Stories to Tell: A Memoir
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- Create Date：2021-06-20 11:31:02
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Richard Marx
- ISBN：1982169427
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Summary
Legendary musician Richard Marx offers an enlightening， entertaining look at his life and career。
Richard Marx is one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters in the history of popular music。 His self-titled 1987 album went triple platinum and made him the first male solo artist （and second solo artist overall after Whitney Houston） to have four singles from their debut crack the top three on the Billboard Hot 100。 His follow-up， 1989’s Repeat Offender， was an even bigger smash， going quadruple platinum and landing two singles at number one。 He has written fourteen number one songs in total， shared a Song of the Year Grammy with Luther Vandross， and collaborated with a variety of artists including NSYNC， Josh Groban， Natalie Cole， and Keith Urban。 Lately， he’s also become a Twitter celebrity thanks to his outspokenness on social issues and his ability to out-troll his trolls。
In Stories to Tell， Marx uses this same engaging， straight-talking style to look back on his life and career。 He writes of how Kenny Rogers changed a single line of a song he’d written for him then asked for a 50% cut—which inspired Marx to write one of his biggest hits。 He tells the uncanny story of how he wound up curled up on the couch of Olivia Newton-John， his childhood crush， watching Xanadu。 He shares the tribulations of working with the all-female hair metal band Vixen and appearing in their video。 Yet amid these entertaining celebrity encounters， Marx offers a more sobering assessment of the music business as he’s experienced it over four decades—the challenges of navigating greedy executives and grueling tour schedules， and the rewards of connecting with thousands of fans at sold-out shows that make all the drama worthwhile。 He also provides an illuminating look at his songwriting process and talks honestly about how his personal life has inspired his work， including finding love with wife Daisy Fuentes and the mystery illness that recently struck him—and that doctors haven’t been able to solve。
Stories to Tell is a remarkably candid， wildly entertaining memoir about the art and business of music。
Richard Marx is one of the most accomplished singer-songwriters in the history of popular music。 His self-titled 1987 album went triple platinum and made him the first male solo artist （and second solo artist overall after Whitney Houston） to have four singles from their debut crack the top three on the Billboard Hot 100。 His follow-up， 1989’s Repeat Offender， was an even bigger smash， going quadruple platinum and landing two singles at number one。 He has written fourteen number one songs in total， shared a Song of the Year Grammy with Luther Vandross， and collaborated with a variety of artists including NSYNC， Josh Groban， Natalie Cole， and Keith Urban。 Lately， he’s also become a Twitter celebrity thanks to his outspokenness on social issues and his ability to out-troll his trolls。
In Stories to Tell， Marx uses this same engaging， straight-talking style to look back on his life and career。 He writes of how Kenny Rogers changed a single line of a song he’d written for him then asked for a 50% cut—which inspired Marx to write one of his biggest hits。 He tells the uncanny story of how he wound up curled up on the couch of Olivia Newton-John， his childhood crush， watching Xanadu。 He shares the tribulations of working with the all-female hair metal band Vixen and appearing in their video。 Yet amid these entertaining celebrity encounters， Marx offers a more sobering assessment of the music business as he’s experienced it over four decades—the challenges of navigating greedy executives and grueling tour schedules， and the rewards of connecting with thousands of fans at sold-out shows that make all the drama worthwhile。 He also provides an illuminating look at his songwriting process and talks honestly about how his personal life has inspired his work， including finding love with wife Daisy Fuentes and the mystery illness that recently struck him—and that doctors haven’t been able to solve。
Stories to Tell is a remarkably candid， wildly entertaining memoir about the art and business of music。
Reviews
Tracy
，
