Richard Marx | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Richard Noel Marx |
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | September 16, 1963
Origin | Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1968–present |
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Website | richardmarx |
Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963 [4] ) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. [5] [6]
Marx's first number one success as a songwriter came in 1984 with "What About Me?", which was recorded by Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes, and James Ingram, and topped the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. His second chart-topper was 1985's "Crazy", a song he co-wrote with Rogers which reached number one in the Hot Country Songs chart. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, "Don't Mean Nothing", reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [7] [8] Between 1987 and 1994, he had 14 top 20 hits, including three number one singles. [9]
Marx is the only male artist in history to have his first seven singles reach the top 5 of the Billboard charts. [7] He has scored a total of 14 number one singles, both as a performer and as a songwriter/producer. [5] As a singer, his No. 1 hits include "Hazard", "Right Here Waiting", "Hold On to the Nights", "Endless Summer Nights", and "Satisfied". [10] According to Billboard , Marx "holds the distinction of having written songs that have hit No. 1 on various Billboard charts in each of the last four decades." [11]
Marx has written or collaborated on songs with other artists, including "This I Promise You" by NSYNC and "Dance with My Father" by Luther Vandross. [12] Marx has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. In 2003, he won the Grammy for Song of the Year for "Dance with My Father". [13]
Marx was born in Chicago, Illinois, [4] the only child of former singer Ruth (née Guildoo) and Dick Marx, a jazz musician and founder of a jingle company in the early 1960s. His father was of German-Jewish descent. [14] [15] Marx attended North Shore Country Day School. [16] He has three half-siblings from his father's previous marriage. [17] Marx is the grandson of lesser known Marx brother, Gummo Marx, though this is largely discredited by the Marx family.
Marx began his career in music at age five, singing commercial jingles written by his father's company; his list of advertising hits includes Arm & Hammer, Ken-L Ration [18] 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." [19]
Marx said one of the first musicians he met in Los Angeles was Fee Waybill of the Tubes with whom he has collaborated at least 30 times. They met in a recording studio. In that same 2014 video segment for Ameoba Records. Marx called Waybill "my life-long best friend" and said Waybill is also godfather to his children. [20] Waybill went into great detail about their working relationship in a 2020 interview with American Songwriter . [21]
Marx and Vesta Williams provided harmony vocals for the Gordon Lightfoot and David Foster penned Anything for Love, for the former's 1986 release East of Midnight .
Marx's self-titled debut album, released in June 1987, yielded four hit singles and went triple platinum. [7] [8] The debut single, "Don't Mean Nothing", is a song about the potential pitfalls of the music business. "Don't Mean Nothing" reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock chart. 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 No. 3 and No. 2, respectively.[ citation needed ] The fourth single released from the album, "Hold On to the Nights", earned Marx his first No. 1 hit. [9] The latter three of the album's singles were also hits on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, beginning a long string of hits on that chart. Marx embarked on a 14 month world tour, initially opening for REO Speedwagon, but began headlining his own shows.[ citation needed ]
In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance – Solo for "Don't Mean Nothing". [22] The same year, the song "Surrender to Me", which he co-wrote with Ross Vanelli, appeared in the film Tequila Sunrise .
