Stories behind memorable albums of the 1970s as told by the artists

The backstory behind the hit ‘Sara Smile’ by Hall & Oates

Even though both Daryl Hall and John Oates are credited with writing "Sara Smile," it's a Daryl Hall song. (Photo by Mike Morsch)

Even though both Daryl Hall and John Oates are credited with writing “Sara Smile,” it’s a Daryl Hall song.
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

Daryl Hall was living on the Upper East Side of New York in 1975 when he and John Oates began producing material for the “Daryl Hall & John Oates” album – which would come to be known as “The Silver Album” because of its glam rock style cover. Living with Hall at the time was his girlfriend, Sara Allen.

Oates had introduced Allen to Hall a few years earlier. According to Oates, he had met a flight attendant – called “stewardesses” in those days – and a girlfriend of hers on the streets of New York and had struck up a conversation with them. One of those flight attendants was Sara Allen.

Oates eventually took that chance meeting and turned it into a song titled “Las Vegas Turnaround” that appeared on the duo’s second album, “Abandoned Luncheonette,” released in 1973. He also eventually introduced Hall to Allen.

By 1975, Allen and Hall were a few years into a personal relationship that would end up lasting more than 30 years. And Hall was inspired enough by his feelings for Allen that he wrote a highly personal song, one that would end up being on “The Silver Album.”

That song was “Sara Smile,” which became the first Top 10 hit for Hall & Oates, reaching No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in early 1976.

“It was a song that came completely out of my heart. I’ve said this many times – it was a postcard. It’s short and sweet and to the point,” said Hall.

But there was no big first-time reveal of the song to Allen.

“She was there, in the house. I was just writing the song. I don’t think there was a first time that I played it for her. She listened to the evolution of the song,” said Hall.

Both Hall and Oates are credited as writing the song but it’s a Daryl Hall song, according to Oates.

John Oates contributed some lyrics to "Sara Smile." (Photo by Mike Morsch)

John Oates contributed some lyrics to “Sara Smile.”
(Photo by Mike Morsch)

“When you think about that song, the one thing you have to understand about Daryl and I and our songwriting process is that if one of us kind of had a handle on the idea, the other one would help and kind of function almost like an editor, to help make the song happen.” said Oates. “It could have been as simple as throwing out an arrangement idea or it could have been a 50-50 collaboration or anything in-between. There were no rules involved with any of this stuff.”

Oates said Hall had the song, the music, the chord changes, he was singing the melody and had the chorus.

“Over the years, I’ve always just tacitly acknowledged that it was his song, because it was. But he and I wrote the lyrics together,” said Oates.

But it was two Oates songs – “Camellia” and “Alone Too Long” – that were slated by the record company to be the two singles released from “The Sliver Album.” At that point in the process, “Sara Smile” wasn’t being considered for release as a single.

“When ‘Sara Smile’ was recorded, it was probably tracked in a half hour at the most. Daryl did all the vocals. In fact, the lead vocal is a live vocal tape. We punched in one word, the first ‘Sara’ before the first chorus because it was flat,” said Barry Rudolph, the engineer on the album. “Daryl is very much a live and immediate artist; he’s not much for punching in lead vocals. Backing vocals are different. But he really was a real-by-feel kind of singer.”

But Chris Bond – who co-produced the album with Hall and Oates – and Rudolph didn’t think “Sara Smile” was destined to be a single from the album.

“The first time I heard ‘Sara Smile,’ I thought it was a really neat song. And that’s all I thought about it. But it did definitely belong on this record,” said Bond.

“To be honest, everyone kind of thought that ‘Sara’ was a really cool kind of album cut. It was a really nice song and everyone loved working on it,” said Rudolph. “It was a very simple production, a very simple song. Daryl said to me, ‘When we do the backing vocals, I want it to sound like the Dells.’ I said OK. I sort of knew who they were.”

The Dells were a doo-wop group popular in the 1950s and 1960s who had an R&B hit with the single “Oh What a Night.”

“When I heard the playback the first time of the first take that we’d done of ‘Sara,’ I thought oh, something was happening,” said Bond. “I’m sitting in the control room thinking to myself, oh my God, to me this sounds like a hit record. But everybody kept  insisting the hit single was ‘Camellia.’ This was the 1970s. Albums all had concepts – that’s what it was all about. And the concept with ‘Sara’ was that it was like an Al Green song. I wanted it to sound like an old Al Green song from Memphis.