Okay， if I'm going to be brutally honest here， I'm not a huge fan of Richard Marx， but I do like him。。。 I mean， I can sing along to most of the singles， and he’s a great follow on Twitter。 But I’ve never bought any albums or been to a concert， and if you told me I’d plow through his memoir in two days， I’d probably think you were nuts。 But I did。 I was stunned by the names he’s worked with， and the varied songs， albums， and projects I love that he’s been a part of。 This is definitely not a tell- Okay， if I'm going to be brutally honest here， I'm not a huge fan of Richard Marx， but I do like him。。。 I mean， I can sing along to most of the singles， and he’s a great follow on Twitter。 But I’ve never bought any albums or been to a concert， and if you told me I’d plow through his memoir in two days， I’d probably think you were nuts。 But I did。 I was stunned by the names he’s worked with， and the varied songs， albums， and projects I love that he’s been a part of。 This is definitely not a tell-all memoir so don’t expect him to spill much tea （though there is a bit sprinkled in here and there）， it’s more of a behind the scenes of his career and the music industry。 I definitely have a new level of respect for him after reading about how hard he’s worked and how grounded he has remained。 This was a surprisingly great read。I am extremely grateful to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Stories to Tell。 。。。more
Marsha Casner
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Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read this book early。 I， in turn， am giving a honest review of my thoughts。 First， let me say I was a teen and young adult when Richard Marx was at the height of his popularity。 I loved this book。 I thought it was very well written。 I did not realized he worked with so many artists。 I also did not realize he was behind some of the songs I love。 I guess a lot of people would say that he does a lot of namedropping， BUT this was his life。 I think everyb Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read this book early。 I， in turn， am giving a honest review of my thoughts。 First， let me say I was a teen and young adult when Richard Marx was at the height of his popularity。 I loved this book。 I thought it was very well written。 I did not realized he worked with so many artists。 I also did not realize he was behind some of the songs I love。 I guess a lot of people would say that he does a lot of namedropping， BUT this was his life。 I think everybody would love this nostalgic book。 I would personally give this book 5 stars。 。。。more
Susie Stangland
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I always knew who Richard Marx was but didn’t really “know” Richard Marx。 When I saw he had a memoir I was curious。 Greatly appreciative of the advance copy， I began reading and wow！！ What a life！ Brilliantly talented， I was unaware he has contributed to many of my favorite songs and collaborated and is friends with the most respected artists。 Confident with who he is he also seems somewhat humble or modest。 Couldn’t put the book down and was riveted to each story he shared。 Congratulations to h I always knew who Richard Marx was but didn’t really “know” Richard Marx。 When I saw he had a memoir I was curious。 Greatly appreciative of the advance copy， I began reading and wow！！ What a life！ Brilliantly talented， I was unaware he has contributed to many of my favorite songs and collaborated and is friends with the most respected artists。 Confident with who he is he also seems somewhat humble or modest。 Couldn’t put the book down and was riveted to each story he shared。 Congratulations to him on his wonderful life with family and his love， Daisy Fuentes。 Oh their podcast Tequila Talk is great fun！ No one will be disappointed with this treat of a read！ 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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I was happy to get approved for Richard Marx’s memoir。 The chapters are quite short so reading it went quickly。 He doesn’t spend a lot of time on his own personal history。 There’s almost nothing revealing about his first marriage， which is disappointing。 He mentions 3 half siblings but gives no other information。 Most of the book is about his career。 He fell into several lucky breaks。 Reading about his early songs brought back a lot of good memories for me as I listened to those ballads in high I was happy to get approved for Richard Marx’s memoir。 The chapters are quite short so reading it went quickly。 He doesn’t spend a lot of time on his own personal history。 There’s almost nothing revealing about his first marriage， which is disappointing。 He mentions 3 half siblings but gives no other information。 Most of the book is about his career。 He fell into several lucky breaks。 Reading about his early songs brought back a lot of good memories for me as I listened to those ballads in high school。 His music was all over the air waves。 I didn’t know how many other songs he wrote like Edge of a Broken Heart by Vixen that I love。 I thought Marx came off quite arrogant and condescending in a few sections of the book。 I was astonished to read how badly he stabbed a best friend in the back， which he takes full responsibility。 I stopped listening to his music by the early 90s and most of his latter work I have never heard。 It’s a good book about his career， but he’s lip locked about his private life。 Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Schuster for the early read。 。。。more
Nathan
