RICHARD MARX~ At the Beginning...

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Beginning of Richard Marx's Career

Personal Information:
Born c. 1962 in Chicago, Ill.;
son of Dick (a jingle composer)
and Ruth (a jingle singer) Marx;
married Cynthia Rhodes (an actress and dancer), c. 1988.

Career:
Vocalist, guitarist, songwriter of pop and rock;
sang commercial jingles during childhood and adolescence;
began singing backup and writing songs
for other artists, c. 1982;
solo recording artist and concert performer, c. 1986-.
Composed a song for the film Staying Alive.

Awards:
Grammy nomination for BestMale Rock Vocal Performance.

Addresses
c/o TBA~ changing record labels,
Chicago, Illinois.

History to fame...
Richard Marx, once hailed as "rock's newest wunder kid"
worked for years singing backup and writing songs
for stars like Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers
before landing a solo recording contract in 1986.
His first album, aptly titled Richard Marx,
spawned four hit singles
and earned him a Grammy nomination.
Marx's good looks have brought him
"a herd of young female fans,"
but he has also been praised as a
"serious, articulate musician"
and a "great singer"

Marx was born in Chicago to parents who both earned their livelihoods in the commercial jingle business--
his father composed and his mother sang.
As a small child he often accompanied them
to the studio where they worked.
Marx has beeen quoted as saying:
"I loved to be in a recording studio.
Any excuse to hang out.
Get coffee for people, sharpen pencils, anything.
And so when I got to sing, it was even cooler."
And sing he did;
when he was about five, Marx began singing
commercials for products including
peanut butter and candy bars.

His interest in music continued during his adolescence.
As Marx recalled : "Some of my friends used to watch Beatles or Elvis movies for the plot and I watched them for the music.
When those songs came on, I would be up and I would fake the guitar and I would be Elvis, you know?
None of my friends got off on it like I did."
At about the same time, he began writing his own songs--"about girls [who] wouldn't go out with me in high school,"

By the time he was eighteen Marx's songwriting talents had improved to the point where he got a response when he sent a demo tape through an odd series of acquaintances to pop star Lionel Richie.
"A friend of mine [who] was going to school in Atlanta, Georgia, was roommates with a guy who grew up with a guy who was then working for the Commodores," a group Richie was conincidentally then a member of.

Richie encouraged Marx to move to Los Angeles, California, to enter the music business.
Thankfully, he followed Richie's advice.

In Los Angeles, Marx sang backup on some of Richie's hits, including "All Night Long" and "Running With the Night."
He also wrote "What About Me"
for country star Kenny Rogers,
and composed music for the group Chicago.
When Marx was nineteen,
he was recruited to write a song for the film Staying Alive.
While doing this, he met the film's female lead,
actress and dancer Cynthia Rhodes.
Though she at first rejected his romantic overtures
because he was seven years her junior,
they eventually married.

Meanwhile, Marx's quest to become a solo artist
was initially frustrating.
Primarily involved in a more mellow,
ballad-oriented sound for his
backup work with other artists,
in his free time he wrote rock songs.
And Marx had the discouraging experience
of having a friend who was a music producer tell him:
"'You're never going to get a record. You're not an artist,'"
Despite this judgment,
and the fact that he "was turned down by every record company
at least three times," as he put it,
the young singer-songwriter kept trying.

Finally, in 1986, Marx was signed by Manhattan Records
after an audition with the president of the company.
Richard Marx, the resulting album, was a rapid success.
The hit singles from it include "Don't Mean Nothing,"
"Should Have Known Better,"
and "Endless Summer Nights."

Though it took Marx until 1989 to release his second effort, Repeat Offender, his music continues to be extremely popular.
Though a Rolling Stone critic labeled Offender "disappointing," he conceded that "the songs go down as easily as chocolate milk."
Perhaps more important, however, is the fact that Marx's second album has already scored two chart hits--the energetic "Satisfied"
and the ballad "Right Here Waiting."

The young artist is philosophical, though,
about his status as a pop star.
"It could be the next single or 20 singles from now,
but eventually I'm going to put out a song that is going
to stall and go double plywood.
But I won't freak out, because I can always work as a producer."

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