"I'll tell you
.what changed," he says, brightening. "last year John and I were sharing a
filthy $275 apartment with no windows. This year I'm looking for 100 acres around
Woodstock." Hall and Oates were virtually
musical nobodies until last year. After tireless roadwork as everyone's warmup act, and
after experimenting with at least three different sounds, they earned a small following in
a scattering or cities, mainly because of their Top 40 single, "She's Gone," and
the little gem of an album it came from, Abandoned Luncheonette.
Then in 1975 they tried a fourth sound, switched labels,
and everything fell into place. By last fall they were headlining a coast - to - coast
sellout tour. During the run of it, three of their 45s and three albums went gold. Last
week their single, "Rich Girl," from their soon to-be-platinum last album,
Bigger than both of Us, went Number One. Even their former label (Atlantic) has done okay
by repackaging some old material with outtakes, ruefully calling it No Goodbye and
shipping 300,000 copies in the first two weeks. Now the duo's problem is finding right tax
havens.