Artist Spotlight: Richard Marx
Today’s post is dedicated to Richard Marx, the consistently great impressive, songwriter and producer! Today’s his birthday, so I figured now’s as good time as any to share some thoughts about why he’s one of my favorite artists.
Coming across artists who are consistently amazing is such a joy. Richard epitomizes this. Since first starting to go through his discography in January 2023, I have experienced nothing but pure joy and excitement in my consumption of his art. Richard is a heartfelt and emotive artist who sings with immense passion.
One of my favorite aspects of his artistry is his sense of melody. His melodic ideas are so intoxicatingly beautiful. Just when I think I reach peak amazement during my first time hearing a song of his, he throws a curveball in the form of a gorgeous bridge with a key change. The arrangements he comes up with are brilliant. He is truly an expert in this, and it never gets old.
Richard is an artist who thrives in his ability to have stylistic range. From rock and country to pop and R&B/Soul, he does it all and does it so well. Listening to Richard makes for such an amazingly exciting experience. Every album that he releases contains a different energy than the last, displaying another side of the artist he is.
With all the songs he’s written (for both himself and the vast array of artists he’s written for) and released over the nearly four decades since his debut, he has never repeated himself. I’m amazed by his seemingly endless well of melodic ideas and concepts. One thing I can be sure of when it comes to Richard is that whatever he does is going to be great.
He has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. His gorgeous raspy tone mixed with heartfelt emotional expression and passion is unlike any other artist I’ve studied.
The beginning
The way to Richard Marx was brought to my attention is one of my favorite ways I’ve been introduced to an artist. I was listening to Kenny Loggins’s memoir Still Alright (2022) on Audible and kept seeing a recommendation for Richard’s memoir Stories To Tell (2021). After learning that the two have worked together and have a close friendship, my interest was piqued.
I figured I should start diving into Richard’s music to accompany my learning about his life through his memoir. I remember, very vividly, listening to his 1987 self-titled debut album for the first time in January 2023.
I felt the excitement and freshness of a new year filled with more beautiful music. My heart and mind were open to welcome artists onto my ever-growing list of favorites. Boy, was I in for a treat with Richard’s debut. After having the album saved for a couple of days, I hit play. I fell increasingly in love with the sound of his beautiful, unique tone in conjunction with the production and instrumentation as I listened. Track 4, “Lonely Heart,” completely entranced me. Its moody verses and upbeat chorus drew me in—it still remains one of my top Richard Marx songs. It perfect 80s pop goodness.
This self-titled debut is absolute perfection to me; it’s one of my favorite debuts of all time. I fell in love with the tenderness of Richard’s voice immediately; it spoke to a particular place in my heart—that lovey-dovey part shaped by romantic balladeers like Babyface. Richard’s stylistic and vocal range are so beautifully represented on this album.
His artistic choices, in general, are so exciting to experience. I picked up on Richard’s unique and skillful lyricism early in my listening experience. There’s just something about his particular style of writing that pairs perfectly with his passionate tone. Hearing “Hold On To The Nights” for the very first time, I felt my musical world shift. The atmospheric quality of that song made me appreciate Richard from the get-go. That gorgeous bridge full of those astonishing key changes still gets me.
I love this album so dearly; it was a green light to keep studying Richard’s artistry and continue through his discography. I was excited for the discography journey that I was about to embark on.
I’ve continued going through his albums, intentionally taking my time to cherish each one before moving onto the next. With each album, I fall increasingly in love with Richard as an artist. Each body of work presents another layer of his artistry, deepening the respect I have for him.
Evolving with grace
One of the aspects of Richard’s artistry that impresses me the most is his ability to successfully adapt and pivot with the times while also honoring his sound and staying true to himself. This is a challenging balance to strike, and he does it with such grace. Growth and evolution can be difficult for artists to execute in a way that doesn’t alienate their fanbase from them, or compromise their own artistic integrity.
What I really appreciate about Richard is that he continues to be a student of music. The way he has evolved as an artist is evidence of this. I am incredibly proud to call him one of my favorite artists. This really began to show itself in the 2000s when alternative rock and pop rock were rising in popularity.
When I first listened to My Own Best Enemy, Richard’s 8th studio album, I was amazed at how modern it sounded. It was perfectly in-line with the pop-rock sound. This excited me so much. Funnily enough, I didn’t even realize how much I loved this sound until I reached the 2000s era of Richard’s discography. Growing up in the 2000s had more of an impact on me than I realized! One of my favorite songs on this album is “Suspicion.” It’s a perfect track that sounds perfectly suited for the end credits of an early 2000s indie drama-thriller with a cool-toned filter (oddly specific, I know).
