Description

Check the exclusive video showing this LP for sale

Check the exclusive video showing this LP for sale

Voted as one of The 10 Greatest AOR Albums Of All Time!

Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including “”Endless Summer Nights””, “”Right Here Waiting””, “”Now and Forever””, and “”Hazard””. Although most of his major hit songs were slow ballads, many of his songs had a classic rock style, such as “”Don’t Mean Nothing,”” “”Should’ve Known Better,”” “”Satisfied,”” and “”Too Late To Say Goodbye””. 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.
Debut album
Marx self-titled debut album, released in June 1987, yielded four hit singles and sold nearly four million copies in the US. The debut single, “”Don’t Mean Nothing””, had been released the previous month and climbed to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #1 on Billboard Album Rock charts. Marx became the first new artist played on 117 radio stations nationwide during his initial week on the charts. The next two singles, “”Should’ve Known Better”” and “Endless Summer Nights”

reached #3 and #2, respectively. The fourth single release, “”Hold on to the Nights””, earned Marx his first #1 single.

With the success of his self-titled album, Marx became the first male artist to reach the Top 3 with four singles from a debut album. He embarked on his first world tour, initially opening for REO Speedwagon, but quickly began headlining his own shows. Marx first tour kept him on the road for 14 months while the album remained on the charts for more than a year and a half. In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for ‘Best Rock Vocal Performance – Male’ for “”Don’t Mean Nothing””.

Five singles were released from the album, each of them doing well on the charts. Marx future wife, Cynthia Rhodes, G.W. Bailey, and Fee Waybill appeared in the video for the lead single “”Don’t Mean Nothing””. The album went to number eight on the Billboard charts and spent 86 weeks on that chart. The album was certified triple platinum. In the United Kingdom, the album entered the charts on April 9, 1988 where it stayed for two weeks peaking at number 68.

The album received praise from music critic Stephen Thomas  who stated that “”Richard Marx self-titled debut album was a finely crafted record of mainstream pop/rock”” and that the album was “”Filled with carefully constructed radio-ready tracks, it was no surprise that the album became a huge hit.””

Track listing:
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “”Should’ve Known Better”” Richard Marx 4:07
2. “”Don’t Mean Nothing”” Richard Marx, Bruce Gaitsch 4:38
3. “”Endless Summer Nights”” Richard Marx 4:27
4. “”Lonely Heart”” Marx, Fee Waybill 3:48
5. “”Hold On to the Nights”” Richard Marx 5:07
6. “”Have Mercy”” 4:29
7. “”Remember Manhattan”” Marx, Waybill 4:14
8. “”The Flame Of Love”” Marx, Jim Lang 3:34
9. “”Rhythm Of Life”” Marx, Michael Omartian 4:40
10. “”Heaven Only Knows”” Richard Marx 5:35

Singles: Single Chart positions US Hot 100 US Main Rock UK “Don’t Mean Nothing”  “Should’ve Known Better”  “Endless Summer Nights”   “Hold On to the Nights”   “Have Mercy”

Richard Marx Backstage in #Miami with @DonJohnson  in 1987.