John Oates may be involved a contentious legal battle with his old bandmate, but that won’t stop him from spreading some cheer and raising awareness for a good cause with a new song, “Get Your Smile On.”
Oates said he wrote the breezy tune during the Covid-19 pandemic when he was searching for “any positive vibe I could up with.” He began sketching the song on GarageBand, but as it came together, he “decided to really produce the track the way I would have in a professional recording studio.”
He continued: “I played al the instruments programmed the keyboards and sang all the vocals as well. This is the first time I’m releasing a pure GarageBand production. I’m happy the way it came out and I hope it puts a smile on your face when you hear it.”
All the proceeds from “Get Your Smile On” will be donated to Teen Cancer America, which was founded by the Who’s Roger Daltrey. The sunny video for the the track also features kids who are either fighting, or have survived cancer and participate in the Teen Cancer America music program.
“John is a fantastic supporter of our charity and has given his time and talent to helping the young people with cancer that we serve,” Daltrey said. “Now he’s featuring them on his latest video and donating the proceeds from the single to us. This means so much to me, thanks John, from the bottom of my heart.”
“Get Your Smile On” is the seventh stand-alone single Oates has released this year, along with tracks like “Disconnected” (which featured a Taylor Swift-inspired video), a reggae version of the Hall and Oates classic “Maneater,” and a cover of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” Oates was also just revealed to be the Anteater on Season 10 of The Masked Singer.
On top of all this, however, Oates is currently involved in a contentious lawsuit with his former bandmate and musical partner, Daryl Hall. Back in November, Hall sued Oates seeking a temporary restraining order, which was granted, though details were scarce as the documents were sealed. A few days later, it emerged that the suit was over Oates’ alleged intent to sell his half of the duo’s business venture to Primary Wave. Hal called this an “indisputable breach of contract,” and filed the restraining order to stop the sale from going through.