Todayâs theme at Song Lyric Sunday is all about songs
that feature the saxophone
Thereâs only one musical duo who can say they are the number one selling duo in music history. That twosome is Daryl Hall and John Oates.
Beginning as two devoted disciples of earlier soul greats, Hall & Oates are today soul survivors in their own right. They have become such a musical influence on future generations of popular artists that they are the most sampled performers today and their impact can be heard everywhere from boy band harmonies to rap-rock fusion.
Signed to Atlantic in the early 1970s, Hall & Oates had a noteworthy start to their career. Their 1973 album, Abandoned Luncheonette yielded the Top 10 single, âSheâs Gone,â which also went to #1 on the R&B charts. The duo recorded one more album with Atlantic, War Babies (produced by Todd Rundgren) before they signed to RCA. Their tenure at RCA would catapult Daryl and John to international superstardom.
From the mid-â70s to the mid-â80s, they would score six #1 singles from six multi-platinum albums. The era would also produce an additional 8 Top 10 singles. By 1984, the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.) recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the number one selling duo of all time, a record they still hold today.
In 1985 singer Paul Young covered the Daryl-written Voices album track âEvery Time You Go Away,â scoring a #1 hit and helping to establish the song as a modern standard. That same year, Daryl and John participated in the historic âWe Are the Worldâ session, reopened the legendary Apollo Theatre in the company of their heroes David Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, and closed the globally broadcast Live Aid show in Philadelphia.
Across the succeeding decades, Daryl and John have continued to record and tour both individually and together, while their self-composed songs have evolved from current hits to timeless classics. In 2003, Daryl Hall and John Oates were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, followed by their 2014 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Demonstrating the duoâs massive popularity across decades, generations and listening formats, in 2020 Daryl and John celebrated a milestone 1 billion streams of âYou Make My Dreams (Come True).â Ubiquitous in films, commercials and playlists, the song encapsulates the essential and enduring appeal of Daryl Hall & John Oates.
Unfortunately, Hall and Oates are in the middle of a legal battle. Daryl Hall has filed a lawsuit stemming from Oates’ attempt to sell off his share of their joint venture, Whole Oats Enterprises LLP, which would violate the terms of a business agreement the duo had forged. The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale while legal proceedings and a previously initiated arbitration continue.
One thing cannot be denied, despite their legal troubles: their music makes people feel good …. always has, always will.
The song I have chosen today which features a saxophone prominently throughout is their 1982 mega-hit, âManeaterâ, a song about a very seductive woman who uses men to satisfy her expensive tastes. Much like the line âHer mind is Tiffany twistedâ in the Eagles song âHotel Californiaâ, the lyrics to âManeaterâ use a luxury brand to develop the character as she is described as âa she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguarâ, referring to the car.
The song was a showcase for Hall & Oates’ sax player Charles âMr. Casualâ DeChant who appears in the video during his solo. The song spent four weeks at #1 in the US, making it the biggest US hit of the 80s to feature a sax solo.
This is one of several Hall & Oates songs that Daryl Hallâs long-time girlfriend Sara Allen had a hand in writing. According to Hall, his original lyric had some additional words in the chorus after âsheâs a maneaterâ. Allen convinced him to end the line there, which Hall says made the song come together.
âManeaterâ was used on the soundtrack to the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie âRunaway Brideâ, the story of a woman with the reputation for jilting her fiancĂ©s at the altar.
“Maneater” is featured on Hall & Oatesâ 11th studio album âH2Oâ. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 18, 1982. It remained in the top spot for four weeks, longer than any of the duo’s five other number-one hits.
This is âManeaterâ by Daryl Hall and John Oates, featuring Charles DeChant on saxophone.
Lyrics
She’ll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new
I’ve seen her here before
Watching and waiting
Ooh, she’s sitting with you
But her eyes are on the door
So many have paid to see
What you think you’re getting for free
The woman is wild
A she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar
Money’s the matter
If you’re in it for love
You ain’t gonna get too far
Oh-oh, here she comes
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes
She’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes
She’s a man-eater, oh-oh
I wouldn’t if I were you
I know what she can do
She’s deadly, man
And she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there
But a beast is in the heart
Oh-oh, here she comes
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes
She’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes
She’s a man-eater, oh-oh
Hey!
Ooh!
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
Watch out, boy, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes (watch out)
She’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes (she’s a man-eater)
Ooh, she’ll chew you up
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
She’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes (watch out)
She’ll only come out at night, ooh
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
She’s a man-eater, oh-oh
Oh-oh, here she comes (she’s a man-eater)
The woman is wild, ooh
Oh-oh, here she comes (here she comes)
Watch out, boy, watch out, boy
Oh-oh, here she comes
Oh, watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out
Oh-oh, here she comes (watch out)
Yeah-yeah, she’s a man-eater
Oh-oh, here she comes (she’s a man-eater)
She’s watching and waiting, ooh
Oh-oh, here she comes
Oh, she’s a man-eater
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Daryl Hall / Sara Allen / John Oates
Maneater lyrics © Unichappell Music Inc., Hot Cha Music Co., Geomantic Music, Hot Cha Music Co
Big thanks to Jim for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday and to Willow for coming up with a terrific theme.
Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. đ
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