Daryl Hall Has ‘Thousands and Thousands’ of Song Ideas
Daryl
Hall
has
been
writing
songs
for
more
than
50
years,
so
it
makes
sense
that
he’s
stockpiled
quite
a
few
ideas
along
the
way.
In
fact,
as
he
detailed
during
an
episode
of
his
popular
web
series,
Live
From
Daryl’s
House,
he
found
a
box
of
cassettes
of
demos
and
various
song
fragments
going
back
to
1972. “I
don’t
know
how
you
wrote,
but
any
idea
I’d
ever
have,
I’d
put
it
on
a
cassette,”
he
told
Glenn
Tilbrook
of
Squeeze,
his
guest. “I
found
them
all.
Hundreds
and
hundreds
of
them.
Everything.
Every
idea
I’ve
had
since
1972.”
The
songwriter
is
in
the
process
of
having
all
of
the
audio
transferred,
but
as
he
tells
UCR
in
the
conversation
below,
he
hasn’t
really
had
a
chance
to
fully
dig
into
the
contents
yet,
though
in
interesting
ways,
he’s
already
finding
new
inspirations
from
those
treasured
analog
sources.
In
the
meantime,
fans
can
enjoy
his
newest
solo
album,
2024’s
D,
his
latest
collaboration
with
his
friend
and
former
Eurythmic,
Dave
Stewart.
He’s
also
getting
set
to
head
out
on
the
road
with
Tilbrook
for
a
run
of
U.S.
dates
in
March
and
April
that
will
be
followed
by
a
special
series
of
performances
in
the
U.K.
including
his
first-ever
concert
at
the
Royal
Albert
Hall.
In
a
recent
Zoom
conversation
he
discussed
what
he
loves
about
Tilbrook’s
songwriting,
how
his
own
process
has
changed
over
the
years
and
numerous
other
topics.
How
did
you
first
meet
Glenn?
Well,
we
didn’t
really
meet
that
long
ago,
to
tell
you
the
truth.
I
knew
Paul
Carrack
[who
had
been
in
Squeeze]
and
I
knew
Jools
Holland.
You
know,
I’ve
known
these
guys.
But
I
didn’t
really
known
Glenn
until
he
toured
with
Hall
&
Oates.
We
got
to
know
each
other
a
little
bit
on
that
tour
and
it
went
from
there.
He
came
on
the
show,
Live
From
Daryl’s
House,
we
hit
it
off
and
here
we
are
doing
it
together.
The
two
of
you
seem
so
well-matched,
it
seems,
both
as
songwriters
and
music
fans,
there’s
a
lot
of
common
ground
there.
I
do
see
that.
There’s
a
certain…I’m
not
necessarily
going
to
put
myself
in
this,
but
I
think
his
music,
there’s
a
certain
sense
of
intelligence
within
the
pop
area,
right?
Which
is
few
and
far
between,
really,
with
songwriters.
I
certainly
relate
to
that.
I
think
I
share
that
to
some
degree
and
I
bond
with
him
in
that
way.
I
really
think
his
music,
he
has
smart
music.
I
like
his
chord
choices
and
his
lyrics,
everything,
they
stick
with
you
in
an
unusual
way.
The
last
time
we
spoke,
your
latest
album,
D,
was
still
taking
shape.
It’s
a
really
fascinating
listen
now
that
we’re
on
the
other
side
of
that,
hearing
what
you
and
Dave
Stewart
emerged
with.
How
much
did
you
go
into
the
process
of
working
with
Dave,
as
far
as
the
album
that
you
had
in
mind?
Dave
and
I
didn’t
really
have
an
idea.
We’re
friends
—
we
start
with
that.
We’re
very
close
friends.
I
was
at
his
house
in
the
Bahamas
—
and
since
then,
I
bought
a
house
down
there,
so
we’re
neighbors
and
the
whole
thing.
He
has
a
really
nice
studio
down
there.
We
just
said, “Let’s
try.
Let’s
just
go
for
it.”
I
had
a
lot
of
my
phrases
and
titles.
You
know,
little
snippets
of
things
in
my
notebooks.
We
would
both
sit
there
with
our
guitars
or
whatever
and
just
throw
out
things.
They
became
songs
[with
that
process].
I
think
there’s
two
or
three
songs
on
the
album
I’d
brought
to
the
table.
But
other
than
that,
we
created
everything
from
scratch.
We
didn’t
know
what
we
were
doing,
we
just
did
it.
