• April 7, 1948
• Sure, everyone knows Hall & Oates, the iconic rock and soul duo. But John Oates is more than just Daryl Hall's partner in crime. This guitar-slinging vocalist is a key ingredient in the Hall & Oates sound. He co-wrote many of their biggest hits, like "She's Gone," "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," "Maneater" and "Out of Touch."
• Things got rocky in November 2023. Hall hit Oates with a lawsuit and a restraining order, accusing him of "the ultimate partnership betrayal" for wanting to sell his songwriting rights. Oates fired back, calling Hall's claims "inflammatory" and "inaccurate."
• Before Hall & Oates, John Oates recorded a single, "I Need Your Love," in 1966 with The Masters for Philadelphia-based Crimson Records.
• Oates released his first solo album, Phunk Shui, in 2002. The album title is a play on the words "funk" and "feng shui." So why did it take him so long to make a solo record?
  
  "I just never really had a collection of songs or a direction that I felt was important enough for me to make that kind of statement," Oates told Songfacts. "I didn't want to make a solo album just to say I made one. It really wasn't until early 2000 that I started to assemble some songs, and I thought it was a good time."
• He is passionate about photography and has exhibited his work.
• Oates has a wrestling background and was a champion in high school.
• In 2017, John Oates released his memoir, Change of Seasons.

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