"Heaven's Waiting" by Richard Marx

Singer and songwriter Richard Marx is well-known for his string of monster hits in the late 80s and early 90s (the first solo artist ever to have his first 7 singles land in the top 5). But he'd been long working in the music business before his debut hit "Don't Mean Nothing" reached #3 in 1987 and after his final chart appearance in 1997 (when "At The Beginning," a duet with Donna Lewis featured in the movie Anastasia, topped out at #45).

Marx had been singing commercial jingles since the age of 5 and then found himself singing backup vocals for the likes of Lionel Richie. Richie got a demo tape of some of Marx's original songs to Kenny Rogers, who ended up recording some ("Crazy" and "What About Me?"). After a few more years of hustling, Marx finally got a record deal of his own and recruited musicians from The Tubes (Fee Waybill) and Eagles (Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner) to play on his self-titled debut, which would sell nearly 4 million copies. If you're looking for a lost gem from this record, check out "Lonely Heart."

His sophomore record, "Repeat Offender," did not prove to be a jinx, yielding five more top 15 singles for Marx. Underrated tunes from this effort include "Nothin' You Can Do About It" and "Waiting For The Sunrise." While it performed well, his third effort ("Rush Street") met with mixed reviews. Shuffling music styles like a deck of cards, this record contains the trademark rock and pop fans grew to love, but mixed in some blue-eyed soul and sultry tunes that foreshadowed his transformation into an adult contemporary balladeer. I'm not a big fan of this record, but "Take This Heart" (which landed at #20) and "Big Boy Now" are worth a spin.

Marx's fourth record, "Paid Vacation," is one of my favorites and possibly his most underrated. It felt like a strong return to form, although its lead single was yet another ballad. But what a beautiful ballad it was: "Now And Forever" had gorgeous acoustic guitar, a heartfelt vocal, and sweeping orchestration that remind me of Bread. The song reached #7 in 1994 (remarkable since grunge was in full swing) and marked Marx's final showing in the top 10. "Heaven's Waiting" is a more upbeat acoustic-based rocker from this terrific record.

Marx continues to release records every now and then and has obtained huge success as a songwriter for other artists - everyone from NSYNC to Kenny Loggins to Luther Vandross ("Dance With My Father" won Marx a songwriting Grammy).