Not only did Richard embrace new sounds, but he also incorporated them into his own sound and executed it so beautifully. His voice is so perfect for the 2000s pop-rock sound. The four albums Richard released during the 2000s feature some of my favorite vocal/lyrical moments of his—it was just such a good time for music.
Richard’s ability to showcase different sides of himself as an artist has always been present throughout his career. I recently listened to Limitless (2020), Richard’s 12th studio album, for the first time. His voice sounds as beautiful as ever and his vocals and lyricism only continue to amaze me. My mouth dropped hearing how incredibly modern it sounded. The songs on this album should be played right alongside Shawn Mendes and Harry Styles on the radio, it’s impressive! Richard Marx is not one to rest on his laurels, and I love him for that.
Richard has showcased the many facets of who he is as an artist so beautifully and it’s truly impressive. He deserves recognition for this! To be a master at his particular craft of singing and songwriting and still being so passionate and excited about it to want to continue is exceptional. He is just so good at what he does. It is nothing short of amazing.
At his core, Richard Marx is an artist who has so many different sides to him. His many artistic influences have been so beautifully represented throughout his career. Going through his discography has made for such an exciting experience for this reason.
What I really admire about Richard is that he doesn’t attempt to match his previous successes by duplicating his past work. He strikes a perfect balance between honoring his previous works and still being so deeply excited about his most recent. The purity of his love for songwriting shines through in every album he shares with the world.
I love being known as a songwriter. When I travel internationally and have to fill out customs forms, in the box labeled “Occupation,” I never write “Performer” or “Singer.” I always write, “Songwriter.” I consider writing songs to be an elegant and noble profession.
And I plan to never retire.
(Richard Marx, Stories To Tell, 2021)
Stylistic range
I’ve mentioned Richard’s ability to transcend genres a couple times throughout this post already—it’s time to get into it! His success in doing this comes from his many musical influences across a variety of genres. There are three primary albums I am going to highlight here. These are albums that deepened my love and appreciation for Richard and made me realize how much of a standout he is amongst my favorite artists.
Rush Street (1991)
Rush Street definitely has traces of the rhythm and blues artists I listened to while growing up in Chicago. I loved artists like Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, and Otis Redding, as well as so many forgotten blues jazz and rock ‘n roll players who poured their heart and soul into their music.
Although my voice is the common link, nothing on this album sounds like my other records, and that’s what I love most about it. I don’t care about formats. I don’t want to play it safe. What I want is to continually meet challenges, and perhaps, set the pace. — Richard Marx (from the Rush Street press kit, October 1991)
By the time I got Richard’s third album, Rush Street, I was on the cusp of certainty that he’d become one of my favorite artists. Going into my first listen of this album, I didn’t have any expectations other than that he would showcase, once again, beautiful vocal performance and amazing writing.
This album really solidified my feelings about Richard. I pretty much fell in love with him from my first listen of his debut album, but it’s Rush Street that showed me his ability to transcend genres. I admire this aspect of his artistry greatly.
“This song is a throwback to the kind of music I most listened to in high school. Though I did listen to a lot of rock and roll, I buried myself in R&B. Earth, Wind and Fire, Marvin Gaye, The Brothers Johnson, Teddy Pendergrass…these people made records that blew my mind. It was a time when radio stations played a bit of everything, and when melodies, production, and vocal performances were the keys to making great records. You really had to sing!” — Richard Marx (from the Rush Street Tour booklet)
This track is another one that became an immediate favorite upon my first time hearing it; it’s very soulful. This is one of those songs that remind me just how mind-blowing Richard’s voice is, it is truly incomparable. Luther Vandross’s background vocals add a particular sweetness to this track. His voice complements Richard’s so beautifully.
(side note—Luther Vandross is another key artist of my childhood—one of my favorite things has been learning about his close friendship with Richard. The fact that they worked together on Luther’s bittersweet, iconic song “Dance With My Father,” brings my heart so much joy. Richard’s music was in my life before I even knew it. That song impacted me from a young age, I was only about 4 when it was released. I remember listening to the lyrics intently, feeling captivated by the story being delivered through Luther’s passionate performance. It made me equally sad and intrigued. It’s one of the first songs I can remember really trying to understand. Rest easy, Luther.
Richard’s vocal performance on this song is unbelievable. If there was one song I’d recommend to people that best showcase his vocal capabilities, it would be this one. He absolutely soars on this song, especially during the bridge—my favorite part. Richard has written some of my favorite bridges of all time. It’s of his specialties, if you ask me! I am blown away every single time I hear this song.
This is an absolutely beautiful song—truly breathtaking. I love the instrumentation, that’s what pulled me in initially. Richard wrote this song for his first son, Brandon. I really love when artists write songs for their children. When they put them out for the world to hear, it’s an incredibly vulnerable and heartwarming gesture. These lyrics are so touching and so full of love. This was a great choice for the closing track!