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Acutely aware of how unique his career has been， Marx provides an often humorous， sporadically unbelievable， and consistently entertaining recollection of choice events throughout his life。 Those of a certain age might very well get more mileage out of the book， but it retains applicability and boasts "page-turner" status for anyone interested。 Even if you're not in the know about music in the 80s and 90s， it stands on its own pretty well as a work detailing a young kid in the music industry cla Acutely aware of how unique his career has been， Marx provides an often humorous， sporadically unbelievable， and consistently entertaining recollection of choice events throughout his life。 Those of a certain age might very well get more mileage out of the book， but it retains applicability and boasts "page-turner" status for anyone interested。 Even if you're not in the know about music in the 80s and 90s， it stands on its own pretty well as a work detailing a young kid in the music industry clawing his way to notoriety and using his natural gifts to propel him beyond the competition。 There's details about how certain hits of his came about， collaborations with fellow musical legends， and insight into how he leaned more into his songwriting/producing abilities。 Unless you're already a rabid fan， I seriously doubt you're going to guess the artists and songs he's worked on。 It's practically devoid of any sensational or controversial takes （I was surprised to hear a story regarding one particular country singer）， so thumbing through the pages looking for a complete tell-all will likely reap little to no fruit， so， if that's what you're after， you might want to wait to see if he generates another， more salacious book or scuttle on to another musician， because this one's quite the positive experience。 As with any autobiography， a reader hopes that it enriches their appreciation for the artist while also answering some longstanding questions; this accomplishes both， for sure。 It's changed the way I look at his music catalog， given a clearer picture of the music industry （from the 1980s and beyond）， and now I know *not* to refer to him as a "balladeer" if I ever have the pleasure of meeting him。 Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance read。 。。。more
Renea
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I have always enjoyed Richard Marx’s music， but it was the unexpected pleasure I receive from following Marx on Instagram that led me to request an ARC of his memoir。 The refreshing candor of Marx’s Instagram feed is the same tone he uses in this memoir。 While this candor can come across as borderline arrogant， Marx has the talent and intelligence to back up his strong opinions。 Although it many seem that Marx achieved his fame through a string of lucky breaks， he tells you himself multiple time I have always enjoyed Richard Marx’s music， but it was the unexpected pleasure I receive from following Marx on Instagram that led me to request an ARC of his memoir。 The refreshing candor of Marx’s Instagram feed is the same tone he uses in this memoir。 While this candor can come across as borderline arrogant， Marx has the talent and intelligence to back up his strong opinions。 Although it many seem that Marx achieved his fame through a string of lucky breaks， he tells you himself multiple times in his book that his strong will and belief that he would work with some of the biggest names in the music industry made it happen。 I found this memoir to be enjoyable and a worthwhile read。 。。。more
Auntee
，
So what do I remember/know about Richard Marx （besides that awesome head of hair/glorious mullet） besides his string of late eighties pop/rock hits？Not so much。 But after reading this engrossing memoir， I sure learned a lot。 From his almost idyllic mid west upbringing to how he got his first break in the music business， his 'stories to tell' sure caught my attention。 This guy has a memory like an elephant！ It seems he's either met or worked with almost every artist from the 80's to 90's and beyo So what do I remember/know about Richard Marx （besides that awesome head of hair/glorious mullet） besides his string of late eighties pop/rock hits？Not so much。 But after reading this engrossing memoir， I sure learned a lot。 From his almost idyllic mid west upbringing to how he got his first break in the music business， his 'stories to tell' sure caught my attention。 This guy has a memory like an elephant！ It seems he's either met or worked with almost every artist from the 80's to 90's and beyond， either when getting his start as a studio background singer， to songwriter， to launching his own career as a recording artist/producer。The author includes bits and pieces of his personal life （about how he met his now ex-wife Cynthia Rhodes and current wife Daisy Fuentes） and also delves into stories and anecdotes about the people in the industry who have crossed his path。 