Richard Marx (born September 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is an adult contemporary singer and songwriter. He had a string of successful hit singles in the 1980s and early 1990s, including "Right Here Waiting," "Hazard," and "Hold On to the Nights." Although most of his successful songs were slow ballads like these, many of his songs had an upbeat, classic rock style, such as "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 US charts.
He was born to a Jewish father and a Christian mother; he revealed in an interview on VH-1 Classic that his favorite song that he performed from his first, self-titled album was "Have Mercy."
Marx went on to release a number of other albums that went largely unnoticed except for Rush Street's "Hazard", which depicted a man's rejection in a fictional version of Hazard, Nebraska. He released Paid Vacation in 1994, 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 served as a writer/producer for an extensive list of other recording artists, including Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, 98 Degrees, Kenny Loggins, Emerson Drive, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton, *NSYNC, Olivia Newton-John, Sarah Brightman, SheDaisy, Farnsy aka John Farnham, and Vince Gill.
