Beijing

Singer-songwriter Richard Marx has been spinning out hit tunes for more than 20 years. At 48, he has sold over 30 million albums from rock to romantic ballads - a musical versatility that has earned him international fame.

On Dec 15, 17 and 18, he will be wowing his fans in Shanghai, Wuhan and Beijing, belting out hit songs which include Right Here Waiting For You, Angelia, Hazard and Endless Summer Nights.

The singer-songwriter held his first concert in China back in 1999 and was among the first Western musicians to land on these shores.

The success of his last concert in China impressed the singer, and made him even more excited about his upcoming concerts.

"Around 10,000 in the audience sang along with me then and I didn't expect their English to be so good," he says. "I was told later that they had used my songs to learn English in school."

The coming concerts will take Chinese audiences down memory lane again, and he hopes those songs will still touch hearts like they did a decade ago.

During the last 10 years, Marx had never stopped writing and singing.

At the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004, he won the Song of The Year with Dance With My Father, which he co-wrote with the late Luther Vandross. He also wrote songs for other singers.

His 14th and latest chart topper, Long Hot Summer, performed by Keith Urban, gives Marx the distinction of having a No 1-hit in four different decades.

Fans at Marx's concerts this time can expect to be entertained with his hit songs that have stayed at the Top 10 of Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

It's all in the melody, Marx says. "If you take away all the accompaniment of various musical instruments, the songs should still touch you even with just simple piano and guitar."

But this time, Marx will be working with a full symphony orchestra for his concerts. For the past three years, he has been experimenting and adjusting his singing style to fit with an orchestra.

One of his hit songs, Now and Forever, according to Marx, was dedicated to his father. Right Here Waiting For You, another favorite in China, is about Marx and his wife, who is seven years older than he is. When they met, Marx was 20 and his wife Cynthia Rhodes was already a famous actress and singer. When they almost broke up, Marx wrote the song and sang it to her over the phone while he was on tour.

"It touched her and she came back to me. For me, the song is a beautiful story which I want to share with you," he says.

While Right Here Waiting for You is always a winner with Chinese audiences, Marx wants them to get familiar with his other songs. That's why he will pick around 10 songs he wrote after 2004 for the concerts, most of which are slow ballads and love songs.

You may contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/04/2011 page15)