"Angelia" by Richard Marx

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  4068

Date:  10/07/1989

Debut:  52

Peak:  4

Weeks:  17

Genre:  Soft Rock

Pop Bits:  Marx scored a career best hit with "Right Here Waiting," the second single from his #1 album Repeat Offender. It would spend three weeks at #1 on the Pop chart while also hitting that mark at AC. It was his third consecutive Pop #1. To follow it up, this mid-tempo ballad was issued out. It would do well at AC reaching #2. On the Pop chart, it would miss out on the top spot, but would become Marx's seventh consecutive Top 10. By this point in time, the LP had hit the triple-platinum sales mark.

ReduxReview:  I barely remember this song. I'm sure it must have been played a lot in my area, but I guess it didn't make much of an impression on me. His next two singles (see below) I didn't remember at all. So I guess you could say I wasn't much of a Marx fan. Still, these three songs didn't have the staying power of Marx's previous hits. While capably written and recorded, the tracks just weren't as memorable. I did pay attention to his '91 hit "Hazard" as it was something different and interesting. The tune had a sort of Southern gothic feel to it along the lines of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billy Joe." Other than that, Marx stayed off my radar. He had a great run of hit singles, but like most all artists, it couldn't last and by the mid-90s his heydays on the Pop chart were over.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Two more singles would be released from Repeat Offender and both would make the Pop Top 20. "Too Late to Say Goodbye" would get to #12 while "Children of the Night" would top out at #13. Eventually, the album would reach the 4 million sales mark. Marx's career would begin to slow down in the 90s. His next album, '91's Rush Street would stop at #35, but would go platinum thanks in part to the mysterious hit "Hazard" (#9 Pop/#1 AC) and "Keep Coming Back," which spent four weeks at #1 on the AC chart (#12 Pop). His next album, '94's Paid Vacation (#37, platinum) would feature Marx's last Pop Top 10 with the #7 "Now and Forever" (#1 AC). The hits would dwindle after that and further albums failed to even reach gold level sales. Still, Marx continued to record and tour/perform over the years in addition to writing and producing for other artists. In 2004, Marx would win his first Grammy. He co-wrote "Dance with My Father" with R&B star Luther Vandross. It would be released as a single and do modestly well getting to #4 AC/#38 Pop/#28 R&B. However, Grammy voters loved the tune and awarded it Song of the Year. Vandross also won the award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, for his recording.

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