Repeat Offender , Marx's second album, was released in May 1989.[ citation needed ] It rose to No. 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 No. 1.[ citation needed ] "Right Here Waiting" was Marx's first No. 1 hit on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart as well as his first big hit outside of North America, reaching No. 1 in several European countries and giving Marx his first top ten hit in the UK. It 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.[ citation needed ]
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". [23]
In 1991, Marx released his third consecutive platinum album Rush Street .[ citation needed ] The 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 No. 12 on the Hot 100 and its second single, "Hazard", made it to No. 9. Both songs hit No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart for four weeks and one week respectively. "Hazard" became Marx's second UK top ten, reaching No. 3.[ citation needed ]
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.[ citation needed ] The acoustic ballad "Now and Forever" peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100, his final [update] top ten hit on that chart.[ citation needed ]
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 No. 3 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart and No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.[ citation needed ]
Marx's Greatest Hits compilation was released in November 1997.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ] The album was certified Gold in the U.S.[ citation needed ]
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.[ citation needed ] After signing a new deal with his former label, Manhattan Records, Marx released the 2004 album My Own Best Enemy .[ citation needed ]
In 2008, Marx released Duo , on which he collaborated with Vertical Horizon's lead singer Matt Scannell.[ citation needed ]
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 features an interview with singer-songwriter Diane Warren. [24] [25] [26]
On October 31, 2008, "Emotional Remains" and "Sundown" were released, as digital downloads, on Marx's official site.[ citation needed ]
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. [27]
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 (RIAA). Rasset had shared 24 songs on the file-sharing website Kazaa in 2005, and Marx's "Now and Forever" was one of them. [28]
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 . [29] [ better source needed ]
In March 2010, Marx released Stories to Tell , his first fully acoustic album.[ citation needed ]
On May 3, 2011, Marx was invited onto the stage at the Curran Theater in San Francisco by Hugh Jackman. It was opening night of Hugh Jackman in Performance. Jackman and Marx sang "Right Here Waiting" together, with Marx changing the lyrics of the last chorus to "right here waiting for Hugh".[ citation needed ]
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.[ citation needed ] 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 U.S., peaking in the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart. [30]
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, California. The ad spot and its "making of" was featured on an episode of Rhett and Link's Commercial Kings television series on IFC. [31]
On November 1, 2011, Marx released The Christmas EP , a five-song collection of Christmas songs. In October 2012, Marx followed up The Christmas EP with a full album of holiday tracks that he called Christmas Spirit .[ citation needed ]
On July 8, 2014, Marx released his eleventh studio album, Beautiful Goodbye .[ citation needed ]
Marx's next album, Limitless, was released on February 7, 2020. [32] [33] Its lead-off single, "Another One Down", hit No. 14 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, giving Marx a span of 32 years at the format.[ citation needed ]
In 2021, he appeared in the Family Guy episode "Young Parent Trap".[ citation needed ]
His autobiography Stories to Tell, was released in July 2021. [34]
He appears as himself and performs "Right Here Waiting" in the 200th episode of The Goldbergs , "The Wedding" which aired in March 2022. [35]
His new album Songwriter was released on September 30, 2022, and released the first single Same Heartbreak, Different Day on July 15, 2022. A previous non-album single Just Go that was subsequently released as a bonus track to the Beautiful Goodbye is also on this album, along with the studio version of Moscow Calling that had also been a bonus track to Beautiful Goodbye as a remix.
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(December 2021) |
On January 8, 1989, Marx married singer, dancer, and actress Cynthia Rhodes, who appeared in Staying Alive , Flashdance , and Dirty Dancing . [4] Rhodes appeared as the female lead in Marx's first video, "Don't Mean Nothing". They had three sons together. In April 2014, the couple announced they were divorcing. [36]
On December 23, 2015, Marx married Cuban-American actress Daisy Fuentes in Aspen, Colorado. [37] [38]
On December 21, 2016, it was reported that Marx 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, [39] [40] even providing photographic evidence of the incident. [41] [42] [43] He also criticized the airline's handling of the situation. In response, Korean Air stated that they would respond more assertively to similar situations in the future. [44]
Year | Film/Show | Role | Notes |
