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Rich Girl (Hall & Oates song)

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"Rich Girl"
Single by Daryl Hall & John Oates
from the album Bigger Than Both of Us
B-side
  • "London, Luck and Love" (US, Canada, Spain, Portugal)
  • "Do What You Want, Be What You Are" (Italy)
  • "You'll Never Learn" (UK, Germany, Netherlands)
ReleasedJanuary 22, 1977 (1977-01-22)
Recorded1976
Genre
Length2:23
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Daryl Hall
Producer(s)Christopher Bond
Daryl Hall & John Oates singles chronology
"Do What You Want, Be What You Are"
(1976) 		"Rich Girl"
(1977) 		"Back Together Again"
(1977)
Audio
"Rich Girl" on YouTube

"Rich Girl" is a song by Daryl Hall & John Oates. It debuted on the Billboard Top 40 on February 5, 1977, at number 38 and on March 26, 1977, it became their first (of six) number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The single originally appeared on the 1976 album Bigger Than Both of Us. At the end of 1977, Billboard ranked it as the 23rd biggest hit of the year.

Content

The song's lyrics are about a spoiled girl who can rely on her parents' money to do whatever she wants. The song was rumored to be about the then-scandalous newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. In fact, the title character in the song is based on a spoiled heir to a fast-food chain who was an ex-boyfriend of Daryl Hall's girlfriend, Sara Allen. "But you can't write, 'You're a rich boy' in a song, so I changed it to a girl," Hall told Rolling Stone.[1]

Hall elaborated on the song in an interview with American Songwriter:

"Rich Girl" was written about an old boyfriend of Sara [Allen]'s from college that she was still friends with at the time. His name is Victor Walker. He came to our apartment, and he was acting sort of strange. His father was quite rich. I think he was involved with some kind of a fast-food chain. I said, "This guy is out of his mind, but he doesn't have to worry about it because his father's gonna bail him out of any problems he gets in." So I sat down and wrote that chorus. [Sings] "He can rely on the old man's money/he can rely on the old man's money/he's a rich guy." I thought that didn't sound right, so I changed it to "Rich Girl". He knows the song was written about him.[2]

Several years later, Hall read an interview with serial killer David Berkowitz, in which he claimed that "Rich Girl" had motivated him to commit the notorious "Son of Sam" murders[3] (although the song was not released until after the Son of Sam murders had already begun, casting doubts on that suggestion).[4] Hall & Oates later reflected this disturbing fact in the lyrics of the song "Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)" on the album Voices.[1]

Personnel

  • Daryl Hall – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards
  • John Oates – backing vocals, rhythm guitars
  • Christopher Bond – keyboards
  • James Getzoff – conductor
  • Leland Sklar – bass
  • Jim Gordon – drums
  • Gary Coleman – percussion

Chart performance

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Selwyn version

"Rich Girl"
Single by Selwyn
from the album Meant to Be
B-side
  • Remixes
  • "Way Love's Supposed to Be"
Released2002
Recorded2002
Length3:56
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Daryl Hall
Producer(s)
Selwyn singles chronology
"Way Love's Supposed to Be"
(2002) 		"Rich Girl"
(2002) 		"Like This, Like That"
(2002)
Audio
"Rich Girl" (Single Mix) on YouTube

Australian R&B singer Selwyn recorded his own version of "Rich Girl" in 2002. This version discards the second verse but contains two new verses and retains the original chorus. It was included on his 2002 debut album, Meant to Be, and released as a single the same year. It became a hit in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number nine in the former country and number 20 in the latter; it is his highest-charting single in both nations. In Australia, it was certified Gold and was the 50th-most-successful single of 2002.

Track listing

Australian maxi-CD[13]

  1. "Rich Girl"
  2. "Rich Girl" (Rudy Mix)
  3. "Rich Girl" (Anna Nicole Mix)
  4. "Way Love's Supposed to Be" (Isaac James Edit)

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[18] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b ""Rich Girl" - Daryl Hall & John Oates". Superseventies.com. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  2. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (Updated and expanded 5th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. p. 457. ISBN 9780823076772.
  3. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Random House LLC. p. 457. ISBN 9780823076772.
  4. ^ Philbin, Tom; Michael Philbin (January 1, 2009). The Killer Book of Serial Killers is the ultimate resource (and gift) for any true crime fan and student of the bizarre world of serial killers. Sourcebooks, Inc. p. 126. ISBN 9781402226472. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. February 5, 1977. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  7. ^ "Daryl Hall & John Oates Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Hall + Oates". wweb.uta.edu. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  9. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "British single certifications – Daryl Hall & John Oates – Rich Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "American single certifications – Hall & Oates – Rich Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Selwyn – Rich Girl". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  14. ^ "Issue 653" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  15. ^ "Selwyn – Rich Girl". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  16. ^ "2002 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  17. ^ "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Urban Singles 2002". ARIA. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  18. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
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