Richard Marx

Richard Noel Marx (9-16-1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician and record producer who sold over 30 million records. He had a stream of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard". Although some of his major hit songs were ballads, many of his songs had a classic rock style, such as "Don't Mean Nothing", "Should've Known Better", "Satisfied", and "Too Late To Say Goodbye".

Marx placed himself in the record books by being the first solo artist to have his first seven singles hit the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4). His record sales worldwide exceed 30 million. Aside from songs that he's written and recorded for himself, he has written, co-written, and produced successful tracks for 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. His 14th and latest chart topper, "Long Hot Summer," performed by Keith Urban, gave Marx the distinction of having a song he wrote or co-wrote top the charts in four different decades.

Marx was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is the only child of Ruth (née Guildoo), a former singer, and Richard H. "Dick" Marx, a jazz musician and founder of a success fuljingle company in the early 1960s. He has three half-siblings from his father's previous marriage. Marx began his career in music at the age of 5, singing commercial jingles written by his father, Dick Marx's 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 said he thought Marx had the talent to make it big, saying "I can't promise you anything, but you should come to L.A." After graduating from North Shore Country Day School, Marx moved to Los Angeles and visited Richie. "He was recording his first solo album (Lionel Richie) and having trouble with the background vocal," Marx recalls. "He tells me, ‘Come try this part.’ It worked and I ended up singing on his album." Marx contributed backing vocals to Richie’s hit "You Are", as well as "Running with the Night" and "All Night Long (All Night)", both on Richie's follow-up album Can't Slow Down.

In those early years, Marx would find any excuse possible to work within the recording industry. His enthusiasm and presence in the studio landed him several jobs as a background singer for artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand and Luther Vandross, and, eventually, as a songwriter. Marx also had a minor acting role in the television movie Coach Of The Year, which starred Robert Conrad. He was singing for Kenny Rogers in 1984 when he overheard Rogers say he needed a new song.

Within days, Marx gave him the demo of "Crazy". Rogers recorded it, along with another of Marx’s songs, "What About Me?", which also featured James Ingram and Kim Carnes. The trio recording hit #1 Adult Contemporary and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 (while just scraping onto the Country and R&B charts) in late 1984 while "Crazy" hit #1 Country and #5 AC the following year. Soon after, Marx began working with producer David Foster and writing songs for the group Chicago and R&B singer Freddie Jackson.

While working as a songwriter and doing background vocals, Marx continued to pursue his own record deal. His demo tape was rejected by every label in Hollywood until, finally, four years after moving to Los Angeles, the president of EMI/Manhattan Records, Bruce Lundvall, heard Marx's demo and knew he had a star on his hands. He gave Marx a recording contract with the opportunity to write and record whatever he wanted. Marx contacted his good friend Fee Waybill, frontman of The Tubes, and some very talented musicians, including Joe Walsh, and Randy Meisner of the Eagles, and created a ten-track album that led to a very successful career.

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 appears along with Kenny Loggins, Nathan Lee, and rock band Three Doors Down. The musical performance has been released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc through the Legends and Lyrics website. This episode also features an interview with singer/songwriter Diane Warren. 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.

On an interview published in Rolling Stone on June 26, 2009, Marx said he was "ashamed" of being 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. 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 latest album Burning the Days. Richard Marx appeared on a YouTube video "ASK KevJumba 2", singing along with YouTube star KevJumba. *On March 27, 2011, Marx sang the National Anthem at the NASCAR race, the 2011 Auto Club 400.

On May 3, 2011 Richard Marx was invited on stage at the Curran Theater, San Francisco, by Hugh Jackman. It was opening night of Hugh Jackman In Performance. When introducing the mystery guest Hugh Jackman said that the person was instrumental in helping him put the show together and rehearse. That he had been on at least 4 occasions in this person's living room practicing. The mystery guest was revealed to be Richard Marx. They then sang "Right Here Waiting" together with Marx changing the lyrics on the last chorus to "Right here waiting for Hugh". In summer 2011, Marx collaborated with comedy internet 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 series on IFC.

Right here waiting

Now & Forever

Whatever we started

Beautiful goodbye

Hazard

Angelia

Turn off the night

Just go

Take this heart

Ready to fly