Songs of '83: "Rio"

Ah, Duran Duran. A hugely successful New Wave band that I can remember somehow not taking fully seriously even back when I was cranking up the radio to listen whenever one of their hits came on. Why? Hard to say. All I know is that something about them made even 14-going-on-15-year-old me think of posers. But they did know how to pose, that's for sure.

MTV made Duran Duran in America, perhaps more than any other member of the Second British Invasion. While their danceable synth-pop had made them huge in the UK over the previous couple of years, the singles from their first album never got on with the DJs of American pop radio stations, and their second album, Rio, was looking to be a similar flop. But then MTV put the video for their first single from Rio, "Hungry Like the Wolf," into heavy rotation in late 1982, and everything exploded. That re-released single went #1 on the Billboard charts, and its video won the very first Grammy for Best Music Video in 1984. "Rio" got its re-release in March 1983, entering the American Billboard charts 40 years ago this week. It's the better song, I think; I mean, it's got that ridiculously awesome 80s sax solo going for it. Mostly though, it's just a solid urban pop song, and those singing it do indeed look really good; what more can you ask for?