The list is long， but most prominent are his stories about Lionel Ritchie （who gave him his first big break）， Kenny Rogers， his special friendship with Luther Vandross， and his collaboration s with Keith Urban。 There were also interesting tidbits about Barbra Streisand， Madonna， and plenty of others。 If he has any 'enemies' in the music industry， he didn't name them！ （Well， he does seem to pissed at Brad Paisley！:） He comes across as a hardworking， talented， easy to get along with guy， who appreciates the success he's had。If I was to nitpick about any slow parts in the book， it would be when he talks about the origins of some of the songs he's written for himself （or other artists） that I'm not familiar with。 For the songs I'm familiar with， these stories are quite interesting。 But for songs that weren't big hits， they didn't have the same impact for this casual fan。 For a big fan， I'm sure it would be a different story。This memoir was well written， interesting， and moved at a good pace most of the time。 The first few chapters hooked me， and I had a hard time putting it down。 My impression of Mr。 Marx is that he's an underrated songwriter （I didn't realize all the songs for others he helped write） ， and still has a passion for music。 I'd recommend this memoir for anyone who remembers the great music of the 80's or just enjoys reading about the ups and downs of the music business。4 1/2 stars**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book。 。。。more
Judy
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I have been a fan of Richard Marx for a long time。 My high school BFF and I drove around for hours listening to his songs for hours。 We even went to one of his autograph signings at the mall in Sioux Falls， SD when he was there on tour。 I really enjoyed reading his memoir Stories to Tell and finding out the stories behind his songs。 I knew he was talented， but I had no idea that he has written as many songs as he has and for as many people that he has。 The craziest story， in my opinion， is when I have been a fan of Richard Marx for a long time。 My high school BFF and I drove around for hours listening to his songs for hours。 We even went to one of his autograph signings at the mall in Sioux Falls， SD when he was there on tour。 I really enjoyed reading his memoir Stories to Tell and finding out the stories behind his songs。 I knew he was talented， but I had no idea that he has written as many songs as he has and for as many people that he has。 The craziest story， in my opinion， is when he went on tour in Taiwan。 Stories to Tell is a fascinating read。 I read it in a few hours because I could not put it down。 Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC。 All opinions expressed are my own。 。。。more
Kayo
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Authors personal life is minimal compared to his songwriting ， etc。 Book is very interesting。 Thanks to author， publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this book。 While I got the book for free， it had no bearing on the rating I gave it。
Paige
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This is the best kind of memoir， full of interesting stories recounted in a manner that both flows and gets to the heart of the chapter。 This book will obviously appeal to Richard Marx fans， but it will also be very well enjoyed by music lovers as well as anyone who delights in reading a fascinating memoir。
Nadia
，
I cannot express enough what a great book this was to me。 I was elated that I was lucky enough to receive a copy。 I have followed his career since I was younger and find joy in his music。 So anyone can imagine the joy I felt in reading his book。Richard Marx wrote about his childhood， his ongoing career in music， the songwriters he wrote with and the stories behind some of his hits。 I enjoyed getting to know some of his hits that others performed like Kenny Rogers， Barbra Streisand， and Keith Urb I cannot express enough what a great book this was to me。 I was elated that I was lucky enough to receive a copy。 I have followed his career since I was younger and find joy in his music。 So anyone can imagine the joy I felt in reading his book。Richard Marx wrote about his childhood， his ongoing career in music， the songwriters he wrote with and the stories behind some of his hits。 I enjoyed getting to know some of his hits that others performed like Kenny Rogers， Barbra Streisand， and Keith Urban to name a few。 I also loved his stories behind some of his music。 It was a moment of ha ha now I know what "Should Have Known Better" was about。There was a touching chapter on his dad that was powerful and beautiful。 It was done in a way that pulled at your emotions of a relationship between son and father。 I truly believe anyone will appreciate how open he was in the chapter。 Overall， this was a beautiful book that you will enjoy。 Any fan of his should read this！！I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review。 Thank you！！！！！ 。。。more
C。G。 Twiles
，
