Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, Babyface pay tribute to Hall & Oates

Before expressing his love for pop duo Hall & Oates, R&B hit-maker Babyface discussed the surprise reaction he had upon first hearing the group. As is customary at music biz galas, Hall & Oates, who were feted with an Icon award at BMI's 56th Annual Pop Awards in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night, had to sit in the audience and watch as Babyface, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and members of rock band Lifehouse took turns interpreting their hits.

Babyface tackled "Sara Smile," earning a standing ovation for his impassioned acoustic take on the ballad, and told the crowd it was one of the first songs he heard from the duo. Babyface, who said he had just graduated high school when introduced to Hall & Oates, poked fun at the "blue-eyed soul" description often given to the pair.

"I just figured black dudes wrote this song," Babyface said, recalling that he thought the term meant "black guys with blue eyes." "They're taking our" music, Babyface said. But Babyface quickly changed topics, and instead discussed the lasting appeal of Hall & Oates.

Babyface said he's been trying to write the type of soulful pop songs Hall & Oates trafficked their entire career. "It's so simple, I could have come up with that," Babyface said, without offering an explanation for how how difficult it is to master simplicity.

When Hall & Oates finally took the stage to work through three hits with a relaxing confidence, the band's seemingly effortless melodies were on full display. Accompanied by a six-piece band, Hall & Oates offered lively, crowd-pleasing renditions of "Maneater" and "Out of Touch," and ended the night with the heavily dated but groovy "She's Gone."

Hall also had a message for Babyface: "I'm not a blue-eyed soul singer. I'm a soul singer." He added, "Soul music is not about race. It's about right here," which he punctuated with by pointing at his heart.

But Hall & Oates had little to feel defensive about. Commonly considered the top-selling duo of all-time, Hall & Oates' Icon award comes just as a new generation of pop stars is discovering the act. From rocky hip-hoppers the Gym Class Heroes to earnest rock act Death Cab for Cutie, Hall & Oates have become "cool" again in 2008, even seeing their music featured in "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" (read an essay from my colleague Ann Powers and these very topics right here).

And while the ceremony was relatively short, it still represented the multi-genre appeal of Hall & Oates. From the rock world, Fall Out Boy's Stump fared much better than Lifehouse's Jason Wade. Stump, who has produced unabashed Hall & Oates admirers Gym Class Heroes, brought a little bit of rock 'n' roll angst to his driving verses of "Rich Girl," but also knew when to hold back.

Stump was actually the perfect artist to illustrate the continuing pop music impact of Hall & Oates. As Fall Out Boy has progressed, the band has added some space to to its punk rock guitars to show a more soulful influence, and also to allow room for Stump to croon. Fall Out Boy's attempt to lace mainstream pop with soul was the precise formula that Hall & Oates rode to success.

And one of Fall Out Boy's recent producers? Babyface.

Other notes from the BMI Pop awards.

--Heartland rockers Hinder were awarded BMI's "song of the year" and "Internet song of the year" for the single "Lips of An Angel." The song was revealed to have sold more than 3 million ring tones, which BMI claimed was the "most downloaded song in ring-tone rock history." Watch your back, Flo Rida. One of the members of Hinder accepted the award in his boxer shorts (and I thought I'd be under-dressed for the black-tie event in jeans).

--BMI's songwriter of the year was producer Polow da Don, who kept his pants on and brought his parents along. Among the songs he was recognized for were "Buttons" from the Pussycat Dolls and "London Bridge" from Fergie.

--A complete list of songs and companies honored can be found on the BMI site. The awards recognize the most performed songs from the catalog of BMI, the performing rights organization that collects licensing fees on the behalf of the more than 375,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers BMI represents.

Photo courtesy Justin Wilson

Comments

[Shag]

Hall is correct, music has no color. A race of people might create a style, but should be greatful that other people like it, and expand upon it. What Babyface spoke about is that alot of black entertainers weren't properly compensated for their contributions. That was blatantly wrong, and hopefully that era is behind us.
It's all God-given; one love, baby.

[Heatshield]

Oh, the racist ignorance. World to Stump/Face: Hall & Oates are a rock duo who are White and outstanding musicians and performers. There is no ownership of any style of music. Would you call Lionel Ritchie a brown-skinned rock singer? Didn't think so.