H2O is the eleventh studio album by American pop rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, released by RCA Records on October 4, 1982. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making it the duo's highest-charting album, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with sales of over two million copies. The album title is a play on the chemical formula for water, where "H" is for Hall and "O" is for Oates. It features three US top-10 singles, including "Maneater", the most successful single of their career, spending four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album marks the first appearance for longtime bassist and musical director Tom "T-Bone" Wolk.
Commercial performance The album debuted at number 42 on the Billboard 200 the week of October 30, 1982, as the highest debut of the week; 11 weeks later, it peaked at number three on the chart on January 15, 1983; the album spent 68 weeks on the chart. By December 1982, the album sold one million copies and it was certified platinum on December 16, 1982; it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on April 1, 1985, denoting shipments in excess of two million copies.
The album received considerable success overseas. In the UK, H2O opened at number 31 on its album chart on 23 October 1982, peaking at number 24 the following week. The album remained on the chart for 35 weeks and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on March 29, 1983, for shipments of 100,000.
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians Daryl Hall – lead vocals (1–6, 8, 9, 11), backing vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizers (Yamaha CP-30, Prophet-5, E-mu Emulator), guitar, Little Italy mandolinos John Oates – lead vocals (7, 10), backing vocals, guitar, 12-string guitar, electric piano, CompuRhythm drums, Linn LM-1, Little Italy mandolinos Larry Fast – synthesizer programming G.E. Smith – lead guitars Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass, Little Italy mandolinos Mickey Curry – drums, percussion Charlie "Mr. Casual" DeChant – saxophone
Technical Produced by Daryl Hall, John Oates, and Neil Kernon Engineered by Neil Kernon Mixed by Hugh Padgham Assistant engineers – Bruce Buchhalter, Michael Somers-Abbott, Barry Harris Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk (New York, NY) Art direction – Geoffrey Kent and Mick Haggerty Design – Mick Haggerty Cover photography – Hiro Inner sleeve photography – Larry Williams Equipment technician – Mike Klvana Management and direction – Tommy Mottola
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for H2O Chart (1982–1983) Peakposition Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 3 US Rock Albums (Billboard) 19
Year-end charts + 1982 year-end chart performance for H2O Chart (1982) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 84 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 70
+ 1983 year-end chart performance for H2O Chart (1983) Position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 85 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 7 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 28 US Billboard 200 4
Certifications
Notes
References
Bibliography