Paid Vacation (1994)
For the first time in my career, I made a conscious effort to keep the songs on this album consistent with one another. I believe in making my voice the common thread from song to song, style to style. Overall, I believe this album represents my best writing to date. — Richard Marx (from the Paid Vacation press kit, February 1994).
This album leans more on the rockabilly/country side than Richard’s other albums, which again showcases yet another facet of the artist that he is. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. The combination of Richard’s beautiful voice and the gorgeous instrumentation is what really makes this album for me. It’s more mellow compared to Rush Street, which is exactly why I love it. This album made me realize that I can appreciate country music, which I’m grateful for.
“Another song I wrote while on tour. We were doing a TV show in Spain last year and we were waiting in the wings with our guitars. My guitar player Paul Warren played a really interesting inversion of a chord as we walked on the set. As the crew was lighting us, I wrote all the music to this song based on that cool chord. Luckily I remembered it by the time I got to the hotel. I think there’s a really strong Beatles influence on this. The lyric is my take on how I think the elderly - particularly in the US - are basically ignored and cast aside. Old people are a river of knowledge and experience. I, for one, still feel I have a lot to learn from them.” — Richard Marx (from the Paid Vacation press kit, February 1994)
I absolutely love the storytelling in this song. Richard paints such a picture with his lyrics. This is a topic I’ve never heard explored in a song—it’s so beautiful and considerate. The contrast between warmth of the verses and the chilling delivery of the chorus is beautiful. The chorus perfectly drives home Richard’s point in writing this song. This is such a brilliant song, one that deserves to be highlighted. It showcases how thoughtful Richard is as an artist.
“I’ve done several songs that I would label ‘romantic,’ but only two that I would call truly sexy. ‘Keep Coming Back’ from the Rush Street album is one: this is the other. I wrote it with Bruce Gaitsch at the end of making the album, and I really love it. I think it’s my best vocal performance on the album, and I think it’s one of my better lyrics.” — Richard Marx (from the Paid Vacation press kit, February 1994)
I could not agree more with what Richard said. This song is sexy. It has the quality of a late 70s slow jam. The way he sings this song is just…perfect. This is one of those songs that is hard for me to describe—you really just have to listen. This is a standout on Paid Vacation, and one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard.
“I rarely write on guitar, but one day I was just playing for my oldest for my oldest son, Brandon, kidding around, and this popped out. I guess he’s a co-writer in a sense. This is the one lyric on the album I did not write, and as on every album I’ve done, I turned to my favorite lyricist and pal, Fee Waybill. Fee’s father passed away during the making of this album, and I asked him to write a song about him. What he wrote was a song abut my Dad, which applied to his own relationship with his Dad. I’m very close to my parents, and one day a few years ago I told Fee that one of the greatest feelings is knowing that there is no unfinished business with my folks. He remembered that conversation, and I think this lyric is outstanding.” — Richard Marx (from the Paid Vacation press kit, February 1994)
This song is so beautifully sentimental. Richard delivers these lyrics with such love and passion (as he does). Listening to this song makes me feel so happy and warm. The instrumentation (especially that beautiful organ) so beautifully complements the lyrics—it’s really gentle and has a serenading quality.
Flesh and Bone (1997)
For me, being musician is not about an image or controversy or what looks cool. It’s about the music. It comes down to having the privilege of expressing yourself, and once again I felt that privilege with this album. But what makes Flesh and Bone particularly special is that it’s a culmination of my connection to those R&B sounds I grew up with.
I’d lay in bed listening to WGCI, Chicago’s big urban station, on my little transistor radio with an earplug in my ear and fantasize about making records like Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye, the Commodores, and the O’Jays.
— Richard Marx (from the Flesh And Bone press kit, April 1997)
This is Richard’s most R&B/Soul-oriented album to date, and I love it. As a music enthusiast whose roots lie in the sounds of R&B/Soul legends like Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind & Fire, this album is just perfect.
On this album, Richard showcases his R&B influences so beautifully. As someone who studies Richard’s music, this album makes complete sense; it’s not a “departure record” to me. It feels very authentic because of Richard’s constant credit to his influences within the R&B and Soul genres. I’m so glad he explored them to this degree.
“Sad songs are hard to write when you’re as happy as I am. But I remember being heartbroken and I can put myself in the shoes of the bachelor in this song. He thinks his life’s great. Then a girl gets into his soul. If he loves in return, it’ll be the end of his perfect existence. If he lets her go, he’ll never get over it. He’s at a crossroads.” — Richard Marx (from the Flesh And Bone press kit, April 1997)
What an opening track! This song is so entrancing. It begins with a beautiful orchestral arrangement done by Richard’s father, the late Dick Marx. It then transitions into production that sounds reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s “If,” produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. This is another song where Richard absolutely SOARS. This track sets the tone for the ride that is Flesh And Bone. I couldn’t believe my ears the first time I heard it.