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1980 | Coach of the Year | Himself | Credited as Richard Marks |
2008 | Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band Live 2006 | Himself | |
2008 | Legends and Lyrics Vol 2 | Himself | |
2010 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Himself | Episode: "Greene Machine" |
2011 | Stories to Tell | Himself | London, England |
2012 | A Night Out with Friends | Himself | Taped at Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois |
2014 | Back in the Day | Neighbor | |
2017 | Life in Pieces | Buddy Daquiri | Episode: "Poison Fire Teats Universe" |
2017 | Drop the Mic | Himself | Episode: "Wayne Brady vs. Jake Owen/Kenny G vs. Richard Marx" |
2018 | The Bachelorette | Himself | Episode: 3 |
2021 | Family Guy | Himself | Episode: "Young Parent Trap" |
2021 | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | Himself | Episode: "Full Frontal Wants to Take Your Guns" |
2022 | The Goldbergs | Himself | Episode: "The Wedding" |
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | "What About Me?" | Most Performed Songs | Won | [45] |
"Crazy" | Won | |||
1989 | "Endless Summer Nights" | Won | [46] | |
"Hold On to the Nights" | Won | |||
"Should've Known Better" | Won | |||
1990 | "Satisfied" | Won | [46] | |
"Right Here Waiting" | Won | |||
1991 | Won | [47] | ||
"Angelia" | Won | |||
1994 | "Take This Heart" | Won | [48] | |
"Now and Forever" | Won | |||
1996 | "The Way She Loves Me" | Won | [49] | |
2002 | "This I Promise You" | Won | [50] | |
2005 | "Dance with My Father" | Won |
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | St. Elmo's Fire | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | Nominated |
1988 | "Don't Mean Nothing" | Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male | Nominated |
1990 | "Right Here Waiting" | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male | Nominated |
2004 | "Dance with My Father" | Song of the Year | Won |
Best R&B Song | Nominated |
Billboard Music Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1987 [51] | Himself | Top New Artist | Nominated |
Top Billboard 200 Artist | Nominated | ||
Top Hot 100 Artist | Nominated | ||
Top Hot 100 Artist – Male | Nominated | ||
Richard Marx | Top Billboard 200 Album | Nominated | |
"Don't Mean Nothing" | Top Hot 100 Song | Nominated | |
1988 | Himself | Top Artist | Nominated |
Top Male Artist | Nominated | ||
Top Billboard 200 Artist | Nominated | ||
Top Billboard 200 Artist – Male | Nominated | ||
Top Hot 100 Artist | Nominated | ||
Top Hot 100 Artist – Male | Nominated | ||
Top Adult Contemporary Artist | Nominated | ||
Top Adult Contemporary Artist – Male | Nominated | ||
Richard Marx | Top Billboard 200 Album | Nominated | |
1994 | Himself | Top Adult Contemporary Artist | Nominated |
"Now and Forever" | Top Adult Contemporary Track | Nominated |
Other awards
Year | Awards | Work | Category | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Pollstar Concert Industry Awards | Tour | Club Tour of the Year | Nominated |
1990 | Kids Choice Awards | Himself | Favorite Male Musician | Nominated |
American Music Awards | Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist | Nominated | ||
ASCAP Film & TV Awards | "Surrender to Me" | Most Performed Song from Motion Picture | Won | |
2013 | O Music Awards | Himself | Must Follow Artist on Twitter | Nominated |
William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sanborn, among others. He was the main songwriter and producer on three of Davis' albums: Tutu (1986), Music from Siesta (1987), and Amandla (1989). His collaboration with Vandross was especially close; he co-produced and served as the arranger for most of Vandross' albums, and he and Vandross co-wrote many of Vandross' songs, including the hits "I Really Didn't Mean It", "Any Love", "Power of Love/Love Power" and "Don't Want to Be a Fool". He also co-wrote the 1988 single "Da Butt" for Experience Unlimited.
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Throughout his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA-certified platinum albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide. Known as the "Velvet Voice", Vandross has been recognized as one of the 200 greatest singers of all time (2023) by Rolling Stone, as well as one of the greatest R&B artists by Billboard. NPR additionally named him one of the 50 Great Voices. He was the recipient of eight Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 2004 for a track recorded shortly before his death, "Dance with My Father". In 2021, he was posthumously inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with R&B-pop singer Mariah Carey, and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.
Paid Vacation is the fourth studio album by American singer/songwriter Richard Marx, released in 1994.
"Right Here Waiting" is a song by American singer and songwriter Richard Marx. It was released on June 29, 1989, as the second single from his second album, Repeat Offender (1989). The song was a global hit, topping charts in many countries around the world, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States where it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The same year, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was the UK's most streamed love song on Spotify ahead of Valentine's Day in 2013 and has since been covered by many artists, including R&B singer Monica.