This was a really fun read。 I'd vaguely remembered Richard Marx from the late 80s with huge hits like "Right Here Waiting" but didn't know about the broad scope of his career - he has written hits for everyone from Kenny Rogers to NSYNC。 It was really fun to learn more about his music and I found myself looking up all his songs on YouTube as I read。The book was a nice combination of straightforward retelling of his career highlights and lowlights （like the time a Mafia boss almost killed him and This was a really fun read。 I'd vaguely remembered Richard Marx from the late 80s with huge hits like "Right Here Waiting" but didn't know about the broad scope of his career - he has written hits for everyone from Kenny Rogers to NSYNC。 It was really fun to learn more about his music and I found myself looking up all his songs on YouTube as I read。The book was a nice combination of straightforward retelling of his career highlights and lowlights （like the time a Mafia boss almost killed him and his crew in Taiwan）， anecdotes about famous people he's worked with （Barbra Streisand， Madonna， Luther Vandross）， a dash of his personal life （his father was a famous jingle writer who died tragically） and even some anger and bitterness over the record industry， but not too much。 Thank goodness he stays away from his love life for the most part （he was married to the actress Cynthia Rhodes for 25 years， and is now married to former MTV VJ Daisy Fuentes）。 After suffering through Phil Collins' memoir and his embarrassing love life， I really want to only hear about an artist's art。Marx deserves to be better remembered than his is， and hopefully this memoir will revive his legacy， because he really should to have a higher place in the music hierarchy。 Now go listen to "Hazard，" it's a little work of genius！Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Jenn the Readaholic
，
Thanks to this book， I’ve officially added Richard Marx to my list of people I’d like to have dinner or even just a few hours of conversation with。 He’s open， honest， humble， funny as F （which happens to be one of his favorite words， so add another check in the “pros” column， please and thank you！）， and an incredibly classy guy。 I already follow his Twitter account and recently discovered his YouTube channel， so I had an inkling of the humor and intelligence behind his “fluffy mullet” （his words Thanks to this book， I’ve officially added Richard Marx to my list of people I’d like to have dinner or even just a few hours of conversation with。 He’s open， honest， humble， funny as F （which happens to be one of his favorite words， so add another check in the “pros” column， please and thank you！）， and an incredibly classy guy。 I already follow his Twitter account and recently discovered his YouTube channel， so I had an inkling of the humor and intelligence behind his “fluffy mullet” （his words）， but I was unprepared for how difficult it was to put his memoir down。 He doesn’t mince words。 He doesn’t have anything nasty， cruel， or unfair to say about anyone， and he owns up to his mistakes as a young man。 Don’t get me wrong， there aren’t many mistakes。 He’s clearly spent his life working and striving to satisfy both his own ambitions and those of people fortunate enough to encounter him， but he still takes it all with many grains of salt and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor and comments。 He’s made an art out of succeeding at the private life while being the unlikely driving force behind so many wonderful songs and is reminiscent of Springsteen with his absolute refusal to say anything remotely negative about his first wife。 His commentary on what most people would deem a “failed marriage” is something that many of my friends who have ended a marriage would take to heart。 Heck， his outlook on life in general is why I was so happy to give this book a try。 And it’s that same outlook and attitude that kept me enthralled until the very last page。 Kudos to a memoir well written， sir。 May you find continued happiness， success in all things， and answers to your health questions。 This book is definitely going to be a “just trust me and read it” gift to family and friends this year because we all need some of your thoughts floating through our heads as we （hopefully） strive to put this pandemic firmly in our rearview mirror。 。。。more
Michelle
，
This book was better than I thought it would be。 I originally wanted to read this because I know how opinionated Richard Marx is， so i couldn't wait to read this。 Once I got into it though， I liked his stories behind his songs。 I'm surprised there weren't any pictures。 I am grateful that netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review This book was better than I thought it would be。 I originally wanted to read this because I know how opinionated Richard Marx is， so i couldn't wait to read this。 Once I got into it though， I liked his stories behind his songs。 I'm surprised there weren't any pictures。 I am grateful that netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review 。。。more
Kristen
，