- Maneater (Hall & Oates song)
-
"Maneater" Single by Hall & Oates from the album H2O B-side "Delayed Reaction" Released October 31, 1982 Recorded 1982 Genre Dance-rock
New Wave
Blue-eyed soulLength 4:33 Label RCA Records Writer(s) Sara Allen
Daryl Hall
John OatesProducer Daryl Hall
John OatesHall & Oates singles chronology "Your Imagination"
(1982)"Maneater"
(1982)"One on One"
(1983)"Maneater" is a single recorded by American duo Hall & Oates from their 1982 album H2O. It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on December 18, 1982.[1] It remained in the top spot for four weeks, more than any of the duo's five other number-one hits, including Kiss on My List, which remained in the top spot for three weeks.
Contents
Background and writing
In an interview with American Songwriter, Daryl Hall states:
John had written a prototype of "Maneater;" he was banging it around with Edgar Winter. It was like a reggae song. I said, "Well, the chords are interesting, but I think we should change the groove." I changed it to that Motown kind of groove. So we did that, and I played it for Sara [Allen] and sang it for her…[Sings] "Oh here she comes/Watch out boy she’ll chew you up/Oh here she comes/She’s a maneater… and a…" I forget what the last line was. She said, "Drop that shit in the end and go, 'She’s a maneater,' and stop! And I said, 'No, you’re crazy, that’s messed up.'" Then I thought about it, and I realized she was right. And it made all the difference in the song.[Full citation needed]
Hall also opined -
“ We try and take chances. Our new single "Maneater" isn't something that sounds like anything else on the radio. The idea is to make things better. ” Music video
The Hall & Oates music video opens with a woman (Aleksandra Duncan) walking down a red staircase, and the band playing in a dimly lit studio with shafts of light projecting down on them. The band members step in and out of the light for their lip sync. A young woman in a short party dress is shown in fade-in and fade-out shots, along with a black jaguar, hence the song line "The woman is wild, a she-cat tamed by the purr of a Jaguar." The song refrain is "Whoa, oh here she comes; watch out boy, she'll chew you up; whoa, oh here she comes, she's a maneater."
Nelly Furtado sample
In 2006, the song and its subject matter were adapted and re-interpreted by Nelly Furtado for her song, also called "Maneater" from her album Loose. The song was sampled once more in 2006 when the Ying Yang Twins (featuring Wyclef and Mr. Collipark) released the song "Dangerous." The Hall & Oates version features a saxophone solo by Charles "Mr. Casual" DeChant. American rapper Hot Karl used the music and chorus in a song, also called "Maneater," satirizing the hip hop industry. In his introduction, Karl alludes to the original song's popularity, telling the audience "I don't want to see any of you really hard guys not singing the words, because I know you know 'em! You don't not know 'Maneater'!" A cover of the song is also used as the theme for the pilot episode of the Adult Swim show Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil. Hall and Oates also appeared on Will and Grace during Grace's wedding to James, singing "Maneater" as she walked down the aisle.
Legal action
In November 2008, Hall & Oates initiated legal action against their music publisher (Warner/Chappell Music). An unidentified singer-songwriter was alleged to have used "Maneater" in a 2006 recording, infringing copyright, and by failing to sue for copyright infringement, Warner Chappell Music were alleged to have breached their contract with Hall and Oates.[3]
Cover versions and pop culture references
The song "We're Live (Danger)" by rapper Royce Da 5'9" (which was featured in the highly acclaimed game Grand Theft Auto III) contains a sample from the Hall & Oates song "Maneater".
The now defunct Chicago band Split Habit covered the song live, and also included it on their 2004 album Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.
Indie rock band Harvey Danger recorded a cover of this song for their final album Dead Sea Scrolls.
Las Vegas band The Kickwurmz released two versions of the song circa 1998: Maneater, and Man Eata' Digital Media House Remix.
The original version of the song is heard in the 1999 film Runaway Bride, and appears on the soundtrack. Early in the movie Richard Gere's character Ike Graham describes several mythological 'Maneaters' in a newspaper column, and then cites one human one, Julia Roberts's Maggie Carpenter, who's left multiple men standing at the altar.
In the season one Scrubs episode "My Bed Banter and Beyond," Dr. Cox tells a psychologist that his wife is "a man-eater. And I'm not talking about the 'whoa-whoa, here she comes' kind."
Jazz/electronica group The Bird and the Bee covered the song live with John Oates on March 5, 2010 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, California. Their album Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates includes a studio recorded cover of "Maneater," featuring backing vocals from Garbage vocalist Shirley Manson, and was released March 23, 2010.
In 2009, the song appeared on the "Ballad Of Gay Tony" episode of the video game, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, as a part of the Vice City FM radio station.
The North American release of Ys I and II Chronicles features a reference to Maneater at the start of Ys I.
In the Beavis and Butthead episode "Sign Here," the duo watches the music video.
In 2011, indie rock band The Wooden Birds covered this song as a b-side on their "Two Matchsticks" single.
Chart performance
Chart (1982-1983) Peak
positionCanadian Singles Chart 4 Netherlands Singles Chart 18 New Zealand Singles Chart 4 Norwegian Singles Chart 6 South African Singles Chart 2 Swedish Singles Chart 5 Swiss Singles Chart 2 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 14 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs 18 U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles 78 UK Singles Chart 6 References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 372. CN 5585.
- ^ "Hall and Oates take legal action". BBC News. November 7, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7714909.stm.
