Rio (song)

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"Rio"

Single by Duran Duran
from the album 'Rio'
B-side(s)	"The Chauffeur", "Hold Back The Rain"
Released	November 1, 1982
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	AIR Studios, London 1982
Genre	Dance, New Wave
Length	5:35
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Duran Duran
Producer(s)	Colin Thurston
Chart positions
#9 UK Singles Chart #14 Billboard Hot 100 #5 Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #60 Australia
Duran Duran singles chronology
Save A Prayer (1982)	Rio (1982)	Is There Something I Should Know? (1983)

"Rio" is a hit single from the album Rio by Duran Duran, and one of their most recognisable songs and music videos. "Rio" was released worldwide in November, 1982, then was reissued in the United States in March of 1983, and was a Top 20 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

1 About the song
2 Music video
3 B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
- 3.1 Complete list of mixes
4 Covers, samples, & media references
5 Chart positions
6 Track listing
7 Other appearances
8 Personnel
9 References

[edit] About the song

The musical hook for "Rio", well-known among Duran Duran fans and synthesiser enthusiasts, was produced by an arpeggiator -- a software tool which can play the individual notes in a chord in a chosen pattern. It was once rumored that the synthesiser used to achieve this was a Roland Jupiter-8. However, it has been said by Nick Rhodes to actually be a Roland Jupiter-4 using the random mode on the arpeggiator with a C minor chord.^[1]

Rhodes created the unusual sound at the beginning of the song by throwing several small metal rods onto the strings of a grand piano in the studio. The recorded sound was then reversed to create the intro.^[2] The laughter on the track was that of Rhodes' girlfriend at the time.

Donald A. Guarisco of AMG^[3] said:

“

The lyrics have a playful, romantic feel as they paint an enticing portrait of the title character, a woman whose "cherry ice cream smile" is too lovely to resist: "Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand/Just like that river twisting through a dusty land." The music behind realizes this narrative with a surprising amount of ambition for a pop song: the chorus has a purely pop feel, thanks to its slowly ascending hooks, but the verses have a jazzy swing reminiscent of 1950s-era Sinatra and the final chorus wipes away the melody for a languid instrumental break before working in a staccato melodic bridge that builds the song back to a final energetic peak. Duran Duran's recording of "Rio" has a feel reminiscent of Roxy Music's work circa Flesh and Blood and Avalon as it welds quietly spacy washes of synthesizer to a hypnotically churning rhythm section anchored by John Taylor's fluid bass lines and also works in a saxophone solo from session man Andy Hamilton that sounds just like Andy Mackay's famous solos for Roxy Music. However, Simon Le Bon's tongue-in-cheek lounge lizard vocals and the stream-of-consciousness lyrics ensure the song has a distinctive feel all its own.

”

The song did not attract much notice in the United States upon its initial global release, but a slightly retouched version by remixer David Kershenbaum became a favourite among DJs who heard the EP Carnival. After the band's breakthrough hit "Hungry Like the Wolf" stormed MTV and scaled the American charts in December of 1982, radio programmers paid closer attention to the catchy melody and insistent, intricate bass line of "Rio", and Capitol Records reissued the single for the American market to great success.

[edit] Music video

"Ever since, people think we spend all our time riding around in silk suits, on yachts, getting wet." -- Nick Rhodes

Duran Duran travelled to the island of Antigua with director Russell Mulcahy in May of 1982 to film the vivid music video for "Rio", where the yacht scenes were filmed on the bay at English Harbour, the beach scenes at Miller's Beach, and the bit with the raft at Shirley Heights. They also filmed a video for the album track "Waiting for the Nightboat" at the time, and both appeared on the Duran Duran video album released in 1983.

"Rio" featured iconic images of the band in Antony Price suits, singing and playing around on a yacht speeding over the crystal blue Caribbean Sea. Short segments show band members trying to live out their assorted daydreams, only to be teased, tormented, and made fools of by a body-painted vixen. The London model in the video is credited as "Reema", but her real name has been lost—not even the band have a record of who she really was or where she went afterwards.

Nick Rhodes was reportedly dreadfully seasick during the filming, and has often said "I hate boats unless they're tied up and you've having cocktails on them."^[4]

[edit] B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes

There are thirteen different mixes of "Rio", many of which are edits of the album version or Kershenbaum remix with fades in various places.^[5]

The original release of the single used an acoustic version of the moody album track "The Chauffeur" on the B-side. The American reissue featured an upbeat remix of "Hold Back The Rain" instead. The 12-inch single also included a remix of "My Own Way".

In 1998 three new mixes by Recall 22 were released on promo in France.

[edit] Complete list of mixes

"Rio" - 5:33
"Rio [Album Fade]" - 3:31
"Rio [US Album Remix]" - 5:24
"Rio [US Edit]" - 4:43
"Rio [US Single Version]" - 4:34
"Rio [Promo Single Mix]" - 4:58
"Rio [Single Version]" - 4:40
"Rio [Part 1]" - 5:10
"Rio [Part 2]" - 5:28
"Rio [Part 2 Carnival Mix]" - 5:03
"Rio [Night Version]" - 6:39
"Rio [Remix]" - 3:58
"Rio [Recall 22 7" Dance mix]" - 5:03
"Rio [Recall 22 New Club mix]" - 7:47
"Rio [Recall 22 12" Dance mix]" - 9:22
"Rio [Video Version]" - 5:02

[edit] Covers, samples, & media references

Cover versions of "Rio" have been recorded by Goldfinger, Bodyjar and Nip Drivers.

Nirvana performed the song "Rio" during the Rock in Rio show in Brazil, on January 16, 1993, and Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies played "Rio" live in Calgary on April 1, 2004.

The video for the Fountains of Wayne song "Mexican Wine" is partially based on the video for "Rio."

Parts of the song were sung by Santa Claus on Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics South Park episode.

[edit] Chart positions

"Rio" reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart on on November 13, 1982. After its American reissue, it peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 2, 1983.