Quote Of The Day By Daryl Hall: 'I Have Never Had A Helping Hand In My Career, Outside Of ...'

Daryl Hall is best known as one-half of the complicated musical duo Hall & Oates, whose career has been defined by chart-topping pop-rock hits and behind-the-scenes legal battles. From "Maneater" to "You Make My Dreams," many of Hall & Oates' best songs are evergreen radio staples that most of us know and love. Despite their success, though, they haven't always been critical darlings, which has helped light a fire under Hall.

Hall was born on October 11, 1946, in Pennsylvania. Growing up in a musical household, it didn't take long for him to find his voice. He sang in church as a kid and formed his own band as a teenager. However, meeting John Oates in the late 1960s changed everything. The pair put out their debut solo record, "Whole Oats," in 1972 before finding superstardom later on in the decade. Hall has also enjoyed success as a solo artist, with "Dreamtime" and "Foolish Pride" among his well-known hits.

While Hall is associated with pop hits, his career has been built on experimentation. His group's early releases were inspired by soul music, but some records embrace prog rock, R&B, and new wave. Heck, Hall & Oates even showed their punk side during an unforgettable MTV appearance, proving that they're difficult to box. Hall believes the band found success by marching to the beat of their own drum, which brings us to our quote of the day.

"I have never had a helping hand in my career, outside of [other] musicians. The media has never done me any favors."

Our quote of the day comes from an interview Daryl Hall carried out with Pitchfork in 2007. The singer was talking about finding success as a musician on his own terms, as the media were against him and his band early on. The fellow artists he worked with got him to the proverbial dance, so all credit should go toward the people who made the tunes.

Daryl Hall hasn't always been the biggest fan of the media surrounding his musical projects. Once upon a time, Hall & Oates' music was dismissed as too poppy and mainstream by the press. Yet they found success in spite of the negative reviews ... even if Hall feels that they were unfairly maligned.

"They [the media] always like a scapegoat. It's part of the journalistic attitude," he told Yahoo! Entertainment. "And they decided, way back in their infinite cynicism and ignorance, that me and John were going to be their goats. ... It was unbelievably angering and disappointing to me. But it happened, and I turned it around, and there it is."

With that in mind, our quote of the day is a testament to ignoring the noise and making your dreams come true. Hall's success speaks for itself, and the fact his songs are still widely known and celebrated after all these years suggests the naysayers don't reflect the views of the masses.

* "You just have to believe in what you are doing. Write the song, fall in love with it and, above all, believe in it. That's the bottom line."

* "There are ups and downs in any career. I don't look at those peaks and valleys as anything other than that. The challenge is to learn when things don't go your way, assess it, and try to figure out how to go to the next level."

* "I have to tell you, [legacy] doesn't mean a whole lot because once you're gone, you're gone. John Lennon said that, and I agree with him."

* "When somebody tries to put me in a bag, tries to dictate what music I should record, or what my sound should be, I rebel like you can't believe."

* "I have a great legacy of music that sustains me, and I go out on the road and people seem to understand where I'm coming from and what I've done. And that's good enough for me."