“I cut ‘Camellia’ three different times, with three different sections. I did two different string dates on it. I tried it with two different drummers. I even tried cutting it in different studios to see if I could make it sound like a hit to me and it never did,” said Bond.

Once “The Silver Album” was released, the two singles, “Camellia” and “Alone Too Long,” did OK on the charts, but nothing spectacular. At that time in the music business, according to Oates, artists had to give a single six to eight weeks to see if it would make the charts and get regular radio play.

“By the time those two singles had been released – the album had been released prior to that – you’re talking about being into this album for more than six months. At that point in our careers, six months was an eternity. We were already getting ready to make a new record,” said Oates.

Still, RCA had no intention of releasing a third single from “The Silver Album.” (I interviewed Hall, Oates, Bond and Rudolph about the making of that album, which is featured in “The Vinyl Dialogues Volume III: Stacks of Wax.”)

“In their minds, we were going to make another record, and in our minds, we were going to make another record,” said Oates.

But while the duo was touring, a disc jockey on a small R&B radio station in Toledo, Ohio, decided to start playing “Sara Smile” as an album cut – just because he liked the song.

“Simple as that. And as soon he began to play it, the phones lit up, people kept calling and asking, ‘Who are these guys, what is this song that you’re playing and where do we get it?’” said Oates.

But Bond and Rudolph remember the “Sara” story differently.

“The story goes that Tommy Mattola (the duo’s manager at the time) took a second loan out on his house and borrowed a bunch of money and basically got the top 10 stations in the country to play ‘Sara’ in regular rotation for a week. And that put it over the edge,” said Rudolph. (I was unable to confirm that version of the story with Hall, Oates or Mattola.)

Nevertheless, word of the song’s popularity in Ohio quickly got back to RCA offices in New York and the record company officials decided to release “Sara Smile” as the third single off “The Silver Album.”

Hall & Oates were touring England when “Sara Smile” broke in the R&B world, becoming a hit on African-American radio. The song then crossed over into mainstream radio and became a pop hit as well.

“I will never forget the first time I heard it on the radio,” said Hall. “I was in California. I heard it on the radio amidst all the other songs, and I thought to myself, ‘This doesn’t sound like anything else that’s being played around it.’ It was totally unique and stuck out like a sore thumb – well maybe not a sore thumb – but it stuck out. I have a distinct memory of that. I’m sort of proud of that idea.”

The song went to No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles, No. 6 on the U.S. Cash Box Top 100 singles, No. 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks and No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.

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33 Comments

  1. Dorothy Anne

    “Sara Smile” …..
    Such a Pure Love Song…..
    Touches Your Heart, Soul & Mind
    And never leaves…..
    The Feelings simply remain
    Forever embedded & entwined
    Between the Beautiful Close Lines
    Of Soulful Harmony that holds your
    Heart Forever & You are then Always
    Cast in the Light of Eternal Love❤️

    Thank You😊

  2. Ernesto

    The song is so brilliant that a metal head like me loves it.

  3. Jill Golowach

    This song makes me wish my name was Sara so it could be about me. As a vocalist, I want to find a man’s name that fits, so that I can sing it.
    What a great song!

    • Chip Meyers

      Jill – male name for “Sara Smile” is right under your nose: “Daryl” ! 😃

  4. Jerry Fox

    Great story! Great song! Tell us more about Hall & Oates.
    I also have a band. We play salsa, 10 guys in my and and I the arranger, instrumentalist, leader. My originals come out of nowhere. It’s fun to know details and the history of how a song is made and written. Tell us more

    • Thanks for the kind words, Jerry. Check out the rest of The Vinyl Dialogues blog. I’ve written quite a bit about Hall & Oates over the years. Enjoy! – M2

  5. I was there in Philly when my husband enrolled in Temple Unv. I didn’t know Hall&Oates were students there at that time. Coming from Georgia to Philly was a culture shock for me. Philly is forever in my soul, we got engaged there. Our first child was born at Hannaman hospital in Philly.
    Philly is forever in my blood. Gospel is forever in my bones, Hall & Oates are forever in my heart. Their music blends the best of soul, jazz and rock. As a former hippie who happens to be a black woman rediscovering their sound, I can truly say they are the Ambassadors of American music! Charlie made me fall in love with the Sax. I never liked jazz or the Sax until I heard Charlie. I’m over the moon hearing the words, the passion is unbelievable from Daryl Hall! What an amazing gift these musicians are to the world! Everyday, I find another song I wish I had known about. Love songs like theirs might have saved my marriage back then. Today it’s definitely putting my marriage back together after 50 years. My husband & I will owe Hall&Oates the next 40 years of romantic bliss.
    The only thing that would make this the perfect ending to our love story , is to get married at Daryl’s house… Chris & LaNell forever, smiling, singing and dancing to Hall&Oates! 🙂