"Never Too Much" is the debut song written, composed, produced, and performed by Luther Vandross. The R&B song was released in 1981, as the lead single from Vandross's debut album of the same name. The title track hit number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number four on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. It peaked at #27 in Cash Box and #33 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Love the One You're With" is a song by American folk rock musician Stephen Stills. It was released as the lead single from his debut self-titled studio album in November 1970. The song, inspired by a remark Stills heard from musician Billy Preston, became his biggest hit single, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1971.
"Dance with My Father" is a song by Luther Vandross and the title track to his thirteenth studio album. It was released in May 2003 as the album's lead single. With Richard Marx, Vandross wrote the song based on his personal experience. The lyrics recall childhood memories with Vandross's father, who used to dance with him and his mother.
"Power of Love/Love Power" is a single by American singer-songwriter Luther Vandross. It was released on April 9, 1991 as the lead single from his 1991 album of the same name. The song spent two weeks at number one on the US R&B chart, and peaked at number four on the US pop chart, becoming his biggest pop solo hit.
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, that has been a hit for many artists in different genres in the years since. The best-known versions are by the Carpenters in 1971, Luther Vandross in 1983, and Sonic Youth in 1994.
Repeat Offender is the second studio album by singer/songwriter Richard Marx. Released on April 26, 1989, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The album was certified four times platinum in United States due to five major singles on the Billboard charts, including two No. 1 hits: "Satisfied" and the platinum-certified "Right Here Waiting".
Rush Street is the third studio album by singer and songwriter Richard Marx. Released in late 1991, it sold over two million copies in the United States alone. It was Richard's third consecutive multi-million seller in the U. S.
Richard Marx is the debut studio album by singer/songwriter and record producer/arranger, Richard Marx, released in June 1987.
Matthew Guion Maher is a Canadian Roman Catholic, contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader from Newfoundland, Canada, who lives in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Top 25 Christian Albums Billboard chart and four of his singles have reached the Top 25 Christian Songs chart. His notable writing credits include "Your Grace Is Enough", "I Will Rise", "Because He Lives (Amen)", "Christ Is Risen", and "Lord I Need You". Maher has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards in his career and was awarded the Songwriter of the Year at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards.
Dean Pitchford is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, eight Grammy Awards, and two Tony Awards.
"Don't Mean Nothing" is the debut single by singer/songwriter/producer Richard Marx from his triple platinum 1987 eponymous album. It hit No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100. With the chart success of "Don't Mean Nothing" and subsequent singles from his debut album, Marx became the first male artist to reach the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart with four singles from a debut album. In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Vocal Performance - Solo" for "Don't Mean Nothing". He competed against Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Bob Seger, and Joe Cocker.
"Keep Coming Back" is a song by American singer-songwriter Richard Marx. It appears on his third solo album, Rush Street, and was both written and produced by Marx. The lyrics to the song detail a man's unrequited love for a woman. Working with musicians such as Luther Vandross and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, Marx sought to explore different musical territory with this single, stating that "I wanted to write an old-fashioned R&B song."
"Always and Forever" is an R&B song written by Rod Temperton and produced by Barry Blue. It was first recorded by the British-based multinational funk-disco band Heatwave in 1976. Released as a single on 3 December 1977, the song is included on Heatwave's debut album Too Hot to Handle (1976) and has been covered by numerous artists, becoming something of a standard.
"Chains Around My Heart" is a song co-written by American musicians Richard Marx and Fee Waybill, originally recorded by Australian singer John Farnham under the title "Chains Around the Heart" as the B-side to his 1990 single "Burn for You". Marx then recorded his own version of the song for his third studio album, Rush Street (1991), and released it as the album's fourth and final single in 1992. Marx's version reached number 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 17 in Canada, and number 29 in the United Kingdom.
"Edge of a Broken Heart" is a power ballad by the American glam metal band Vixen, that was released as a single in 1988. It was written by Richard Marx, who was also on keyboards, and Fee Waybill. The song peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and although the band had another top 40 hit on that chart, "Cryin'", they are often cited as a one-hit wonder, with this song "being their one hit". According to Marx's memoir Stories to Tell, Michael Landau, not the band's Jan Kuehnemund, played lead guitar on this song.