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Biography

Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is a singer-songwriter best known for his adult contemporary music. He had a string of successful hit singles in the late 80s and early 90s such as "Right Here Waiting," "Hazard," and "Hold on to the Nights." Although most of his successful songs are slow ballads like these, many of his songs have an upbeat, classic rock style, examples being "Don't Mean Nothing," "Should've Known Better," "Satisfied," and "Wait for the Sunrise". M...

Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is a singer-songwriter best known for his adult contemporary music. He had a string of successful hit singles in the late 80s and early 90s such as "Right Here Waiting," "Hazard," and "Hold on to the Nights." Although most of his successful songs are slow ballads like these, many of his songs have an upbeat, classic rock style, examples being "Don't Mean Nothing," "Should've Known Better," "Satisfied," and "Wait for the Sunrise". 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 U.S. top singles charts.

Marx was born to Dick and Ruth Marx. Marx grew up in a mixed faith household where father was Jewish and his mother was a Christian. His father was a jingle writer for commercials for popular products such as 'Chicken of the Sea', which is where Marx got his start writing at the tender age of five. His father also was talented jazz musician, well-known in the Chicago area.

At the age of 17, Marx created a demo to showcase his talents, which landed in the hands of soul artist Lionel Richie. Richie invited Marx to Hollywood saying, "I can't promise you anything, but you should come to L.A." Marx would eventually appear as a background singer in Richie's songs "You Are" and "Running With The Night" as well as on Richie's follow-up album, which included the smash hit "All Night Long".

*Richard Marx*
Marx's first album, a self-titled work, went multi-platinum, selling nearly 4 million copies. He also earned his first #1 single, "Hold on to the nights", which he told Songfacts.com was inspired by a friend who had the dilemma of having met the love of his life when both the friend and the girl in question were already in relationships. He also had several other top five hits including "Don’t Mean Nothing" (#3), "Should've Known Better" (#3) and "Endless Summer Nights" (#2). He later revealed in an interview on 'VH-1 Classic' that his favorite song that he performed from his first album was "Have Mercy."

*Repeat Offender*
Repeat Offender eventually moved into the #1 spot and gave Marx two more #1 hit singles.

*Rush Street*
Rush Street's "Hazard" (#1), which depicted a man's rejection in a fictional version of Hazard, Nebraska. He released Paid Vacation in 1994, Flesh & Bone in 1997, Days in Avalon in 2000 and My Own Best Enemy in 2004.

Richard Marx also sang with Donna Lewis, best known for her hit "I Love You Always Forever", on the track "At the Beginning" of the Anastasia soundtrack. He has sung background vocals for Madonna in her True Blue album.

He has served as a writer/producer for an extensive list of other recording artists, including Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, Keith Urban, 98 Degrees, Kenny Loggins, Emerson Drive, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton, *NSYNC, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah Brightman, SheDaisy, John Farnham and Vince Gill.

Marx has been married to Cynthia Rhodes, who starred in the 1987 blockbuster Dirty Dancing and is a former lead singer for 80s pop band Animotion, since 1989. The couple has three sons: Brandon, Lucas, and Jesse. Brandon is the eldest followed by Lucas then Jesse.

One of Marx's most recent works is a song titled "Remember When", composed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. Performed by LeAnn Rimes, the song may be heard on the park's official 50th Anniversary album, as well as selected times in the park. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.