NASHVILLE,TN (SpinLab) - Now that Keith Urban's hit single "
Better Life" has firmly arrived in the Number One position in Billboard's Country Airplay chart, Richard Marx, who co-wrote the track with Urban, celebrates his thirteenth Number One single. One might think Marx has gotten used to the rarified air at the top of the charts, but quite the opposite is true.
"Having a number one song is such a collision of talent, timing, craft and luck that I could never treat it like just another day," said the singer/songwriter/producer from his home just North of Chicago. "Consider how many strugfgling songwriters there are out there who never even get one of their songs recorded. And while I feel very lucky to have another Number One single, I'm really not good at letting a milestone like this linger. I'm constantly looking forward to the next opportunity."
Marx's first No 1 composition, "What About Me," was a song he co-wrote for Kenny Rogers, James Ingram and Kim Carnes in 1984. He scored the hit only a year after he had moved to LA out of high school. It took three more years for a skeptical recording industry to wake up to his big voice and irresistible melodies. In '87, his debut single "Don't Mean Nothing," featuring members of the Eagles backing him, went to No 1 on the Rock charts and launched a solo career that has so far posted eight Number Ones.
As a composer and a producer for hire, Marx has attained the top chart positions with tracks he's created for NSYNC and Josh Groban. He also won a Grammy Award in 2004 for Song of the Year for "Dance With My Father," which he wrote with Luther Vandross. His producer credits include work with Vince Gill, Barbra Streisand, Emerson Drive, Natalie Cole, Chris Botti, Kenny Loggins, LeAnn Rimes, Sarah Brightman and the Tubes.
While all songs take different amounts of time to create and sculpt, "Better Life" was a natural process of lightning and enthusiasm. "Keith came over to my house and we wrote the song really quickly," explains Marx. "After dinner, we got a couple of guitars out and played the track for my family, including my Mom. I knew that 'Better Life' was a good song, but my Mom stood up and told us all, 'that's a number one hit!' And that's her job in that situation."
Clearly having inherited his mother's ears, Marx is on to composing and supervising the soundtrack for a forthcoming movie and working on songs for his follow-up to last year's "My Own Best Enemy," his seventh solo album.
"What About Me" by Kenny Rogers, James Ingram and Kim Carnes -No 1 AC chart
"Crazy" by Kenny Rogers - No 1 Country chart
"Don't Mean Nothing" - No 1 Rock chart
"Hold On to the Nights" - No 1 Pop
"Satisfied" - No 1 Pop
"Right Here Waiting" - No 1 Pop/No 1 AC
"Keep Coming Back" - No 1 AC
"Hazard" - No 1 AC
"Now and Forever" - No 1 AC
"Until I Find You Again" - No 1 AC
"This I Promise You" - by NSYNC - No 1 AC (15 weeks)
"To Where You Are" by Josh Groban - No 1 AC
"Better Life" by Keith Urban - No 1 Country
