Hall & Oates come home for 4th

There's just two of them, but Hall & Oates encapsulate a lot of local music history.

From their roots singing in street-corner-style harmony groups (Hall in The Temptones, Oates in The Masters) to their early '70s dalliance as acoustic-guitar-strumming sensitive singer-songwriter duo (Whole Oats), and then with their break out in blue-eyed rock 'n' soul music with the album "Abandoned Luncheonette" (from whence came their first recording of "She's Gone") - these guys have always put a lot of Philly heart and soul into their music.

Even when they flirted briefly with glam rock and then went discophonic in the early '80s with "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)", there was no shaking off the Uptown Theater-inspired, rhythm-and-blues roots of their music.

So what have H&O gotten for their labors?

They are one of the most successful acts ever to come out of this town, with huge smashes such as "Rich Girl," "Maneater," "Private Eyes" and "Out of Touch."

Thanks to their rare ability to cross over among pop, rock and R&B radio, they became the biggest-selling duo of all time, with a following as diverse as all America.

So, how cool (and hot) is it that Hall & Oates are coming home to headline this year's big July Fourth Sunoco Welcome America! finale?

If you have some Philly soul of your own, you've gotta be there, or at least be watching the live broadcast on Channel 6. Also on the bill: our own "America's Got Talent" winner and recording artist Bianca Ryan, the Philadelphia Boys Choir, and the Jazz Ambassadors of the Army Field Band, plus a fireworks finale.

Sweet Sounds of Liberty Concert, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at the Art Museum, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, free, www.americasbirthday.com.

- Jonathan Takiff