Daryl Hall and John Oates mined Philadelphia soul for their popular sound, playing a blend of rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues they described as "rock and soul." Though massively commercially successful in the 70s and 80s, they never achieved major critical success. In a 2010 interview, Oates said that only recently were the groups contributions to pop music fully appreciated.
Hall and Oates are also the most successful music duo in history, with six No. 1 hits, seven platinum albums, and six gold albums.
The pair's omission from the Hall of Fame may be because critics dismissed them as a superficial pop act, but Hall & Oates' incorporation of soul, new wave, and hard rock defined a transitional era of pop and had a tremendous cultural impact.