"Maneater" by Daryl Hall & John Oates

#1 Alert!

Gold Record Alert!

Song#:  1221
Date:  10/16/1982
Debut:  65
Peak:  1 (4 weeks)
Weeks:  23
Genre:  Pop, Blue-Eyed Soul



Pop Bits:  Their LP "Private Eyes" was a major hit that struck platinum thanks to three Top 10's including two #1's. Hot on the heels of that success, the duo recorded their next album "H20." The set was decidedly more synth-oriented and it got a lot of attention thanks to this first single that soared to #1. Its four weeks in that position made the song Hall & Oates' biggest hit. The album would also be their best effort reaching #3 and going double-platinum. The song also got the duo a Grammy nod for Best Pop Vocal, Duo or Group.

ReduxReview:  I can't hear this song without thinking about college. I attended a music school and had a song lyric class. The professor was in a cover band that would play this song. In pre-internet days, if lyrics were not included with the album you had to rely on your ears. For this song there was a line they just could not understand. So they just imitated the syllables they heard. Later, they found out the line was "a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar." I admit I couldn't understand that line either. It's kind of a famous misheard lyric now. I loved the song when it came out, especially the echoed sax solo, and it still sounds pretty dang good. Plus, Daryl Hall going "the woman is wild woo-oo-oo-oo-oo" really quick near the end cracks me up. I love imitating that line.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  In an interview, John Oates mentions that this song is actually not about a woman, but about New York City. All the things the song covers, like greed and the spoils of the rich, were really about the city. However, they wrapped it all up in a package that refers to a woman instead of a city because it makes the lyrics more relatable.

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