Topping the music charts for a decade as one-half of the immensely popular duo Hall and Oates, John Oates has scaled the highest peaks of rock and roll fame. But since marrying and settling down on a small ranch outside Aspen, Colorado, some 15 years ago, Oates has come down to earth, as it were, living a life closer to the marrow, a life now inextricably bound to the animals he and his wife, Aimee, have rescued and now care for on their property.
That way of life has made Oates gravitate to the work Best Friends does, and compelled him to contribute one of his songs, titled “1000 Miles of Life,” to Giving Animals a Voice through Music: The Best Friends 25th Anniversary Collection CD.

“Best Friends is very much in keeping with how we live and how we think,” Oates says. “All of our animals have been rescued one way or another.”

He and Aimee have indeed rescued scores of animals, from felines to pheasants. They currently have 11 emus, five alpacas, four llamas, seven turkeys, seven chickens, six or seven guinea fowl, five peacocks, a variable number of barn cats, and three dogs. Their Great Pyrenees dog, Flurry, came from a breed rescue group in Colorado Springs, while their Newfoundland mix, Moonie, and their terrier mix, Mr. Jeepers, came from a local shelter.

Oates first heard about Best Friends from Hall and Oates bass player T-Bone Wolk, a friend and neighbor of Animal Media Foundation (AMF) founder Dexter Brown. AMF, a nonprofit that brings musicians and animal groups together for the betterment of animal welfare, produced the anniversary CD on behalf of Best Friends. Wolk thought Oates would be a great fit for the project.

When Oates talks about the various rescues he and Aimee have conducted and life on his ranch/farm/sanctuary, it’s apparent that Oates finds his life immeasurably fulfilling.

“We’ve arrived at this menagerie that seems to work with our lifestyle,” he says. “And I’ve learned a lot from the animals—how they get along and sort it all out in terms of their interpersonal relationships.”

Oates was born in New York City and grew up outside of Philadelphia. Allergic to pet dander as a child, he had little contact with animals. It wasn’t until he met Aimee, who was raised on a farm in Illinois and has been rescuing animals since she was a child, that Oates started to realize the richness animals could bring to his life.

Just before they were married, Aimee asked him to come by the property they had just purchased and were going to build on. Standing with her in a field was a burro attached to a small cart. Aimee had rescued the burro, named Jasper. It was Oates’ birthday, and Jasper was his birthday present. Oates had found his match.

“I identified with Jasper because he was kind of noble, a little bit cantankerous, and kind of a loner,” Oates says. “So I named my [video and film] production company after him.” 

Since getting Jasper, he and Aimee have gained a reputation in and around Aspen as the people to call when there’s an animal in need.

The title track off his latest solo album (co-written by Oates, Jed Leiber and Geoff Byrd), “1000 Miles of Life” reflects the peace Oates has attained in taking care of the animals and working around his property. The entire album, he says, is some of the best work he’s ever done, the result of living, as he says, “in balance, in nature.”
“It’s the whole lifestyle of our farm,” he says, “of being out there on my tractor, taking care of the animals, doing a lot of the manual work. It’s taught me a lot about balance. And finding balance in my life has really affected my music.”