Rio (song)

"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.

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.

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. The laughter on the track was that of Rhodes' girlfriend at the time.

Donald A. Guarisco of AMG 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.

Music video
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", reema was a model for Models One agency, of half english, half lebanese origin. A really lovelly girl with joie de vivre.

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."

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.

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.

Complete list of mixes

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

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.

It has been referenced in the lyrics of the 2005 UK #1 hit by Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor": "Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand".

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.

7": EMI EMI 5346 (UK)

 * 1) "Rio [single version]" (4:40)
 * 2) "The Chauffeur (blue silver)" (3:48)

7": EMI EMI5346 [A-5U-1-1-20] (UK)

 * 1) "Rio [part 1]" (5:11)
 * 2) "The Chauffeur (blue silver)" (3:48)


 * "Blue silver" version also called "Acoustic Demo" in some circles

7": Harvest B-5175 (US)

 * 1) "Rio [US single edit]" (4:34)
 * 2) "Hold Back The Rain [LP Album Version]" (3:59)

7": Harvest B-5175 (US)

 * 1) "Rio [Remix]" (3:57)
 * 2) "Hold Back The Rain [US Album Remix]" (6:57)


 * March 1983 reissue

7": Harvest / 016 65184 (Brazil)

 * 1) "Save a Prayer [Album Fade]" - 4:04
 * 2) "Hungry Like the Wolf [Single Version]" - 3:27
 * 3) "Rio [Album Fade]" - 3:31
 * 4) "My Own Way [Album Fade]" - 3:42


 * Contains three exclusive "album fade" mixes

12": EMI 12 EMI 5346 (UK)

 * 1) "Rio [part 2]" (5:29)
 * 2) "Rio [part 1]" (5:11)
 * 3) "My Own Way [Remix]" (4:34)

CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1981-1985" boxset

 * 1) "Rio [part 1]" (5:11)
 * 2) "The Chauffeur (blue silver)" (3:48)
 * 3) "Rio [part 2]" (5:29)
 * 4) "My Own Way [Remix]" (4:34)

Other appearances
Apart from the single, "Rio" has also appeared on:

Albums:
 * Carnival (1982)
 * Arena (2004 reissue only)
 * Decade (1989)
 * Night Versions: The Essential Duran Duran (1998)
 * Greatest (1998)
 * Strange Behaviour (1999)
 * Singles Box Set 1981-1985 (2005)

Personnel
Duran Duran are:
 * Simon Le Bon - vocals
 * Nick Rhodes - keyboards
 * John Taylor - bass guitar
 * Roger Taylor - drums
 * Andy Taylor - guitar

Also credited:
 * Colin Thurston - producer and engineer