John McEuen interviews John Oates - May 25, 2011

John McEuen of the Americana Music Show interviews John Oates (of Hall & Oates). They talk about their careers chronologically and share their respective memories.

At first blush, Mississippi Mile might seem like a surprising title for an album that promises to take John Oates back to his deepest influences. Nearly everyone who’s paid attention to pop radio over the last four decades knows Daryl Hall & John Oates built much of their foundation on Philadelphia soul. If that superstar duo’s darker-haired half was going to make a back-to-roots move, shouldn’t it be called Philly Mile? But it’s no geomapping accident that gave Oates’ new solo album its name.

“There’s a common thread in this collection of music that otherwise maybe you wouldn’t be able to put your finger on,” Oates says, “and that common thread is that it all emanates from this one geographical place. As I assembled these songs, whether it was a Curtis Mayfield song or a Chuck Berry or Mississippi John Hurt or anything in-between, the roots of all this music are in the Mississippi Delta.

It’s the birthplace of American pop music. And rock & roll really started there before it moved through the country up into the urban centers of Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia and morphed through the experiences of the people who lived there.”

We didn't use his new Mississippi Mile in this interview. We used SHE'S A MAN EATER and PRIVATE EYES to dance you down memory lane.