Daryl Hall, best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of Hall & Oates, is a singer, songwriter and producer with a collection of #1 songs to his name. He spent his formative years in Philadelphia around soul singers like Smokey Robinson.

Daryl Hall and John Oates met as students at Temple University, and went on to form a best-selling musical duo with chart-toppers like "Rich Girl", "Sara Smile", and "Private Eyes".

His newest project is a web series called Live from Daryl's House of performances and collaborations with a diverse set of musicians that's included Todd Rundgren, Toots and the Maytals, Chromeo and the Neon Trees.

JESSE THORN: It’s The Sound of Young America, I’m Jesse Thorn. My guest on the show is Daryl Hall. He’s half of the legendary, chart-busting duo Hall & Oates. He sang lead and wrote or co-wrote six number one hits with the band, and had a really astonishing string of chart successes beginning in the late 1970s and running through the mid-1980s. Now he’s decided to bring the concerts to his house with a series called “Live from Daryl’s House” that features musical collaborations with artists as diverse as Smokey Robinson and Todd Rundgren. It runs live and streaming on the web. Daryl, welcome to The Sound of Young America, it’s really great to have you on the show.

DARYL HALL: Thank you, glad to be here.

Click here for a full transcript of this interview.

Mavis Staples is one of the greatest singers of our time -- a gospel, soul, and R&B vocalist known for her rich, throaty voice. She began as the lead singer of The Staple Singers, a family gospel group formed by Pops Staples and several of his children. The Staple Singers achieved several hits with "Respect Yourself", "I'll Take You There" and "Let's Do It Again". They also became a musical voice of the American civil rights movement with their protest music.

She's reinvented her sound over the decades since The Staple Singers' introduction in 1950 and worked with Curtis Mayfield, Prince, Ry Cooder, and Bob Dylan. Her newest album, You Are Not Alone, was produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy.

JESSE THORN: It’s The Sound of Young America, I’m Jesse Thorn. My guest on the program is one of our greatest singers, Mavis Staples. In her 50-plus-year career with The Staple Singers and as a solo artist, she has really and truly bridged genres from soul to gospel to R&B to country, and her latest record was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Mavis Staples, welcome to The Sound of Young America.

MAVIS STAPLES: Well thank you, thank you. I’m happy to be with you.

Click here for a full transcript of this show.

Above: Ciara's totally awesome video for her totally awesome dance single Gimme Dat. Another part of what Behold the Destroyer correctly identifies as her 7-year effort to be Janet Jackson, circa 1986. Which is totally the best Janet Jackson to be, and is just a great Janet Jackson, overall.

Below: Janet's 1989 video for Rhythm Nation, which is a jam of epic proportions, and is aped in the second half of Ciara's video above.

Kells blows the house down on this joint. Looks like there's a new king of retro-soul.