Peak
8
Weeks
17
Score
2,676
Chart Year
1984
Scores & Rankings
Chart Performance
Peak Position8
Peak DateApr 7, 1984
Weeks at Peak1
Weeks Charted17
Weeks in Top 4011
Weeks in Top 104
Weeks at #20
Weeks at #10
Scoring
Summary Calc1,113
Weekly Calc1,563
Total Score2,676
Rankings
Year Ranking#77
Decade Ranking#805
Billboard Year#74
Top 5000#4,801
Details
- Album
- Rock 'n Soul Part 1
- Label
- RCA Victor
- Genre
- Dance-rock
- Composer(s)
- Daryl Hall;John Oates;Sara Allen
- Entered Chart
- Feb 18, 1984
- Peak Date
- Apr 7, 1984
- Released
- February 1984
- Recorded
- September 1983
- Catalog #
- RCA 13714
- B-Side
- Maneater
Music Video
The music video to "Adult Education", directed by Tim Pope, takes place in what appears to be a torchlit stone temple or tomb. As Hall & Oates and their band sing, dance and play with modified instruments and ceremonial objects, a middle-aged man in a baseball cap organizes and wields several idols, while chanting. A teenage boy wearing a loincloth and a teenage girl draped in a white sheet cross a platform illuminated with modern lights and ascend a staircase to meet the man, who appears to bless them with an animal idol. The girl removes the sheet from her head and part of her body and the ritual continues. Eventually, both teenagers are placed on stone slabs; the boy acts terrified and appears to be restrained, while the girl lies motionless, her body draped in the white sheet. The video ends with the boy standing behind the idols' altar and the girl sitting on the stone slab in front of it, as Hall & Oates and their band continue to sing, dance and play instruments in the background. The final shots of the video are of hieroglyphs and ceremonial items scattered around the structure. Hall later criticized the video in the book I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. "Videos began to attract wannabe Cecil B. DeMilles, directors who had almost unlimited budgets and did whatever they felt like. 'Adult Education' is a perfect example. We brought in a director I didn't know [Pope], who was newly hot. He didn't have a clue what to do with the song. The plot? I couldn't tell you."[3] On VH1's Behind the Music retrospective of Hall & Oates' career, Oates also derided many of their old videos, describing this clip as "Survivor on acid".
Notes
In our 2015 interview with Daryl Hall, he explained: "That song is about something I still believe: That one of the big problems with the world is people never grow up – no matter how old they get. And the song is a reminder that there is life after high school. That there's another way of looking at the world, and that other world is a false world and a meaningless world. So that's really what that's about." Daryl Hall's career is one of evolution and reinvention. Hall & Oates were huge stars in 1984, but even then the duo had amassed a huge catalog of material in a range of styles. They adapted to the video age with popular clips on MTV, and when broadband made video streaming practical, Hall launched Live From Daryl's House, a music show that was later picked up by the Palladia network. In addition, Hall has released several solo albums and worked on various side projects, including co-writing the title track for the film Ruthless People. He certainly didn't peak in high school. Along with "Say It Isn't So," this was one of two original songs included on the Hall & Oates compilation album Rock 'n' Soul: Part 1, which was released in 1984 ahead of their very popular Big Bam Boom album. Hall did most of the songwriting on this track, but John Oates and Hall's girlfriend/writing partner Sara Allen are also on the credits. When we spoke with Hall, he said that Oates came up with the "Doesn't rev your heart" line, and he wasn't sure what Allen contributed. The music video was directed by Tim Pope, who was known for his outlandish conceptual work - he had previously done videos for The Cure, Soft Cell and Style Council. Hall & Oates had little interest in videos, but their record company hired Pope to do his thing on this one, and he came up with something that looked like an Indiana Jones movie. In The Golden Age of Music Video, John Oates said, "That was a mistake from the beginning. That was stupid... We literally showed up at the shoot and saw this enormous post-apocalyptic New York set, all these extras with torn clothes and crazy s--t, and we just went along for the ride. But as we were doing it, we were thinking, this is really stupid. That’s one of the dumbest things we’ve ever done."
Adult, adult, Adult Education Afternoon in the homeroom, they're about to let you go And the locker slams on the plans you had tonight You've been messing around with your boyfriend, maybe better left alone There's a wise guy that you know who could put you right In the lot, the boy that's idling by doesn't rev your heart 'Cause it's only lonely spots he shares with you And the long halls and the gray walls are gonna split apart Believe it or not there's life after high school And that's why The student body's got a bad reputation (oh yeah, oh yeah) What they need is adult education You go back to school, it's a bad situation (oh yeah, oh yeah) What you want is an adult Education Oh yeah The teacher don't know about how to deal with the student body And the underclassmen are flashing hot and cool All your girlfriends care about the watch you wear and talkin' about it Believe it or not there's life after high school That's why The student body's got a bad reputation (oh yeah, oh yeah) What they need is adult education You go back to school, is a bad situation (oh yeah, oh yeah) What you want is an adult Education Oh yeah They're calling it a preparation You're waiting for a separation You're nothing but another odd number Memories that you won't remember So you got a little education And a lot of dedication But you want a little night school Maybe some of it will rub off on you The boys are busy in the mirrors Trying to imitate their heroes You make it with a false surrender More memories you won't remember The senior with the junior Miss I wonder what the junior wishes That she could graduate to adult That she could graduate to adult kisses Adult education Adult education Adult education it's a bad situation Adult education Adult, adult, educate, educate, education Adult, adult, adult, educate, educate, education Adult, adult
Chart History (17 weeks)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 18, 1984 | 43 | 83 |
| 2 | Feb 25, 1984 | 31 | 95 |
| 3 | Mar 3, 1984 | 25 | 101 |
| 4 | Mar 10, 1984 | 17 | 109 |
| 5 | Mar 17, 1984 | 13 | 113 |
| 6 | Mar 24, 1984 | 9 | 117 |
| 7 | Mar 31, 1984 | 9 | 117 |
| 8 | Apr 7, 1984 | 8 | 118 |
| 9 | Apr 14, 1984 | 9 | 117 |
| 10 | Apr 21, 1984 | 12 | 114 |
| 11 | Apr 28, 1984 | 15 | 111 |
| 12 | May 5, 1984 | 30 | 96 |
| 13 | May 12, 1984 | 41 | 85 |
| 14 | May 19, 1984 | 57 | 69 |
| 15 | May 26, 1984 | 69 | 57 |
| 16 | Jun 2, 1984 | 93 | 33 |
| 17 | Jun 9, 1984 | 98 | 28 |