’80s Nostalgia Alert: Richard Marx Talks Favorite Songs and BFF Tom Hanks

Earlier this month, I was in between interviews with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke at the Saving Mr. Banks premiere when I had one of my “Wait a minute, isn’t that…” moments. I swore I saw ’80s powerhouse singer Richard Marx appear on the red carpet, and 30 seconds later, sure enough a publicist approached me and asked if I wanted to speak with the Richard Marx. (Um, “You better believe it,” said this ’80s fan.)

As it turns out, Marx was at the premiere of the Disney film to support his good friends Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. He’s been close with them ever since he started working with Rita on music years ago. Plus, if you stop to think about it, Tom skyrocketed to fame in the ’80s and so did Marx. “He just really is the nicest guy,” an equally gracious Marx told me. “He disarms you with his normal-ness. He’s got great stories, obviously, and this probably won’t come as a big surprise, but he’s really funny. He’s just such a sweet man.”

And after interviewing Marx (and later Hanks), it’s easy to see why the two are such good friends: affable, down-to-earth, and best of all, totally game to talk about anything (in this case, my love of his ’80s hits). To those of you who can’t get enough of the decade, this is for you.

Glamour: I’m pretty much obsessed with your greatest hits album, especially “Endless Summer Nights” and “Don’t Mean Nothing.”

Richard Marx: Oh cool! Thank you for that. I’m so glad you picked “Don’t Mean Nothing” as one of your favorites because it’s actually my favorite to perform. I love playing all of them, but there’s something about that one that is so fun, I never get tired of singing it, ever.

Glamour: The lyrics in particular (“Hollywood can be so lonely, make you the winner of a losing fight” and “don’t mean nothing till you sign it on the dotted line”) ring so true in this industry. What motivated you to write such a profound, insightful song so early on?

Richard: I wrote that one, as I do with all my songs, but what’s funny is that I wrote it when I was 22 years old. It’s a very cynical song for a 22-year-old to write. I had been in L.A. and the music business for a while and had seen my share of slimy, empty promises, but I just felt that I could write about it from the standpoint of a musician, but it could apply to anybody. It really holds up.__

Glamour: Do you listen to your songs when they come on the radio, or is it too weird?

Richard: Maybe I’m a narcissist, but whenever my songs come on the radio, I do listen to them. I’m just psyched they are still playing them! I do get how people don’t want to watch their own movies, but that’s something actually I’d wonder if Tom is able to do. If Splash is on late at night and he’s channel switching, does he watch it? I need to ask him that. I never have.

Glamour: Speaking of movies that are always on, I can never pass up Dirty Dancing. Your wife, Cynthia Rhodes, played Penny in the film, and she’s also in the video for “Don’t Mean Nothing.” Does she still act?

Richard: You are correct. But no, she doesn’t act anymore. She totally retired. And yet when that movie comes on the TV, we never watch it.

Glamour: Too funny. Meanwhile, so many of your songs are so romantic. Was there one in particular that was instrumental in your courting her or specifically written for her?

Richard: Certainly a couple of them were written about her, but I also wrote them for my own reasons, but I sing them every night for everybody else’s reasons. I’ve had so many personal reasons for writing songs that were then adopted by parents to widows of soldiers, etc. People take these songs and make them the soundtrack to their life, and it’s not really about me anymore. It’s not about why I wrote it, but it’s about them.

Glamour: What’s the most popular song you wrote about your wife?

Richard: Probably “Right Here (Waiting for You).”

Glamour: No way. That should not surprise me in the least, but I just find that so sweet! I played that at piano recitals growing up.

Richard: That’s too funny. It means a lot to a lot of people, particularly soldiers, widows of soldiers, or couples that have to be apart. It kind of became their theme song all over the world. It’s really exciting.

__Which Richard Marx song is your favorite?