and I are very good friends, and we are writing partners. And I just love… the fact that he’s co-hosted the show. I love Keith Bilbrey and Craig Havighurst. I think the whole thing is done so well. It always reminds me of an old-time radio show, so it feels very good to do it.
I’m bringing a very cool band with me. It’s a trio of Guthrie Trapp who is a phenomenal guitar player, Josh Day who is on percussion, and Steve Mackey who is on bass. And these are guys that I’ve been playing with for quite a while; both recording and playing live with. And we have this cool acoustic trio that we do. So it’s predominantly acoustic. And I’m gonna do a lot of new songs; in particular, I’m gonna do a Christmas single I just released literally a week ago. I can’t wait to play it. It’s called “Santa Be Good To Me.” It’s a really cool song. And uh, we’re gonna do some traditional stuff, and we’ll do some original stuff that I’ve done on some of my solo work. But it’s predominantly gonna be stuff from my solo projects.
FHP: You had recorded the track “Santa Be Good To Me” with The Time Jumpers, and per your website, you shared that “The first time I heard them perform I was blown away by their high level of musicianship and knew someday I wanted to record with them. ‘Santa Be Good To Me’ felt like the perfect song to work on together. We recorded it live in the studio … it was magic … everything I hoped for and more.”
What about this song made it “the perfect opportunity” to work with them?
Oates: Well, it wasn’t so much the fact that it was a Christmas song. It was the fact that it was a swing song. The groove and the actual musical bid is, kind of, old-timey swing. It can go in a lot of different directions. And those guys are really – I love when they… do Texas swing. They do a lot of different things, but really… to me, they really shine when they do Texas swing, and I’ve never done a song like that. Uh, in that style. And so, when “Santa Be Good To Me” had that swing feel, my first thought was The Time Jumpers. And, of course, they you know, completely crushed it because they’re so great. And it was just, here again, I felt like this was the right song and the right project for us to get together on. We had a great time doing it; it was effortless. The professionalism and the artistry of these, of such a great band. I just had a good time, and it had such a great feeling.
It’s interesting about records. They can be well-played, and they can be well-engineered, and they can be well-produced, but there’s something about capturing that magic. And that’s really the goal when you make a record. Not so much all the other things that some people obsess about. And sometimes the rough edges are as important as the shine. You know what I mean? There’s something about this song that’s just natural, real, and played very well.
FHP: You had mentioned that you’ve written several songs with Mr. Jim Lauderdale. Let’s talk about him as a writing partner. How would you describe his musicianship as a collaborator?
Oates: Oh I… I put Jim [Lauderdale] at the top of the pile. He’s an amazing songwriter. And he’s an amazing singer. Uh, he’s a great performer. He’s got it all. And he and I got together, we met at Telluride Bluegrass Festival many, many years ago. And for some reason, we just hit it off… I love his sense of humor – and we became very good friends. We work together… I’ve written a number of songs that he’s included on some of his projects, and I’ve recorded a few songs that we’ve written on some of my projects. And what’s cool about Jim is that even though he’s known for his bluegrass and country music, when he and I write together, we always write something unique and different. So, he brings something out of me that’s unique, and I think I bring something out of him that’s different. And to top to off, we have a ball. We have a blast doing it. He’s the best.
FHP: Adam Ezra of The Adam Ezra Group had also shared that you had been co-writing some songs with him. As someone who has been described as constantly canvassing newer pools of talent, what draws you to Ezra as a songwriter?
Oates: Well, I love his voice, first of all. I think he’s… he’s got a great spirit. There’s something about him; he’s very positive, and very giving. In fact, I will be playing one of the songs that he and I wrote together at Music City Roots during the set… he’s talented, and I took a chance to work with him, and it paid off. We wrote a song that … I’m sure he’s performing in his shows, and I get to perform at my shows, so it’s a beautiful thing.
FHP: Via Twitter, you expressed your sympathies for the passing of the iconic Sharon Jones. What can you offer about your shared experiences with her for readers of the Franklin Home Page?