You
two
worked
together
on
Three
Hearts
in
the
Happy
Ending
Machine
in
the ’80s
and
prior
to
that,
you’d
done
the
Sacred
Songs
album
with
Robert
Fripp.
It
seems
like
working
with
Dave
must
have
unlocked
some
interesting
things
for
you
creatively.
Yeah,
I
mean,
I
love
collaboration.
That
goes
without
saying
with
me.
My
whole
career
has
been
working
with
different
people
and
I
like
the
result
of
it.
If
you
work
with
somebody
who
is
really
gifted,
something
comes
out
of
[the
experience]
that’s
not
like
working
with
anybody
else.
My
experience
with
Robert
Fripp
and
the
Sacred
Songs
album
showed
me
how
easy
it
is
to
do
that
kind
of
thing.
It
was
my
first
real
experience
working
with
somebody
from
outside
of
my
Philadelphia
[roots].
Dave
came
along
and
I
realized
I’d
found
another
person,
that
he’s
a
real
artistic
kindred
spirit.
We
just
fit
together
and
it’s
just
effortless.
We
just
create
without
thinking
about
it.
READ
MORE:
How
Bob
Dylan
Almost
Wrote
a
Song
With
Daryl
Hall
You
mentioned
your
phrases
and
your
notebooks.
Every
songwriter
has
their
process.
How
much
would
you
say
that
yours
has
changed
over
the
years?
The
only
thing
that’s
changed
is
I
don’t
write
constantly
anymore.
I
used
to
just
sit
and
constantly
be
writing,
guitar,
piano,
coming
up
with
ideas,
completing
them
and
doing
all
that.
I
don’t
really
do
that
so
much
anymore.
I
come
up
with
ideas,
little
phrases
and
thoughts
and
then
when
it
comes
time
to
put
it
together,
I
just
pull
them
all
out
and
see
what
the
result
is
going
to
be.
So
that’s
the
difference.
And
there’s
a
lot
of
spontaneity,
depending
on
who
I
work
with.
With
Dave,
we
were
writing
a
song
the
other
day
and
he
said, “Just
give
me
a
word.”
I
said
a
word
and
he
gave
me
a
word
back.
It
was
one
of
those
kind
of
things
and
it
can
start
in
any
way.
During
the
dinner
with
Glenn
on
the
Daryl’s
House
episode,
you
spoke
about
how
you
found
a
box
In
recent
times
with
every
songwriting
demo
and
idea
you’ve
put
to
tape
since
1972.
At
that
time,
it
was
all
in
the
process
of
being
digitized.
Now
that
we’re
down
the
road
a
bit
here
in
2025,
I
wondered
what
sort
of
fun
things
you’ve
gotten
to
revisit
as
the
tapes
are
being
transferred?
Well,
they’re
still
be
digitized,
believe
it
or
not.
I
have
thousands
and
thousands
of
things,
so
I’ve
yet
to
delve
into
it.
I’ve
been
saving
it
and
I
wasn’t
going
to
do
that
before
I
started
working
on
this
new
album
with
Dave.
But
then,
I
just
decided
to
forget
about
the
stuff
I’d
already
come
up
with
and
just
go
[into
the
studio]
without
thinking
about
it.
But
the
other
day,
when
we
were
writing
the
song,
I
realized
the
melody
that
I
was
coming
up
with
was
one
of
those
old
melodies
that’s
on
those
tapes.
It
might
have
been
years
ago,
but
it
just
kind
of
came
to
me.
I
think,
unconsciously
and
subconsciously,
I’m
using
those
things
without
actually
even
reviewing
them
yet.
It
seems
pretty
fascinating
that
you
can
have
something
like
that
emerge
in
that
way.
Yeah,
one
of
the
songs
from
the
album, “Break
It
Down
to
the
Real
Thing,”
I
wrote
the
melody
to
the
verse
in
1988.
It
came
to
me
when
I
was
rewriting
it
with
Dave,
so
there’s
another
version
of
that.
Listen
to
Daryl
Hall’s ‘Break
It
Down
to
the
Real
Thing’
What
do
you
think
the
end
game
is,
once
you
get
done
with
the
audio
transfers?
I
will
go
through
it.
I’m
sure
there’s
some
little
gem
of
an
idea
I
can
use,
that’s
for
sure.
I
don’t
know!
I
don’t
know
what
I’m
going
to
hear.
But
I
have
listened
to
some
of
it
and
I
remember
every
single
thing,
that’s
the
weird
part.
It’s
not
like, “Oh,
did
I
do
that?”
