Hall without Oates

Dynamic duos have long been a part of civilization. Too bad it’s such a rocky relationship when the two people can’t work out their differences. Sometimes, they start as running buddies and end up in court – or worse. So no one should be surprised that these two singers finally decided to grab separate microphones. Since this is a tale as old as time.

Long before Simon left Garfunkel, there was another singing couple with a big future and enough mutual animus and jealousy to last several millennia. You have to go back to biblical times, and given that it’s the holiday season, it seems fitting to do so.

Lots of people know how the story of Cain and Abel ended, but very few know how it started. It began in coffeehouses just outside of Eden, since you couldn’t serve anything stronger than a glass of ice water inside the garden. Cain and Abel were old folkies, the first harmonizing brothers. Paving the way for the Isleys, the Louvins, and the Wilsons. 

Like many groups, things started out well enough. Passing around the hat. The trouble was finding and sustaining a following. There weren’t a lot of people on earth besides their parents. They couldn’t find an audience. With most groups, it comes down to songwriting credit and top billing. Cain and Abel were no different. Abel wanted to see if he could find some footing as a solo artist, but Cain, the less talented of the two, had no interest in breaking up.

So when it comes to Hall and Oates, the end could certainly be much worse. At least they got about fifty years of hits before calling it quits. Today, tomorrow, or several thousand years in the past, it always comes down to one thing: ego.