Richard Marx

Richard Marx Headshot

Singer • Songwriter

Birth Date: September 16, 1963

Age: 61 years old

Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois

Spouses: Daisy Fuentes, Cynthia Rhodes

Before becoming one of the most successful singer-songwriters of the 1990s and beyond, Richard Marx was a backing vocalist for Lionel Richie and Madonna, among others, as well as the author of 1980-era hits for Kenny Rogers and Chicago. His talent for radio-friendly romantic ballads and upbeat pop tunes paved the way for his own solo career, which launched in spectacular fashion with four Top 5 singles from his self-titled 1988 debut record, including the chart-topping "Hold On to the Night." He would score two more No. 1 songs before changing musical tastes capsized his brand of pop-rock.

Marx then returned to songwriting, where he found equal success by penning such hits as "This I Promise You" for 'N Sync, "Dance with My Father" for Luther Vandross, and Keith Urban's "Long Hot Summer." He was also the only solo artist to send his first seven singles into the Top 5 on the Billboard singles chart, as well as a songwriter with No. 1 songs in four consecutive decades - a pair of accolades that few, if any, musicians could claim as their own.

Born Sept. 16, 1963 in Chicago, IL, Richard Noel Marx was the son of jazz musician-turned-film and commercial composer Dick Marx and his wife, singer Ruth Guildoo. He began his career at the age of five, singing commercial jingles written by his father, and soon adding songwriting to his budding musical résumé. While still a teenager, Lionel Richie heard a tape of his compositions and invited him to Los Angeles. Marx took up the singer's offer, and after graduating from high school, wound up contributing backing vocals to several of Richie's solo hits, including "You Are," "Running with the Night" and "All Night Long (All Night)." He soon lent his voice to songs by Madonna, Whitney Houston and Kenny Rogers, who gave him his first hits as a songwriter with "Crazy" and "What About Me?" which also featured James Ingram and Kim Carnes. The latter song topped the Adult Contemporary charts in 1984 while also entering the pop Top 20, while "Crazy" hit No. 1 on the Country charts the following year.

Marx was soon in demand as a songwriter for acts like Chicago, but his own career as a performer would not begin until 1987 when he landed a recording contract with EMI/Manhattan. His self-titled debut album was a colossal hit, generating four Top 5 singles, including the ballad "Hold On To the Night," which reached No. 1. The record's first single, a cynical R&B number called "Don't Mean Nothing," later captured a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance - Male in 1988. After touring for 14 months behind Richard Marx, his second album, Repeat Offender, was released by Capitol Records in 1989, the same year he married actress-dancer Cynthia Rhodes, best known for playing Penny in "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and who had appeared in the music video for "Don't Mean Nothing." Its first two singles, "Satisfied" and the Grammy-nominated "Right Here Waiting," provided him with two more No. 1 hits, while "Angelina" reached No. 4, making Marx the first solo artist to land his first seven singles in the Top 5 on the Billboard singles chart.

But within a year's time, Marx had begun to lose his grip on the pop scene. His third album, Rush Street (1991), reached multi-platinum status, but its singles, including "Keep Coming Back," stalled in the lower half of the Top 20. By the end of the year, his brand of high-gloss pop/rock had been supplanted by Nirvana's Nevermind (1991) and hip-hop. Marx would take a three-year break from the music industry, during which he relocated to Chicago, before releasing his fourth album, Paid Vacation (1994). It marked a return of sorts to his previous level of success with the No. 7 single "Now and Forever," but the record soon dropped off the albums chart. His final record for Capitol was Flesh and Bone (1997), which sold a dismal 250,000 copies before vanishing from sight.

Marx continued to parlay his talents as a songwriter during the height of his solo success, penning songs for Luther Vandross, Sarah Brightman and other pop performers. As his singing career waned, he re-established himself as a top songwriter and producer, beginning in 1999 with singles for Barbra Streisand, Monica and the country-pop trio SheDaisy. He hit his stride the following year with the No. 1 Adult Contemporary single "This I Promise You" for 'N Sync, which was soon followed by work with such popular artists as Natalie Cole, Josh Groban, Billy Ray Cyrus and Vince Gill. He struck pay dirt again with "Dance with My Father" (2003), the Top 40 hit for Luther Vandross.

A sentimental favorite with radio listeners in 2004, it would capture two Grammy Awards prior to Vandross' death the following year. Marx's own solo hits would also find a second life during this period through covers by Clay Aiken and Julio Iglesias, while his solo recording career continued on a variety of independent labels, including 2008's Duo, a collaboration with Vertical Horizon singer Matt Scannell, and Stories To Tell (2010), an album of acoustic renditions of his solo hits and songs for other artists recorded during a European tour. The following year, Marx returned to the record books when Keith Urban took his song "Long Hot Summer" to the top of the country charts. Its success provided Marx with not only his 14th No. 1 hit, but established him as a songwriter with No. 1 hits in four different decades.

By Paul Gaita

Credits

Live with Kelly and Mark

Music Performer
Talk
2023

My 80s Playlist with Richard Marx

Self
Show
2022

Access Daily With Mario & Kit

Guest
Show
2022

The Song

Guest
Series
2020

Richard Marx: Front Row Seat

Music Performer
Show
2020

The Kelly Clarkson Show

Guest
Talk
2019

Tamron HallStream

Music Performer
Talk
2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

Music Performer
Show
2019

Richard Marx: Another One Down

Music Performer
Show
2019

Drop the MicStream

Contestant
Reality
2017

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Music Performer
Talk
2017

Greatest HitsStream

Music Performer
Series
2016

Richard Marx and Friends

Music Performer
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2016

Life in PiecesStream

Guest Star
Buddy Daiquiri
Series
2015

Richard Marx A Night Out With Friends

Host
Show
2014

Heart & Friends: Home for the Holidays From Benaroya

Actor
Show
2013

Christmas in Hollywood

Music Performer
Show
2012

Katie

Music Performer
Talk
2012

Live! With Kelly and Michael

Music Performer
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2012

불후의 명곡

Guest
Show
2012

CBS This Morning

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2012

The TalkStream

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2010

The TalkStream

Music Performer
Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Guest
Show
2010

Access Hollywood Live

Music Performer
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2010

The Project

Guest
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2009

The Better Show

Music Performer
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2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Host
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2006

AXS TV Concerts

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2004

The Soup

Guest
Talk
2004

Richard Marx: Ready to Fly

Music Performer
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2004

The BacheloretteStream

Music Performer
Reality
2003
58%

Richard Marx: Straight from My Heart

Music Performer
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2000

Front Row Center

Music Performer
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2000

The Early Show

Music Performer
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1999

Family GuyStream

Guest Voice
Richard Marx
Series
1999

Message In A BottleStream

Original Music
Movie
1999
32%

이소라의 프로포즈

Guest
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1996

Richard Marx: Can't Help Falling in Love

Music Performer
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1995

Richard Marx: Now & Forever

Music Performer
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1994

Richard Marx: Now and Forever

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1994

The GetawayStream

Original Music
Movie
1994
33%

Richard Marx: Hazard

Music Performer
Show
1992

Richard Marx: Right Here Waiting

Music Performer
Show
1989

This Morning

Guest
Show
1988

Richard Marx: Endless Summer Nights

Music Performer
Show
1988

Richard Marx: Hold On to the Nights

Music Performer
Show
1987

Today

Music Performer
News
1952

News aboutRichard Marx