Maneater

“Maneater” is the opening track from American duo Hall & Oates’ (Daryl Hall & John Oates) eleventh studio album “H2O”, which was released in 1982.

“Maneater” was written by Hall & Oates and Sara Allen, and was also produced by Hall & Oates. In an interview with American Songwriter in 2009, Daryl Hall spoke about the track and its process: “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 at 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.” In another interview with NME Magazine, Hall also stated: “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.” John Oates has also stated that the song is not about a woman (although the lyrics are made to make you assume it is about a woman) but about New York City in the 80’s, and greed, spoiled riches and how the city eats up those who live in it. In 2008,

The music video was released in 1982, and was uploaded to the Daryl Hall & John Oates official YouTube channel in October 2009. It features a woman (played by Aleksandra Duncan) walking down a red staircase, and the band playing in a dimly lit studio with lights projecting on them. As of November 2019, the video has over 123 million views and over 577 likes.

Release Date: 31st October 1982

Songwriter/s: Sara Allen, Daryl Hall & John Oates

Producer/s: Daryl Hall & John Oates

Label: RCA Records

Music Video Release Date: 1982

Chart Rankings & Certifications: In its year of release, “Maneater” charted worldwide, and its peak chart positions in various countries are as follows: #4 in Australia, #8 in Belgium, #4 and #1 in Canada, #8 in Ireland, #17 and #18 in the Netherlands, #4 in New Zealand, #6 in Norway, #2 in South Africa, #1 in Spain and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, #14 in the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, #18 in the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, #78 in the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, #18 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and finally, #15 in the German charts. “Maneater” is certified Platinum in Canada, Silver in the UK and Gold in the US.

The lyrics to “Maneater” can be accessed here: LINK