Rich Girl – Daryl Hall & John Oates | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 2 weeks); 1977
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Although Sara Allen, long-time girlfriend of Daryl Hall and co-songwriter, didn’t pen Rich Girl, she did contribute to its genesis in a very important way. Pre-life with Daryl, Sara was involved with another guy during college, a man she maintained a friendship with post-breakup.
Said ex accompanied Sara to the apartment she shared with Daryl one day. Daryl noted this guy’s odd behavior, and realized that no matter what situation Sara’s friend got himself into, his rich dad would bail him out.
Then the creative light bulb blinked on, Daryl swung into songwriter mode, and quickly jotted down a chorus based on his observation. Since rich guy didn’t play well to Daryl’s ear, he changed the gender.
Daryl’s instincts were right on target. Rich Girl shot to #1, and – in contrast to H&O’s previous ballad hits Sara Smile and She’s Gone – repositioned them as ace proponents of blue-eyed rock ‘n’ soul.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Christopher Bond
Lyrics Written by:
- Daryl Hall
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).