50 Daryl Hall & John Oates Songs You Better Have…Or Else
“Adult Education”
(1984, #8 pop)
Writer: Daryl Hall, John Oates, Sara Allen
Producer: Daryl Hall, John Oates, Bob Clearmountain
from the album Rock ‘n Soul Part 1
Attempting to create the perfect bridge from their universally acclaimed cool pop to the unknowns of street hip-hop, Hall & Oates designed “Adult Education” for their first major “best-of” compilation, Rock ‘n Soul Part 1 album. That handiwork, “Adult Education,” seemed risky. Although it blended Aerosmith-esque rock guitars with and exposes groundbreaking production values, the song revisited the dark paranoia of “I Can’t Go for That.” But it paid off, going to number eight pop and twenty-one on the dance charts. It’s also aged perfectly and is superbly urban. Why it didn’t become a big R&B hit is a mystery for the gods to tackle.