Oates: Well, Sharon, you know, played with us on the last Hall & Oates tour, uhm along with Trombone Shorty. It was an amazing bill to have Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Trombone Shorty, and then Hall & Oates. And we – Daryl and I – have always believed in … working with young artists who are … kind of sympatico and in sync somehow with all of the music that we’ve made over the years. And Sharon Jones is the perfect example of that; you know, she brings this R&B … soulful authenticity to everything that shes’ ever done. Her band The Dap Kings are incredible. Great players, great people. And I just got to know them in the course of the tour. We hung out together, we went on their bus and listened to vinyl together. You know, just, really great, great people. And Sharon… interestingly enough, in the middle of the tour, they found a vinyl … they found my first single that I did with my high school band in 1967. And it was called “I Need Your Love.” And they found it somewhere in a record shop, and they learned it. They asked me if I’d play it. I said “Man, are you kidding me? I haven’t sung that song in 50 years!” And they said “Well let’s do it!”. I went on stage with them and performed that song that I haven’t performed since I was 17. So, it’s just pretty incredible. They’re great people. Sharon Jones was a true spirit. She struggled every night to go onstage. Every night was a struggle for her to get out of that dressing room and get onstage. But the moment she hit the stage, her life lit … it was truly an inspirational flame that she carried in her heart and spirit, and she brought it every night. When the show was over, she could barely walk. But she did it every night. To watch her do what she did and to know that we had a very small part in the last show that she ever played was pretty special.
FHP: Switching gears, this September you recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Oates: (Laughs) I have no idea. It’s … don’t know what that means. It just means that people put a star on the sidewalk with our name in it, and people took pictures … Dave Stewart from The Eurythmyics spoke on our behalf, and a fellow named Jerry Greenberg who signed us to our first record contract back in Atlantic Records back in the early Seventies, he spoke on our behalf. It was one of those Hollywood things, one of those Hollywood moments that was exciting and fun …
To be honest with you… I don’t put a lot of stock in things like that. I really care more about the music. It’s great to be honored and it’s great to be acknowledged, but to me, playing Music City Roots on Wednesday night is more important than a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
FHP: In April of 2017, you’ll have your memoir Change of Seasons hitting bookshelves. This is a project that you’ve teased for a few years.
Oates: Well… I’ve always wanted to write a book. I never thought it was going to be a memoir. Because I think of myself as a writer, whether it’s music or prose or whatever. It really started with a friend of mine named Chris Epting. He was just one of those guys who seemed to understand me on a level that a lot of journalists perhaps don’t – or haven’t. There was something that about our rapport, and eventually he prodded me and encouraged me to do it. He said “Hey, you should write a book, you know?” And I said “Well … you wanna help?” That’s kind of how it started. So it’s been quite a project; two years in the making. It’s unpacked a bunch of memories that perhaps I never would have remembered for the rest of my life. So, in a way it was kind of therapeutic and surprising. What it’s really about I think is that it’s hard for me to tell my personal story without telling the Hall & Oates story because in so many ways, they’re one and the same. But yet I’m not Daryl Hall. I think that was the biggest challenge of the book: How do I tell my personal story, and still address the fact that I’ve spent my entire adult life with Daryl Hall as “Hall & Oates?” So, that was kind of a unique challenge, and I think I’ve kind of done that. I think what I’ve done is I’ve focused on the early, early days of Hall & Oates. The stuff that people don’t really know about… of the struggles that we went through getting a record contract, and figuring out what we were gonna do and how we were gonna do it … I think there’s a lot of that in the book. I don’t really spend a lot of time talking about the Eighties and the big hits, all the big commercial success because it’s pretty well documented, and it’s not that interesting to me. I think the struggle and the “act of becoming” is much more … intriguing than the story of success.
FHP: Do you think that’s part of what intrigues both you and Daryl Hall about newer artists? Not only that you’re constantly searching for new talent, but that those people are overcoming their own struggles?
Oates: Well, you know I think that probably is part of it. I think we both realized that we’ve always seen ourselves as part of a continuum. I … I don’t mean to be too highfalutin here or get too esoteric about it. But I’ve always had a great reverence and a great respect for the musicians who have come before us, and the ones that influenced me and inspired me to be who I am. So I want to be that person now at this later stage in my career, I want to be that person for someone else. And I want to hope to do that as best I can. I think it’s my duty in… kind of a strange way, I feel it’s my responsibility to do that. And I wanna do that. I want to try to help people, and I want to try and impart whatever it is I have to offer to them. And if it means something to them, if it’s important to them, and if they get something out of it, then it’s a “win-win” for all of us. And plus I love the energy of working with people who are new and who have fresh ideas, and who are trying to achieve something on their own and create something new for themselves. To be part of that is exciting.
John Oates will be playing both Music City Roots on Nov. 23 and The Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, Nov. 26, and will be on touring with Daryl Hall in 2017. For further information about Oates, as well as the chance to purchase a limited edition, autographed copy of the vinyl single “Santa Be Good To Me,” visit his website.
