1976 Top Ten Songs: Rich Girl (#9)

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Well howdy! Yesterday we had a record high temperature and I had lunch on the patio at Chuy’s. Today it’s in the 40s and I’m having hot tea inside the restaurant, wearing a coat. Springtime! Let’s spring backwards half a century to see if you remember this gem from 1976. Rich Girl - Daryl Hall and John Oates This was originally “Rich Guy,” about a former boyfriend of Daryl Hall’s girlfriend Sara Allen (the subject of Hall and Oates’ breakthrough song “Sara Smile”). Daryl Hall said that the guy in question was weird but never had to worry about whatever he did because he “could rely on the old man’s money.” It was NOT about Patty Hearst, as was a common rumor at the time the song was a hit. It was also not the inspiration for the “Son of Sam,” although he claimed it was (he started killing people in 1975; this song didn’t come out until 1976 and wasn’t a hit until early 1977). But the callous indifference of the rich (“high and dry out of the rain, it’s so easy to hurt others when you can’t feel pain”)? Nailed that part. Rich Girl Written by Daryl Hall Recorded by Daryl Hall and John Oates From Bigger Than Both of Us, 1976 You know it don’t matter anyway: