Richard Marx facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Marx
Marx in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Richard Noel Marx
Born	(1963-09-16) September 16, 1963 (age 61) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Origin	Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock soft rock
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals piano guitar
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Capitol EMI Manhattan Signal 21 Zanzibar Frontiers Kobalt Label Services

Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is famous for his pop rock and soft rock songs. Richard Marx has sold more than 30 million albums around the world.

He first became successful as a songwriter in 1984. He wrote "What About Me?", which became a number one hit for Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes, and James Ingram. In 1985, he co-wrote "Crazy," another number one song for Kenny Rogers.

Richard Marx released his first album, called Richard Marx, in 1987. It sold millions of copies. His first song from that album, "Don't Mean Nothing", reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Between 1987 and 1994, he had 14 songs that made it into the top 20 hits. Three of these songs reached number one.

Richard Marx is the only male artist ever to have his first seven songs reach the top 5 on the Billboard charts. He has had 14 number one songs in total, both as a singer and as a songwriter or producer. Some of his number one hits as a singer include "Hazard", "Right Here Waiting", "Hold On to the Nights", "Endless Summer Nights", and "Satisfied". Billboard magazine says he has written songs that hit number one on different charts in each of the last four decades.

He has also written songs for other famous artists. These include "This I Promise You" for NSYNC and "Dance with My Father" for Luther Vandross. Richard Marx has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "Dance with My Father".

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Richard Marx was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was the only child of Ruth, who was a singer, and Dick Marx, a jazz musician. His father also started a company that made jingles (short songs for commercials) in the 1960s. Richard's father had German-Jewish family roots. Richard went to North Shore Country Day School. He also has three older half-siblings from his father's first marriage.

Richard Marx started his music career very young, at age five. He sang in commercials for his father's company. He sang jingles for popular brands like Arm & Hammer, Ken-L Ration, and Nestlé Crunch.

When he was 17, living in Highland Park, Illinois, a tape of his songs reached Lionel Richie. Lionel Richie was impressed and told Richard to come to Los Angeles. Richard said that one of the first musicians he met in Los Angeles was Fee Waybill from the band the Tubes. They have worked together many times since then. Richard calls Fee Waybill his "life-long best friend."

Becoming a Star: First Albums

Richard Marx's first album, Richard Marx, came out in June 1987. It had four hit songs and sold millions of copies. The first song, "Don't Mean Nothing", was about the challenges of the music business. It reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Richard Marx was the first new artist to be played on 117 radio stations in his first week.

His next two songs, "Should've Known Better" and "Endless Summer Nights", reached No. 3 and No. 2. The fourth song from the album, "Hold On to the Nights", became his first number one hit. These songs were also popular on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Richard Marx then went on a 14-month world tour. He first opened for REO Speedwagon and then started headlining his own shows.

In 1988, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Don't Mean Nothing". He also co-wrote the song "Surrender to Me" for the movie Tequila Sunrise.

His second album, Repeat Offender, was released in May 1989. It quickly reached No. 1 on Billboard's album chart and sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. The first two songs, "Satisfied" and "Right Here Waiting", both reached No. 1. "Right Here Waiting" was his first big hit outside of North America. It reached No. 1 in many European countries and was a top ten hit in the UK. Many artists have covered this song. Another song from the album, "Children of the Night", was written to support an organization for runaway kids.

Richard Marx performed the Beatles' song "Help" at the Berlin Wall in late 1989. He also received another Grammy nomination in 1990 for "Right Here Waiting".

Music in the 1990s

In 1991, Richard Marx released his third album, Rush Street. Famous artists like Luther Vandross and Billy Joel sang backing vocals or played piano on this album. The first song, "Keep Coming Back", reached No. 12 on the Hot 100. The second song, "Hazard", made it to No. 9. Both songs also hit No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. "Hazard" became his second top ten hit in the UK.

In early 1994, Richard Marx released Paid Vacation. This was his fourth album to sell millions of copies. The song "Now and Forever" reached No. 7 on the Hot 100.

In 1997, he released Flesh and Bone. The first song from this album, "Until I Find You Again", reached No. 3 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart.

His Greatest Hits album was released in November 1997. It included songs from his first five albums. It also had "Angel's Lullaby", a song he wrote about his children. This album sold well and was certified Gold in the U.S.

Music in the 2000s

In 2000, Richard Marx released his sixth album, Days in Avalon. This album was released on Signal 21 Records, a label he started with former Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer Bobby Colomby.

Marx in 2005

In 2004, he released the album My Own Best Enemy with his old label, Manhattan Records.

In 2008, Richard Marx released Duo, where he worked with Matt Scannell, the lead singer of Vertical Horizon.

He also released two digital albums, "Emotional Remains" and "Sundown", in October 2008.

In December 2008, Richard Marx performed at a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis research. He sang his hits and played with Chicago news reporters.

Music in the 2010s

In March 2010, Richard Marx released Stories To Tell, which was his first album with only acoustic songs.

In May 2011, he was invited to sing on stage with Hugh Jackman in San Francisco. They sang "Right Here Waiting" together.

Also in May 2011, a new version of Stories to Tell was released. It included a "best of" disc, an acoustic disc, and a DVD of a live concert.

In the summer of 2011, Richard Marx worked with the internet comedy duo Rhett and Link. He made a funny commercial for a colon-cleansing spa.

In November 2011, he released The Christmas EP, a collection of five Christmas songs. In October 2012, he released a full Christmas album called Christmas Spirit.

On July 8, 2014, Richard Marx released his eleventh album, Beautiful Goodbye.

Music in the 2020s

Richard Marx's album, Limitless, came out on February 7, 2020. Its first song, "Another One Down", reached No. 14 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. This meant he had songs on that chart for 32 years.

In 2021, he appeared in an episode of the TV show Family Guy.

His autobiography, Stories to Tell, was released in July 2021. An autobiography is a book about a person's own life.

He also appeared as himself and performed "Right Here Waiting" in the 200th episode of The Goldbergs in March 2022.

His newest album, Songwriter, was released on September 30, 2022. The first song from it, "Same Heartbreak, Different Day", came out in July 2022.

Working with Other Artists

Richard Marx has worked with many other musicians throughout his career:

• 1986 – He sang backing vocals on Madonna's album True Blue.
• 1988 – He co-wrote and played keyboards on "Edge of a Broken Heart" for the band Vixen.
• 1991 – He sang backing vocals on Cher's album Love Hurts.
• 1993 – He played piano on John Farnham's song "The Reason Why".
• 1997 – He recorded "At the Beginning" with Donna Lewis for the movie Anastasia.
• 1997 – He recorded "Surrender to Me" with Lara Fabian.
• 1999 – Richard Marx built "Renegade Studios", a modern recording studio in Chicago. Artists like Keith Urban have recorded there.
• 2000 – He wrote and produced "This I Promise You" for NSYNC.
• 2002 – He worked with Mexican singer Paulina Rubio, writing the song "Border Girl" which became the name of her album.
• 2004 – At the 46th Grammy Awards, he won a Grammy for Song of the Year for "Dance with My Father". He wrote this song with Luther Vandross. He also played piano for Celine Dion when she performed the song at the awards.
• 2006 – He toured with Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band during the summer.
• 2006 – He appeared on the TV show Celebrity Duets in September.
• 2007 – He released a new song called "Your Goodbye" and a new version of "Hold On to the Nights" on a special music collection.

Personal Life

On January 8, 1989, Richard Marx married singer, dancer, and actress Cynthia Rhodes. She was in movies like Staying Alive and Dirty Dancing. Cynthia Rhodes also appeared in Richard Marx's first music video, "Don't Mean Nothing". They had three sons together. In April 2014, they announced that they were getting a divorce.

On December 23, 2015, Richard Marx married Cuban-American actress Daisy Fuentes in Aspen, Colorado.

Discography

Studio albums

• Richard Marx (1987)
• Repeat Offender (1989)
• Rush Street (1991)
• Paid Vacation (1994)
• Flesh and Bone (1997)
• Days in Avalon (2000)
• My Own Best Enemy (2004)
• Emotional Remains (2008)
• Sundown (2008)
• Christmas Spirit (2012)
• Seven & Seven (2012)
• Beautiful Goodbye (2014)
• Limitless (2020)
• Songwriter (2022)

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

ASCAP Pop Music Awards

Grammy Awards

Billboard Music Awards

Other awards

See also

In Spanish: Richard Marx para niños