Whoa-oa, here they come…Ready for some music trivia? Here are some awesome facts about Hall and Oates.

• Hall and Oates were formed in the Philadelphia soul music scene of the 1960s and 1970s. The duo was embraced by soul and R&B radio, too—along with Robin Thicke and Lisa Stansfield, Hall and Oates are the only Caucasian act to ever top Billboard’s R&B singles chart.

• Hall and Oates, the band, isn’t really called “Hall and Oates.” Technically, the duo is known as “Daryl Hall and John Oates.”

• They’re the most successful duo of all time, selling 40 million albums and scoring six #1 hit singles.

• While Hall was the lead singer, Oates was the rhythm guitarist and co-writer of most of the duo’s songs. He also sang lead on more than 40 Hall and Oates, including their hit cover of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.” In 1987 he wrote and sang backup on one-hit-wonder Icehouse’s single “Electric Blue.”

• In 1983, Hall and Oates recorded a cover of the Christmas pop classic “Jingle Bell Rock.” One side of the 45 features Hall singing lead; the other side has Oates.

• The group made some memorable, and pretty bad music videos in the 1980s. Oates has said many times that they were kind of bad on purpose, because he resented having to suddenly be an actor for the new medium …and he wasn’t a very good actor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAaFt7_6qvk

• Hall and Oates are highly influential on modern musicians. Questlove, drummer for the hip-hop group the Roots and The Tonight Show bandleader, inducted Hall and Oates into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and said that their music “could cure all illness.” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” has been sampled often in rap music, by acts including De La Soul, the Notorious BIG, and 2 Live Crew. Michael Jackson approached Hall at the recording session for “We Are the World” to tell him that he stole the song’s bass line and used it for “Billie Jean.”

• This week Hall and Oates filed suit against a granola company who was selling a product called…Haulin’ Oats.

Looking for more music trivia, check out Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Plunges into Music.