  6. Charron Daughtry

    Fond of them both. Gteat songs, and talent…

  7. Carol Emanuele

    I have loved Hall & Oates my entire life. I have never missed a chance to see them in concert. They are beautiful musicians and their songs always make me happy. I have had such joy listening dancing and singing all their songs. I pretend my name is Sara….. pathetic huh?? I wish I could just thank them. ❤️✌🏻💚

  8. Sara M

    My parents named me after this song when I was born in September 1976. It holds a very special place in my heart.

  9. Susan Ross

    Always loved the song about Sara. Having known Susan Zyne years ago I always remember the Turnaround song as we were flight attendants with Eastern Airlines I’m a flight attendant with Delta and still loved those songs!!

  10. Tonya Wingfield

    Every time I hear this song I tear up. So beautiful

  11. Sandy

    Hall & Oates was popular at such an important time in my life. I love to dance and their music just made you want to. I recently moved to Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, and went to see them with my daughter in Philly about two or three years ago. They brought back so many wonderful memories to me and I now watch Daryl Hall in his studio in upstate New York where I used to live. Damn, the man still looks hot!

  12. Frank James Padula

    I listen to this song all the time…I remember way back when it played on the FM stations and it was a special sound, slow, sexy bluesy…The late Jim Gordon did a tremendous job on the drums, such a nice beat with simple beautiful fills. I love how the song almost completely stops a few times and all you hear are the light taps on the hi hats…

    • Scott Topanga

      Jim Gordon was an incredible drummer but he did not play on “Sara Smile.” The drummer was noted session drummer Ed Greene. Tommy Motola mentioned this in his book. But I believe Gordon drummed on “Rich Girl,” an equally impressive performance.

  13. Bill Gonzo

    This song is a classic icon and it will be around as long as A Kiss is Just A Kiss from Casablanca.

    • Chip Meyers

      As known by its title “As time goes by”. Written by Herman Hupfeld.

  14. Sara

    In my second grade class my teacher would stand up on the tables and sing this song to me and I felt so special. I really miss her, she was the only teacher that expressed her relationships towards her students. P.S. I was her favorite.

  15. jeff

    One of my all time favorite songs, it made me want to be a singer. Im supposed to see Hall and Oats in April if the industry is open by the, fingers crossed.

  16. Donna

    I know time moves on and things change, but I sure do miss Hall & Oates. At least I can still hear their music on YouTube and also listen to LFDH.

    • They’re still very much around, Donna. I’ve seen them in concert several times in recent years and they’re planning another tour once we’re back to live shows. – M2

  17. Dee Murphy

    Named my middle daughter after this song. It was and still is one of my all time faves. As is Hall & Oates!!!

  18. Elena Michaels

    I always loved this song. And I knew Sara…we were college roommates. I was supposed to go to that interview for the stewardess job but I didn’t go for some reason. She and I are still friends. That song makes my heart melt…

  19. Nancy Haugen

    Hall and Oates were my first ever concert in 1976. I just returned from my third in St. Paul. Still smiling!

  20. Dee Leeming

    My previous boyfriend from the 1970s named his daughter after this song.
    We played the album many times and I knew it throughout word for word. Sadly the daughter was not mine, but I know her name was inherent from the track Sarah Smile. A happy ending to this is despite the odds, 45 years later, we are together enjoying the music, his daughter’s accomplishments, and forever reliving and recreating memories. Dee and Russell

  21. Victor M

    Just came across this story by chance and loved it! I’ve always been a fan of Hall & Oates music and this has always been one of my favorite songs by them! Sincere , tender, genuine, authentic, timeless and just plain lovely are the words that come to mind to describe the song. Thank you for providing the background story on this song. After so many years, it makes the song even more special!

  22. There is no better singer than Daryl Hall! Well, maybe Joan Osborne! I’ve seen Hall & Oates several times in the past decades, they were the absolute best!

  23. Jim

    What incredible talent these two have. Keep going!

  24. M Martin

    What a lovely song. Well said everyone..

  25. Nee Can

    I absolutely love this song! I’m 33 and my mom used to play this song, I don’t know why but it’s a sad song to me I remember her being so alive…. Thank you for making me relive her every time I play this song!

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