理查·马克斯

Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.

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. Between 1987 and 1994, he had 14 top 20 hits, including three number one singles.

Marx is the only male artist in history to have his first seven singles reach the top 5 of the Billboard charts. He has scored a total of 14 number one singles, both as a performer and as a songwriter/producer. As a singer, his No. 1 hits include "Hazard", "Right Here Waiting", "Hold On to the Nights", "Endless Summer Nights", and "Satisfied". 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."

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. Marx has been nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning Song of the Year for "Dance with My Father".

Early life

Marx was born in Chicago, Illinois, 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. Marx attended North Shore Country Day School. He has three half-siblings from his father's previous marriage.

Music career

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 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."

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. Waybill went into great detail about their working relationship in a 2020 interview with American Songwriter.

Marx and Vesta Williams provided harmony vocals for the Gordon Lightfoot and David Foster penned Anything for Love, for the former's 1986 album East of Midnight.