It’s always fascinating to hear the roots of a song idea and see how it all comes to fruition, and many times the finished product is so far removed from the original idea it’s basically a completely different song.
One of Hall & Oates’ most popular songs would have turned out very different had it been recorded the way John Oates originally heard it in his head, and now we get to hear exactly what could have been.
On his Instagram, John Oates wrote:
“Back in the 80’s, I just came back from Jamaica and was playing a lot of reggae music when I came up with the idea for the chorus of Maneater. It’s 40 years in the making, but here’s my reimagined version in the original #reggae style. I hope you love it! 👊”
John recruited some outstanding Jamaican musicians for the track, including the legendary Sly Dunbar of Sly & Robbie on drums. Check out the reggae version of “Maneater.”