This Is Who Hall And Oates' Rich Girl Is Really About

Publish date: 2024-05-04

In 2014, John Oates shocked TMZ when he revealed who "Rich Girl" is actually about. And it's not about a girl at all. Oates said that his partner in pop Daryl Hall wrote the song about an ex-boyfriend of Sara Allen, his then-girlfriend and, as The Vinyl Dialogues notes, inspiration for "Sara Smile." TMZ did some digging and found out that the guy who Oates called a "burn out" was one Victor Walker, a spoiled rich kid and heir to the throne of a vast Midwestern fast food dynasty. Walker's dad was the owner of The Walker Bros. Original Pancake House in Chicago, as well as 15 KFC franchises.

Figuring that even they weren't catchy enough for the radio to be friendly to a couple of guys singing "Rich Guy," they switched it up and the song launched them to stardom. Still, there's much more to the duo than writing songs we love to get stuck in our heads, many things that fans might not know about Hall and Oates.

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