Colorado's Bizarre Hotline: Emergency Hotline for Hall & Oates Fans

Some of you might be thinking “Rich Girl,” “Maneater,” aren’t those Hall and Oats songs? Yes, they are. Yes, there is an actual Hall and Oats Hotline, and it is in Colorado.

Old push button telephonePhoto byJonathan Mauer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The hotline phone number begins with the area code 719. Which covers Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Florence, Leadville, Limon, Trinidad, La Junta, and most of Southeastern Colorado. Did a resident of Southern Colorado felt we needed this hotline and continues to pay for its services?

The 1990 song, "So Close" (co-produced by Jon Bon Jovi) reached Number 11 on the charts. But this was Hall & Oates's last major hit. So, why do we need an old fashion hotline for a pop duo that hasn’t put out a hit in decades. Why not!

The Feud

At the moment, the duo is in a bitter battle for song rights. In last 2023, Daryl Hall filed a lawsuit and restraining order against John Oates. The lawsuit is over Oates’s reported plan to sell his share of the pair’s company to “Primary Wave Music.” The duo has a partnership company called, “Whole Oats Enterprises (WOE).” It is alleged by Hall that Oates is trying to sale half of the WOE assets without obtaining written approval. Hall described this as “the ultimate partnership betrayal.”

Did you know there was a Hall and Oates Hotline in Colorado? Let us know in the comments.

How Did This Hotline Start?

Does this feud mean this all important hotline will be no more? Your guest is as good as my. Hall and Oates do not run the hotline. All though they are aware of its existence and love it.

The hotline actually is called “Callin Oates.” According to an article from NPR in 2011, the hotline started as a demonstration project for the creator’s communications job at Twilio back in 2011. He created the hotline, next thing he knew, it was retweeted by a New York Times tech columnist, and became a viral hit. Here it is 2024, and the line is still enabled.

According to the creator, he is not based in Colorado. But he needed a number that was spelled out O-A-T-E-S. The Colorado Springs area code was the only area code in the country with a phone number that allowed for the spelling of the name.

The creator also says the line averages 2,500 calls a day and can be up to 100,000 if the line makes it to a social media thread or mentioned on T.V.

Do you think you will call “Callin Oats?” Let us know in the comments.

Try Callin Oates

Dail 719-26-OATES (266-2837). In a computerized customer service fashion, a woman's voice will ask the all-important question what song you would like to hear. She will inform you which song will play by pressing a number between one of four. You can call this number, day or night, and hear one of four Hall and Oates songs at the touch of a button. Technology is amazing!

Welcome to Callin' Oates: Your Emergency Hall and Oates Hotline

• To hear "One on One" press 1.
• To hear "Rich Girl" press 2.
• To hear "Maneater" press 3.
• To hear "Private Eyes" press 4.

Let us know in the comments what you think of this emergency phone line.

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References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_%26_Oates#:~:text=1988%E2%80%931990%3A%20Arista%20years,-Hall%20and%20Oates&text=It%20was%20the%20last%20Hall,Hall%20%26%20Oates's%20last%20major%20hit.
• https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/nov/30/the-ultimate-betrayal-more-details-emerge-in-hall-oates-lawsuit
• https://twitter.com/CallinOates
• https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/12/hall-and-oates-hotline-brilliant-marketing-or-public-service/334031
• https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/12/how-one-retweet-new-york-times-reporter-launched-hall-oates-meme/333982/