Richard Marx


Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer.
Marx’s self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, "Don’t Mean Nothing", reached number three in the charts. Between 1987 and 1995, he had 14 Top 20 hits, including three number one singles; his first seven singles all reached the Top Five. His singles during the late 1980s and 1990s included "Endless Summer Nights", "Hold On to the Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", "Hazard", and "At the Beginning" with Donna Lewis. Marx has also written or collaborated on songs with other artists such as "This I Promise You" by NSYNC and "Dance with My Father" by Luther Vandross. The latter song won several Grammy Awards. Songs written or co-written by Marx have topped the charts in four different decades.

Early life

Marx was born in Chicago, Illinois, the only child of Ruth, a former singer, and Dick Marx, a jazz musician and founder of a jingle company in the early 1960s. He attended North Shore Country Day School. He has three half-siblings from his father's previous marriage.

Music career

Marx began his career in music at the age of five, singing commercial jingles written by his father's company; its list of advertising hits includes Arm & Hammer, Ken-L Ration and Nestlé Crunch. Marx was 17 and living in Highland Park, Illinois when a tape of his songs ended up in the hands of Lionel Richie. Richie thought Marx had talent and told the teen, "I can't promise you anything, but you should come to L.A."

Debut album and stardom

Marx's self-titled debut album, released in June 1987, yielded four hit singles and went triple platinum. The debut single, "Don't Mean Nothing," about the potential pitfalls of the music business, had been released the previous month, and it climbed to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #1 on Billboard's Album Rock charts. Marx became the first new artist played on 117 radio stations nationwide during his initial week on the charts. The next two singles, "Should’ve Known Better" and "Endless Summer Nights", reached #3 and #2, respectively. The fourth single released from the album, "Hold On to the Nights," earned Marx his first #1 hit.
With the success of his self-titled album, Marx embarked on his first world tour, initially opening for REO Speedwagon, but quickly began headlining his own shows. His first tour kept him on the road for 14 months.
In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Rock Vocal Performance - Solo' for "Don't Mean Nothing."
Repeat Offender, Marx's second album, was released in May 1989. It rose to #1 on Billboard's album chart. It went triple platinum within a few months and eventually sold over 5 million copies in the United States alone. The first two singles, "Satisfied" and the platinum-selling "Right Here Waiting," both reached #1.
"Right Here Waiting" has been covered numerous times, most notably by Monica and 112 in a 1998 duet. Another single from the album, "Children of the Night," was written and composed in support of a Van Nuys-based organization for runaways. It became the sixth single from Repeat Offender,.
Marx performed the Beatles’ "Help" at the Berlin Wall in late 1989. Marx also received his second Grammy nomination in 1990 for "Best Pop Vocal Performance - Male" for "Right Here Waiting."

1990s

In 1991, Marx released his third consecutive platinum album, Rush Street. This album saw artists such as Luther Vandross and Billy Joel appear as backing vocalists and guest pianists. The disc's first single, "Keep Coming Back," went to #12 pop as well as #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts for 4 weeks running.
In early 1994, as he and his family permanently left Los Angeles behind and returned to Chicago, Marx released Paid Vacation, and scored his fourth consecutive platinum album. The acoustic ballad "Now and Forever" peaked at #7 on the Hot 100.
The year 1997 saw the release of Flesh and Bone, Marx's final studio album on the Capitol imprint. The disc's first single, "Until I Find You Again", hit #3 on the US Adult Contemporary chart and #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Marx's Greatest Hits compilation was released in November 1997. The 16-track album includes a variety of hit singles from his first five albums plus "Angel's Lullaby," a song written about his children originally appearing on For Our Children, Too, a compilation CD released in 1996 to benefit the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Greatest Hits was released in Asia in November 1998 and included two new songs, "Slipping Away" and "Thanks To You," a tribute to his mother. It was certified Gold in the United States.

2000s

In 2000, Marx debuted his sixth studio album, titled Days in Avalon. This disc was released on the Signal 21 Records label founded by Marx and former Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer and record producer Bobby Colomby.
After signing a new deal with his former label, Manhattan Records, Marx released the 2004 album My Own Best Enemy.
In 2008, Marx released Duo, on which he collaborated with Vertical Horizon's lead singer, Matt Scannell.
On June 12, 2008, Marx was part of a PBS television series called Songwriters In The Round Presents: Legends & Lyrics. In Episode 102 of the first season, Marx appeared along with Kenny Loggins, Nathan Lee, and rock band Three Doors Down. This episode also featured an interview with singer-songwriter Diane Warren.
On October 31, 2008, "Emotional Remains" and "Sundown" were released, as digital downloads, on Marx's official site.
On December 6, 2008, Marx headlined a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis research, "Newsapalooza," sponsored by WLS-AM's Roe Conn program, in which Marx both performed several of his hits with his band and accompanied Chicago broadcast news reporters and anchors covering rock hits.
In an interview published in Rolling Stone on June 26, 2009, Marx said he was "ashamed" of having been linked to a $1.92 million fine against single mother Jammie Thomas-Rasset by the Recording Industry Association of America. Rasset had shared 24 songs on the file-sharing website Kazaa in 2005, and Marx's "Now and Forever" was one of them.
Marx played piano on the song "Here" and produced Matt Scannell's vocals on two tracks for Vertical Horizon's 2009 album, entitled Burning the Days.

