B-side "Art of Heartbreak" Format 12-inch
7-inch | Released January 29, 1983 Recorded December 1981 | |
Genre Soft rock, blue-eyed soul Length 4:17 (album version)
3:53 (single version)
5:31 (club mix) | ||
"One on One" is a song performed by American musical duo Hall & Oates. Written by member Daryl Hall, the song was released as the second single from their eleventh studio album H2O on January 29, 1983. Backed by minimalistic, synthesizer-based production, the song's lyrics incorporate various sports metaphors to describe seduction. Daryl Hall performs lead vocals, while John Oates provides backing harmony vocals.
It peaked at number seven on the United States Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of three top ten singles from H2O. The song's music video, directed by Mick Haggerty and C.D. Taylor, depicts Hall walking around a city street singing the song, interspersed with shots of him performing on a stage with Oates. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice named it the eighth-best video of the year in his ballot for the annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll. "One on One" has been covered and sampled by various artists and was notably used in several commercials for the National Basketball Association.
Covers and samples
Smooth jazz saxophonist Warren Hill covered "One on One" for his fifth studio album Life Through Rose Coloured Glasses (1998). The song was also covered by indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee for their Hall & Oates tribute album Interpreting the Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. Indie rock band Fruit Bats performed a live rendition of "One on One" for The A.V. Club's "Undercover" song series. Alternative hip hop group Fun Lovin' Criminals sampled "One on One" for their song "Sugar", from their album 100% Colombian (1998).
The song's popularity, along with its inherent basketball references, led to it being notably used in several National Basketball Association (NBA) commercials in the mid-1980s. One such commercial featured Los Angeles Lakers small forward James Worthy performing a 360-degree spin move in slow motion during the song's sax solo.