When you hear “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates on the radio, even today so many years after its release in 1976, it still practically pops out of the speakers with its many hooks and the potency of Daryl Hall’s vocal. It gave the duo their first No. 1 single and propelled them to the pop superstardom that awaited them in the ’80s.
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What did the song mean? Who inspired the track? And what important change helped to propel it to the chart heights it reached? Let’s take a look back at “Rich Girl,” a Daryl Hall and John Oates classic that simply never gets old.
Getting “Rich” Not so Quick
Once Hall & Oates found their groove at the beginning of the ’80s, they were practically an unstoppable hit machine. But it’s important to remember their career endured fits and starts before they reached that time period. “Rich Girl” came at the end of a mini-run, right before they hit another small slump.
In terms of quality of their work, the duo was already hitting impressive peaks on their second album, Abandoned Luncheonette (1973). It just took a while for the public to catch up. The soulful ballad “Sara Smile,” written about Hall’s then-girlfriend and part-time co-writer Sara Allen, put them in the Top 5 in ’76, and they solidified that success with a rerelease of “She’s Gone.” Originally recorded for Abandoned Luncheonette, the song also hit the Top 10 when given another go in ’76.
Hall & Oates have explained in interviews that they always tried to make every song as sharp as possible. They then allowed the record company to choose the singles, feeling confident that any selection would represent them well. “Do What You Want, Be What You Are” was chosen as the lead-off single from the ’76 album Bigger than Both of Us, and it barely scraped the Top 40.
Luckily, the label got it right with their next choice. After ballads had delivered the pair their first big smashes, an uptempo track was lying in wait ready to capture the imagination of the listening public.
A Crucial Switch
You might assume Hall & Oates based “Rich Girl” on a girl they knew who used her wealth as a shield against the problems that befall others with less resources. Well, you’d only be partially right, as Hall explains to American Songwriter:
“‘Rich Girl’ was written about an old boyfriend of Sara’s [Allen] 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.”
The lyrics only tell part of the story of the success of “Rich Girl.” Producer Christopher Bond also deserves credit for getting such a sumptuous sound. In particular, the way the drums and guitar come crashing in after Hall’s soulful electric piano intro provides a serious bolt of adrenaline. Once the strings kick in, you’re in pop-soul heaven.
What is the Meaning of “Rich Girl”?
“Rich Girl” makes an excellent case that there’s something lost and something gained in living without consequences. On the one hand, the title character is free from worry about her actions: ‘Cause you know it don’t matter anyway. These circumstances foster in her a ruthless insensitivity: It’s so easy to hurt others when you can’t feel pain.
On the other hand, the song subtly implies there will be a time when money won’t be enough, and that the personal fortitude bred by privation will be denied her when she needs it most: You can get along if you try to be strong / But you’ll never be strong. Even worse, she’ll struggle to acquire what money can’t buy: Don’t you know that a love can’t grow / ‘Cause there’s too much to give, ’cause you’d rather live / For the thrill of it all.
It’s also interesting that when Hall mentions the old man, he never specifically says that it’s the girl’s father. That adds another element, in that she could be settling for safety and comfort over passion in her romantic life. In any case, “Rich Girl” delivers a succinct, pointed message in the midst of exhilarating music. And in so doing, it provided the template for so many Hall and Oates hits yet to come.
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