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"Sara Smile" is a song written and recorded by the American musical duo Hall & Oates. It was released in January 1976 as the second single from their album Daryl Hall & John Oates. The song was the group's first Top 10 hit in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Sara Smile" was the second single released from Hall & Oates' 1975 self-titled album for RCA Records. Co-written by both halves of the duo, it was Hall & Oates's breakthrough single, with a #4 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1976. It was written about Hall's then-girlfriend, Sara Allen. The couple was together for almost 30 years before breaking up in 2001.
Daryl Hall was born Daryl Hohl in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on October 11, 1946. John William Oates was born April 7, 1949. They first met in the mid-1960s while each was recording blue-eyed soul as members of vocal groups in the Philadelphia area. Hall was a member of the Temptones, who recorded a couple of incredibly rare singles for the local Arctic label ("Girl I Love You"—Arctic #130; "Say These Words of Love"—Arctic #136), and John Oates was in the Masters on the Crimson label ("I Need Your Love"—Crimson #1008). According to legend and lore, they met in an elevator, found they had the same musical tastes, and opted to form a duet. Their first venture together was a 1972 single for Atlantic Records called "Good Night and Good Morning" (Atlantic #2922) as Whole Oats. They remained with Atlantic, but were not overnight sensations, even after changing their name to Hall and Oates. When they finally hit with "Sara Smile" after signing with RCA Victor Records (#10530) in 1976, Atlantic Records rereleased one of their earlier flops called "She's Gone" (Atlantic # 3332), and it, too, became a Top Ten hit in that year. Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, the duo's successes were sporadic. However, beginning in 1981 with "Kiss on My List" (RCA #12142), they reached Top Ten with 12 of 13 consecutive single releases, 5 of which reached number 1. During that span, they also scored five platinum albums and were named the most success duo of all time. Daryl Hall also had one Top Ten single on his own in 1986 titled "Dreamtime" (RCA #14387). They continue to tour on a regular basis and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. As of this writing, Hall hosts a popular monthly Internet program titled Live from Daryl's House.
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