Catchiest Song Poll Response – “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates

Pouting before it was cool

Have you not voted in the poll “What is the Catchiest Song Ever” yet? Click here to cast your vote!

I was not surprised to see that the winner of the poll was that exceptionally catchy song “Other.” No, other is not a song, just an option. There are so many catchy songs out there and everyone has a different musical palatte. The list that I provided did have some masterpieces of catchy theater, so some of the songs did receive votes. Among the top vote getters was “Rich Girl” by Hall and Oates, which gets my vote for catchiest song ever. Why? Because you’re a rich girl, and you’ve gone too far, cause’ you know it don’t matter anyway. You can rely on the old man’s money, you can rely on the old man’s money. Over and over and over again! AHHHHH get it out of my head!

So why is this song so damn catchy. First, let’s explore what the song is about. Easy, right? A rich girl who’se gone to far but it doesn’t matter anyway. Stop! According to Daryl Hall, the song is actually about an ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend at the time. The guy’s father was rich and he acted strange and Hall thought that this person could do whatever he wanted because his dad would get him out of anything. He can relay on the old man’s money. But, he’s a rich guy didn’t sound good, so Hall changed the sex of our wealthy individual and, well, people have been singing about the rich girl ever since.

The song has some immediate things going for it. First off, it’s only a little under 2:30 in length. Catchy songs should be short. The point of a song like this is to barge into your mind, lay eggs, and leave quickly. Then, after it is gone, the eggs hatch and a million tiny memories of the song get stuck up there and you are forced to think about Daryl Hall singing about the rich girl all day. Not a very pleasant or accurate description, but this is how it seems to happen to me.

The song begins with the chorus over an east-to-follow staccato piano rhythm. In 20 seconds Hall has repeated the chorus twice and has implanted the lyric into the listener. Following the introductory chorus is an exceptionally simple guitar riff that leads into what can I guess be considered the bridge (there is really no verse in this song and perhaps that even adds to its catchiness). The bridge portion is marked by vocal harmonies and longer phrasing. Hall’s voice is exactly the “catchy” kind, according to the study of catchy songs that I mentioned in the poll article. According to the article, a male vocalist with a higher, passionate voice attracts listeners. Hall has that voice. It fits the mold perfectly. The sing-songy classic keeps up the pace until it ends. But does it really end? Or are you humming it to yourself at your desk right now? Yeah, that’s what I thought.