“My tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire. The song’s about the fact that men just don’t understand what women really need. And that we try to give a woman what we think she needs, it’s never enough. A song that walks a fine line between feminist and chauvinist.” — Richard Marx (from the Flesh And Bone press kit, April 1997)
This song is pure funk. The homage Richard pays to the Earth, Wind & Fire here is incredibly important to me. Earth, Wind & Fire is a band whose impact on the genesis of my love for music is undeniable. The voices of Maurice White and Philip Bailey are singed into my soul.
The percussion, bass, and inclusion of the kalimba on this song— I mean…come on! These are quintessential elements of EW&F’s sound. The cherry on top is Maurice White’s feature on this song! I learned about this song from Richard’s memoir, Stories To Tell, and I was so excited to hear it.
When I heard this song for the first time, it was incredibly full circle. Maurice’s famous adlibs add the perfect touch of that EW&F sound. The fact that Richard got to work with one of his heroes, a recurring theme throughout his career, is so incredibly inspiring!
“The most ‘90s track on this album, this was co-produced with Randy Jackson, who’s played bass on my records for a few years now. An interesting R&B melody, one Luther Vandross might do.” - Richard Marx
This song is an absolute standout on this album. Like Richard said, it’s very ‘90s! I spent years exploring so many of the classic contributions to ‘90s R&B, so this song is right up my alley. I fell in love with it immediately. I was amazed by all aspects of it. It’s Richard’s vocal performance on this song that I really love. He delivers this melody so beautifully, and the way it’s arranged is just so intoxicatingly good. This song was quite the surprise—it’s definitely in my top five favorite Richard Marx songs.
“You can tell I love R&B from this song. I wrote this in 1985 for James Ingram. He recorded a great version but it was never released. I’d always wanted to do it myself but it was right for me. But it fits what I’m doing now.” — Richard Marx (from the Flesh And Bone press kit, April 1997)
Learning from the quote above that this was written in the mid-80s makes complete sense—Richard’s ability to write for such a wide array of artists across a multitude of genres is another key factor of his artistry. This song is nothing short of quiet storm magic. It’s a really sensual, intimate song cut from the same cloth as the best classic R&B slow jams. It feels very reminiscent of The Secret Garden by Quincy Jones featuring Al B. Sure!, El DeBarge, James Ingram and Barry White —it doesn’t get more sexy. Richard’s beautiful passion-filled voice delivers these lyrics so sweetly. This is one of those songs I believe so perfectly represent Richard’s amazing stylistic range—this is purely an R&B slow jam, it’s not even up for debate. Everyone should know this song.
There are SO many more albums I could have shed light on in this post, and it was hard to narrow it down. Luckily, I have this platform! I will continue sharing more of my thoughts in future posts.
Richard is just one of those artist who never fails to impress me. His voice and his ability to sing in any style makes me so proud to be a fan of his. There are SO many more examples across all of his albums, (below is a playlist of my favorite Richard Marx songs!) I’ve only scratched the surface here. I hope it’s clear how much admiration I have for this key aspect of what makes Richard a standout artist for me.
An ideal artist
In the case of Richard Marx, this means that every aspect of his artistry makes him so very grateful to call him one of my favorite artists. His courage to take stylistic risks, that beautifully tender and raspy voice, his melodic choices and strong lyricism…
Richard is an artist who not only takes his craft very seriously but approaches it from a very thoughtful place. What do I mean by this? He cares about doing his best and sharing quality art, not only for listeners, but for himself. That’s a really important component. He’s one of the good ones! I continue to be amazed by him and the music he shares with the world. He’s been in this business since the early 1980s and has remained an absolute pro through it all. It’s truly impressive. I couldn’t be more grateful that he fell into my musical path.
I’m so excited to experience what Richard does next. I am looking forward to the day that I’m a member of his audience at one of his shows. I have such a deep appreciation for all of his musical offerings and for being the phenomenal artist that he is.
Thank you for being so generous and sharing your gifts with the world, you are so appreciated, Richard! Thank you for your contributions to music.
love,
cheyenne
here are some links to some of my favorite Richard Marx interviews!
Richard Marx - 🎸🌱 Rocking the PLANTSTRONG Life 🌱 🎸
What's In My Bag? — Amoeba Music
Richard Marx on the Sarah O’Connell Show
Book Signing & Interview | Stories to Tell: A Memoir
Humans of Music Podcast with Rod Yates'
Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum
Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters Ep. 169
#WeNeedToTalk with Malynda Hale
Sodajerker On Songwriting - Episode 158
Richard Marx Owes Four Decades of Number One Hits to Manifestation
