10 Greatest Unsung Heroes In Rock And Roll

Those Behind the Curtain.

hall and oates
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When you're looking at bands making their way to the top, it's easy to just talk about the people up on stage. Since they are the ones who get to bask in the glory a lot of the time, it's safe to assume that most of the goodwill behind the group is the people who play the music, right? The band is more than just those on stage though, and the greatest people in rock and roll come into play behind the scenes.

Then again, some of these people might not even play an instrument all that much. From day one, these people might not have been looking to be rich rock stars or anything, and yet somehow managed to change the course of rock history without even trying. Whether it was the way they put together a band or how they made different connections in the industry, these people put the pieces together and sent legendary bands on the course that they couldn't have gotten on without them.

While it might be easy for the band to keep things going in the early years, these are the people that make sure they kept their head above water a lot of the time, either helping them in the recording process or plotting their course in the next few years. Rock and roll can sometimes be a business, and you have to make sure that you give credit where it's due.

10. John Oates - Hall and Oates

In the world of rock and roll, you tend to not hear much from duos anymore. Although there might be a songwriting team behind the scenes of a full band, there isn't really a band that's known for just two songwriters outside of the Everly Brothers. Hell, even when we got one with Hall and Oates, it almost felt like the entire appeal of John Oates began and ended at his amazing mustache.

In fact, John almost seems to be aware of his place in the history of the band, calling himself one of the most highly paid background singers in the world. When you look at the kind of stuff that he's written behind the scenes though, Daryl Hall wouldn't stand a chance without him, being just the right guy to bounce ideas off of when they were writing their first big hits. Although Daryl would end up singing them a lot of the time, John brought a ton of soul into the mix, like when he came in with the skeleton of what would eventually become She's Gone.

Ever since the glory days of the '80s though, John has been the much more rootsy player of the two, turning towards the folksy side of the spectrum and always making sure that there's a song in the middle of the recording instead of just a bunch of fluff. Outside of the tons of '80s production across their back catalog, John Oates was always the one keeping things organic across those classic tunes.

 
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