2010s

In March 2010, Stories To Tell was released during Marx's solo acoustic concerts. It was the first fully acoustic album he ever recorded or released, and it featured several songs from several of his previous albums. In November 2010, Stories to Tell album was released in Europe in support of Marx's European tour. The European release featured all the songs from the March release and new studio recordings of songs that Marx had written and or composed with, or for Josh Groban and Keith Urban.
On May 3, 2011, Marx was invited onto stage at the Curran Theater, San Francisco, by Hugh Jackman. It was opening night of Hugh Jackman In Performance. When introducing the mystery guest, Jackman said that the person was instrumental in helping him put the show together and rehearse, and that he had been on at least 4 occasions in this person's living room practicing. The mystery guest was revealed to be Marx. They then sang "Right Here Waiting" together with Marx changing the lyrics on the last chorus to "Right here waiting for Hugh."
Also on May 3, 2011, the reissue of Stories to Tell was released in the United States as a three-disc set exclusively through Walmart. The set included a "best of" disc, an acoustic disc of tracks, and a DVD of a live concert performance at the Shepherd's Bush venue in England. The album was also made available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon, but without the bonus DVD and album booklet. "Everybody" was released as a single in Europe and "When You Loved Me" was released in the US, peaking in the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
In the summer of 2011, Marx collaborated with the internet comedy duo Rhett and Link, producing a celebrity endorsement for a colon-cleansing spa in Sacramento, CA. The ad spot and its "making of" was featured on an episode of Rhett and Link's Commercial Kings television series on IFC.
On November 1, 2011, Marx released The Christmas EP, a five-song collection of Christmas songs. "Christmas Spirit," written and composed jointly by Marx and Fee Waybill, was the first single released for radio airplay. In October 2012, Marx followed up The Christmas EP with a full album of holiday tracks that he called Christmas Spirit.
On July 8, 2014, Marx released his eleventh studio album, Beautiful Goodbye, through Kobalt Label Services. The album included three songs that had all previously appeared on Sundown in 2008.
"Whatever We Started" was released as a digital single in May 2014. It peaked at #29 on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart. The title track was released on September 13, 2014.
Marx's next album, Limitless, was released on February 7, 2020. Its lead-off single, "Another One Down", hit #14 on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart, giving Marx a span of 32 years at the format.

Collaborations

On January 8, 1989, Marx married the singer/dancer/actress Cynthia Rhodes, who had appeared in Staying Alive, Flashdance and Dirty Dancing. Rhodes appeared as the female lead in Marx's first video, "Don't Mean Nothing." The couple have three sons — Brandon, Lucas, and Jesse — and had previously resided in Lake Bluff, Illinois. He currently resides in Malibu, California. In April 2014, the couple announced they were divorcing after 25 years of marriage.
On December 23, 2015, Marx married entrepreneur and former MTV VJ Daisy Fuentes, in Aspen, Colorado, as confirmed on his official Facebook page.
On December 21, 2016, it was reported that Marx had helped Korean Air flight attendants pacify an unruly, possibly intoxicated passenger while he and his wife were aboard a flight bound from Hanoi to Seoul, even providing photographic evidence of the incident. He had also criticized the airline company towards what was considered to be an inept handling of the situation. In response to this, Korean Air had said in a press conference that they will be more aggressive towards passengers exhibiting similar violent behaviour, even to hiring more male flight attendants and "readily use stun guns" in case of more serious measures.

Discography

Studio albums

YearFilm/ShowRoleNotes
1980Coach Of The YearHimselfCredited as Richard Marks
2008Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live 2006Himself
2010Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!HimselfEpisode: "Greene Machine"
2011Stories to TellHimselftaped at Shepherd's Bush in London, England
2012A Night Out with FriendsHimselftaped at Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois
2014Back In The DayNeighbor
2017Life in PiecesBuddy DaquiriEpisode: "Poison Fire Teats Universe"
2017Drop the MicHimselfEpisode: "Wayne Brady vs. Jake Owen / Kenny G vs. Richard Marx"
2018The BacheloretteHimselfEpisode: 3

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards
Billboard Music Awards
Other awards