Biography
Who is Richard Marx?
Early life and family
Richard Marx Noel Marx was born on September 16, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois. He was born as the only child to former singer Ruth Guildoo and Dick Marx, who was a jazz musician and founded a jingle company in the early 1960s. His father came from a German-Jewish background, and Richard also has three half-siblings from his father's previous marriage. During his youth, Richard attended the North Shore Country Day School in Illinois.
Richard began his professional music career at a very young age. When he was only five years old, he sang commercial jingles written by his father's company. Some of the advertising jingles he recorded during his childhood included well-known brands like Arm and Hammer, Ken-L Ration, and Nestloe Crunch.
Discovery and musical beginnings
Richard was seventeen years old and living in Highland Park, Illinois, when a cassette tape containing his original songs reached Lionel Richie. Richie recognized Richard's musical talent and encouraged the teenager to travel to Los Angeles to pursue music opportunities. After moving to the West Coast, Richard quickly met other musicians, including Fee Waybill of the Tubes, who became a lifelong friend and the godfather to Richard's children.
Early in his career, Richard also provided harmony vocals for other recording artists. In 1986, he and Vesta Williams sang backing vocals on the song Anything for Love, which was written by Gordon Lightfoot and David Foster for an album titled East of Midnight.
Rise to stardom and hit albums
In June 1987, Richard released his self-titled debut studio album, which went on to achieve triple-platinum certification. The lead single, Don't Mean Nothing, reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and hit number one on the Album Rock chart. Subsequent singles from the debut record included Should've Known Better, Endless Summer Nights, and Hold On to the Nights, which gave Richard his very first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
Following his initial success, Richard released his second album, Repeat Offender, in May 1989. The album climbed to the top of the Billboard album chart and sold over five million copies in the United States alone. It featured major hit singles such as Satisfied and the platinum-selling Right Here Waiting, which became his first number one hit on the US Adult Contemporary chart and gained big international popularity.
Songwriting and later career
Throughout his career, Richard established himself as a successful songwriter and producer for various other artists. He co-wrote the song What About Me? For Kenny Rogers, Kim Carnes, and James Ingram, which topped the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts in 1984. He also contributed to tracks like This I Promise You recorded by NSYNC and Dance with My Father recorded by Luther Vandross, winning a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for the latter.
In the decades following his initial chart dominance, Richard continued releasing new music, including acoustic albums and collaborative projects. He also released a Greatest Hits compilation in 1997 and published albums such as Days in Avalon in 2000 and My Own Best Enemy in 2004, maintaining an active presence in the music industry as both a performer and a writer.
Birthday and age
Richard Marx was born on September 16, 1963, which makes Richard 63 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Richard shares the date with 55 other famous people.
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