External links
Preceded by
"Mickey" by Toni BasilBillboard Hot 100 number one single
December 18, 1982- January 8, 1983Succeeded by
"Down Under" by Men at WorkDaryl Hall · John Oates Studio albums Whole Oats (1972) · Abandoned Luncheonette (1973) · War Babies (1974) · Daryl Hall & John Oates (1975) · Bigger Than Both of Us (1976) · Beauty on a Back Street (1977) · Along the Red Ledge (1978) · X-Static (1979) · Voices (1980) · Private Eyes (1981) · H2O (1982) · Big Bam Boom (1984) · Ooh Yeah! (1988) · Change of Season (1990) · Marigold Sky (1997) · Do It for Love (2003) · Our Kind of Soul (2004) · Home for Christmas (2006)
Live albums Livetime (1978) · Sweet Soul Music (1983) · Live at the Apollo (1985)
Compilation albums No Goodbyes (1977) · Rock 'n Soul Part 1 (1983) · Special Mix on CD (1989) · Looking Back – The Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates (1991) · VH1 Behind the Music: The Daryl Hall and John Oates Collection (2002)
Singles "How Does It Feel to Be Back" (1980) · "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (1980) · "Kiss on My List" (1981) · "You Make My Dreams" (1981) · "Private Eyes" (1981) · "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" (1981) · "Did It in a Minute" (1982) · "Your Imagination" (1982) · "Maneater" (1982) · "One on One" (1983) · "Family Man" (1983) · "Jingle Bell Rock" (1983) · "Say It Isn't So" (1983) · "Adult Education" (1984) · "Out of Touch" (1984) · "Method of Modern Love" (1985) · "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" (1985) · "Possession Obsession" (1985) · "Out of Touch" (re-mix) (1985) · "A Nite at the Apollo Live! The Way You Do the Things You Do/My Girl" (live) (1985) · "Everything Your Heart Desires" (1988) · "Missed Opportunity" (1988) · "Downtown Life" (1988) · "Talking All Night" (1988) · "Love Train" (1989) · "So Close" (1990) · "Don't Hold Back Your Love" (1991) · "Everywhere I Look" (1991) · "Starting All Over Again" (1991)
Hall solo albums Sacred Songs (1980) · Three Hearts in the Happy Ending Machine (1986) · Soul Alone (1993) · Can't Stop Dreaming (1996) · Live in Philadelphia (2004)Oates solo albums Phunk Shui (2002) · John Oates: Live at the Historic Wheeler Opera House (2004) · John Oates Solo – The Album, The Concert (2006) · 1000 Miles of Life (2008) · Mississippi Mile (2011)Related articles Book:Hall & Oates
1970s "She's Gone" (1974) · "Alone Too Long" (1975) · "Sara Smile" (1976) · "She's Gone" (re-issue) (1976) · "Do What You Want, Be What You Are" (1976) · "Rich Girl" (1977) · "Back Together Agagin" (1977) · "It's Uncanny" (1977) · "Why Do Lovers (Break Each Other's Heart?)" (1977) · "It's a Laugh" (1978) · "I Don't Wanna Lose You" (1978) · "Wait for Me" (1979) · "Post-Static" (1979)
1980s "Who Said the World Was Fair" (1980) · "Running from Paradise" (1980) · "How Does It Feel to Be Back" (1980) · "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (1980) · "Kiss on My List" (1981) · "You Make My Dreams" (1981) · "Private Eyes" (1981) · "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" (1981) · "Did It in a Minute" (1982) · "Your Imagination" (1982) · "Maneater" (1982) · "One on One" (1983) · "Family Man" (1983) · "Jingle Bell Rock" (1983) · "Say It Isn't So" (1983) · "Adult Education" (1984) · "Out of Touch" (1984) · "Method of Modern Love" (1984) · "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" (1985) · "Possession Obsession" (1985) · "Out of Touch" (re-mix) (1985) · "A Night at the Apollo Live! The Way You Do the Things You Do/My Girl" (live medley) (1985) · "Dreamtime" (Hall solo) (1986) · "Foolish Pride" (Hall solo) (1986) · "Someone Like You" (Hall solo) (1987) · "Everything Your Heart Desires" (1988) · "Missed Opportunity" (1988) · "Downtown Life" (1988) · "Talking All Night" (1988) · "Love Train" (1989)
1990s "So Close" (1990) · "Don't Hold Back Your Love" (1991) · "Everywhere I Look" (1991) · "Starting All Over Again" (1991) · "I'm in a Philly Mood" (Hall solo) (1993) · "Stop Loving Me, Stop Loving You" (Hall solo) (1994) · "Help Me Find a Way to Your Heart" (Hall solo) (1994) · "Gloryland" (Hall solo) (1994) · "Wherever Would I Be" (Hall solo) (1995) · "Promise Ain't Enough" (1997) · "Romeo Is Bleeding" (1998) · "The Sky Is Falling" (1998) · "Hold on to Yourself" (1998) · "Throw the Roses Away" (1998)
2000s "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" (re-mix) (2001) · "Do It for Love" (2002) · "Forever for You" (2002) · "Man on a Mission" (2003) · "Someday We'll Know" (2003) · "Intuition" (2003) · "Getaway Car" (2003) · "I'll Be Around" (2004) · "Without You" (2004) · "I Can Dream About You" (2005) · "Ooh Child" (2005) · "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" (2006) · "Home for Christmas" (2006) · "Take Christmas Back" (2007)
Book:Hall & Oates
Categories:- 1982 singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Hall & Oates songs
- Songs written by John Oates
- Songs written by Daryl Hall
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.