Rio, Duran Duran
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This is possibly the ugliest record cover I have covered so far (maybe some of you like it… no judgment…) Since this week I am doing 80s fun songs, here is another that comes to mind, “Rio” by Duran Duran. I have always thought about that band name and how it sounded let’s say, “familiar,” but I couldn’t quite remember where I heard it. So I looked it up. Ready? It is a character from the movie “Barbarella” with Jane Fonda by Roger Vadim (who was I think her husband the time?)! Of course! It had to be! Here is a clip of several characters saying the name “Durand Durand” (the band just dropped the “d” at the end of the name):
Back to “Rio”, it is a fun song, supposedly the original idea was to write about Rio de Janeiro, but Simon Lebon changed it to a girl named Rio. The video is super tacky as well. But I really love this song. I read that it was made with a Rollen Jupiter 4 Arpeggiator which plays notes in a chord in a specific pattern, the chord was Cmaj7. The songs, in the beginning, were achieved by throwing metal rods into the strings of a piano and playing that sound backward. Here are the lyrics and the video:
Moving on the floor now, babe, you’re a bird of paradise
Cherry ice cream smile, I suppose it’s very nice
With a step to your left and a flick to the right, you catch that mirror way out west
You know you’re something special and you look like you’re the best
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twisting through a dusty land
And when she shines, she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio, dance across the Rio Grande
I’ve seen you on the beach and I’ve seen you on TV
Two of a billion stars, it means so much to me
Like a birthday or a pretty view
But then I’m sure that you know it’s just for you
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twisting through a dusty land
And when she shines, she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio, dance across the Rio Grande
Hey now, wooh, look at that, did she nearly run you down?
At the end of the drive, the lawmen arrive
You make me feel alive, alive, alive
I’ll take my chance, ’cause luck is on my side or something
I know what you’re thinking, I’ll tell you something, I know what you’re thinking
Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand
Just like that river twists across a dusty land
And when she shines, she really shows you all she can
Oh Rio, Rio, dance across the Rio Grande
Her name is Rio, she don’t need to understand
And I might find her if I’m looking like I can
Oh Rio, Rio, hear them shout across the land
From mountains in the north down to the Rio Grande
