Do What You Want, Be What You Are
Daryl Hall & John Oates
1976
Annual listening-list association, not an original-release-date field. Original release year reconciled with reviewed recording-specific Artist Essentials evidence in v3.6.
Release: 1976
Release: 1976Source checked
V3.6 reconciles the original release year with the reviewed Artist Essentials entry for this exact retained recording ID. Year precision is used; an album-first release is not silently replaced by a later single, reissue or annual-list year. The original studio recording was released in 1976 and belongs to the original Bigger Than Both of Us program. Year precision does not assign an album day to a single or a later reissue.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
Bigger Than Both of Us - original licensed duo program
Public licensed album and track metadata identify the original 1976 duo program and selected studio recordings. Only tracks from the original album sequence are selected. Later bonus tracks, club remixes, solo recordings and concert performances do not inherit the original album year.
About Daryl Hall & John Oates
Song-specific inspiration or recording background is not established for this entry. This sourced artist profile provides career context.
Daryl Hall and John Oates began their musical partnership in Philadelphia, meeting while Oates attended Temple University. Their shared recording work combines rock, soul and pop, with She's Gone representing an early part of that repertoire. The duo's career expanded into international touring and major concert events, including Live Aid, while each musician also developed work outside the partnership.
Artist background sources
Hall and Oates - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame biography
Philadelphia partnership, rock/soul/pop mixture and She's Gone repertoire; popularity superlatives are omitted. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
John Oates - Grand Ole Opry biography
Explicitly scoped to the Hall/Oates meeting, recorded partnership, international touring, Live Aid and separate solo career. Oates' personal influences are not assigned automatically to the duo. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Retained annual-list context
Do What You Want, Be What You Are by Daryl Hall & John Oates is included for 1976 on the basis of the cited chart-associated source. This establishes the annual connection, not the circumstances in which the song was written. No reliable song-specific account of its inspiration was established in this review.
Annual-list context only; songwriting inspiration remains unestablished
Hot 100 weekly data mirror, 1976-12-25
Secondary source reviewed for title, artist and annual chart association only. Supplemental selection, not an official annual rank.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Original release date and exact pressing/version are not independently established.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial artist-repertoire classification
Hot 100 weekly data mirror, 1976-12-25
Secondary source reviewed for title, artist and annual chart association only. Supplemental selection, not an official annual rank.
Browse by year
1960-2025. Each year contains 150 selections.