No,
I
remember
everything
about
it.
So
that’s
a
little
strange
too.
Going
back
to
the
D
album,
you
were
opening
your
shows
last
fall
with “The
Whole
World’s
Better,”
which
is
a
cool
tune.
What
are
the
origins
of
that
song?
I
had
the
chorus
and
basics
of
that
song.
Then
Dave
and
I
fleshed
it
out.
The
songs
are
all
personal
in
their
own
way.
That
one
started
because
the
person
I
was
in
a
relationship
with
was
a
very
difficult
person
and
I
knew
when
she
was
singing,
everything
was
okay,
so
the
whole
world
suddenly
got
better.
You’ve
been
having
a
lot
of
fun
with
the
Daryl’s
House
vibe
of
the
touring
that
you’ve
been
doing
recently.
It
made
me
wonder
if
any
of
these
tours
give
you
the
chance
to
write
with
any
of
the
folks
you’re
out
with.
Not
really,
no.
Because
if
I’m
touring,
I’m
totally
in
a
separate
world.
When
I’m
doing
the
show,
I
just
don’t
have
the
time
to
sit
with
people.
But
you
never
know.
Something
could
change
and
I
could
call
somebody
up
and
say, “You
know,
we
had
a
good
time
together,
let’s
get
together.”
It’s
not
something
I’ve
pursued
to
tell
you
the
truth.
READ
MORE:
Daryl
Hall
Announces
Tour
With
Glenn
Tilbrook
The
tour
with
Glenn
is
going
to
be
a
lot
of
fun.
The
whole
concept
finds
you
jamming
on
songs
like
you’ve
done
with
Howard
Jones
and
Todd
Rundgren
for
past
outings.
Hearing
you
and
Glenn
sing
things
like “Black
Coffee
in
Bed”
and “Hourglass”
on
the
Daryl’s
House
episode,
as
I
mentioned,
his
songwriting
is
really
well-suited
for
what
you
do.
As
a
listener,
it
felt
pretty
natural
hearing
you
tackle
some
of
those
songs.
But
how
did
it
feel
for
you
to
sing
those,
from
your
perspective?
They’re
complex.
I
mean,
they’re
complex
in
that,
you
don’t
just
open
your
mouth
and
sing.
You
have
to
really
work
it
out.
I
had
to
figure
out
how
I
was
going
to
sing
it.
What
harmonies
was
I
going
to
do
with
him?
All
kinds
of
things
like
that. “Pulling
Mussels
(From
the
Shell),”
that’s
an
interesting
song
in
every
way.
Watch Daryl
Hall
and
Glenn
Tilbrook
Perform ‘Black
Coffee
in
Bed’
You
mentioned
that
you’ve
been
continuing
to
write
with
Dave.
Is
there
a
record
starting
to
take
shape?
I
just
came
back
from
hanging
out
with
him
for
a
few
weeks
and
we
wrote
three
songs,
so
let’s
see.
You
were
also
going
to
do
some
work
with
Robert
Fripp
when
we
spoke
ih
2022.
What
did
you
come
away
with?
Well,
Robert
and
I
have
remained
in
contact.
But
it’s
proximity
really
more
than
anything.
I
have
a
studio
house
and
Robert
has
left
his
equipment
there,
so
that
speaks
volumes.
What’s
on
tap
for
the
rest
of
the
year
besides
these
tour
dates?
Just
more
of
the
same,
really.
I’m
going
to
be
touring
and
doing
more
Daryl’s
House
episodes.
That’s
about
it,
going
to
the
Bahamas
and
hanging
out
here
in
Connecticut,
doing
whatever.
Who’s
the
guest
you’re
trying
to
get
for
Daryl’s
House
that
you
still
haven’t
gotten
yet?
You
know,
I
don’t
have
one.
Truly,
I
don’t
have
a
wish
list.
It
all
happens
by
chance.
It’s
[about]
who
is
available.
Do
I
like
that
person?
Is
he
or
she
available?
That
kind
of
thing.
I
love
what
you
guys
are
doing
with
the
show.
The
dinner
segments
seem
like
they’re
a
really
great
way
to
exchange
and
just
be
at
one
with
these
people
as
far
as
the
creative
process.
Yeah,
the
dinner
segments
are
amazing.
You
know,
we
have
to
edit
a
lot
of
this
stuff
down,
because
we’re
there
for
hours
and
hours.
One
of
these
days,
I’m
going
to
put
together
a
different
edit
of
just
the
dinner
segments,
because
so
many
interesting
stories
come
up.