Richard Henry Marx (April 12, 1924 – August 12, 1997) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist and arranger. He also composed for film, television, and commercials.

Personal life

Marx and wife Ruth (née Guildoo) had a son,

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

, pop singer, songwriter, and record producer. Marx also had two daughters, Nancy and Judy, and a son, Jim, from a previous marriage. He was of German Jewish descent.

Career

Marx played piano in childhood. He got his professional start playing in nightclubs in Chicago. In the 1950s, he accompanied singer

Helen Merrill Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation ...

and released several albums. Beginning in the 1960s, he spent three decades in advertising, writing commercial jingles for Dial soap, Kellogg's Raisin Bran cereal, Ken-L Ration dog food, Nestle's Crunch candy bars, Arm & Hammer baking soda, Virginia Slims cigarettes, La Choy Chinese food, the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team and many more. His son Richard and wife Ruth sang on some of the commercials. In the 1980s he moved to Los Angeles and composed music for the films ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Dav ...

'' and ''Edwards and Hunt'' and the television program ''

Fudge Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. In texture, this crystalline cand ...

''. He died in Highland Park, Illinois, from injuries caused by a car accident in Las Vegas.

Discography

As leader

* ''Too Much Piano'' ( Brunswick, 1955) * ''Dick Marx Piano'' (

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

, 1957) * ''Marx Makes Broadway'' with

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

(VSOP, 1957) * ''Delicate Savagery'' (Coral, 1958) *''You Haven't Seen the USA Until You've Seen Chicago! (DMA, 1968) written by Dick Marx,

Paul Severson Paul Severson (August 18, 1928 – May 20, 2007 ) was an American music arranger and composer who wrote some of the most recognizable commercial music of our time. While he may be best known for the Doublemint gum jingle and compositions for Marlb ...

& Eric Stigler''

As sideman or guest musician

With

Johnny Frigo Johnny Frigo (December 27, 1916 – July 4, 2007) was an American jazz violinist, bassist and songwriter. He appeared in the 1940s as a violinist before working as a bassist. He returned to the violin in the 1980s and enjoyed a comeback, recordin ...

* '' I Love John Frigo...He Swings'' (

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, 1957) With

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

* '' Eddie Harris Goes to the Movies'' (

Vee-Jay Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

, 1962) With

* ''

The Nearness of You "The Nearness of You" is a popular song written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song debuted in the 1938 movie Romance in the Dark. It is also heard in the 1940 recording In the Mood by Glenn Miller and His Orche ...

'' (

EmArcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

, 1958) With

Ken Nordine Ken Nordine (April 13, 1920 – February 16, 2019) was an American voice-over and recording artist, best known for his series of word jazz albums. His deep, resonant voice has also been featured in many commercial advertisements and movie traile ...

* ''

Word Jazz ''Word Jazz'' is the debut album by voice-over and recording artist Ken Nordine with the Fred Katz (cellist), Fred Katz Group which was released on the Dot Records, Dot label in 1957.Edwards, D. and Callahan, MDot Album Discography Part 2: LPs 30 ...

'' ( Dot, 1957) * ''

Son of Word Jazz ''Son of Word Jazz'' is the second album by voice-over and recording artist Ken Nordine with the Fred Katz Group which was released on the Dot label in 1958.Edwards, D. and Callahan, MDot Album Discography Part 2: LPs 3000-3250/25000-25250acces ...

'' (Dot, 1958) * ''

Love Words ''Love Words'' (subtitled ''Ken Nordine Speaks Lyrically of Love'') is an album by voice-over and recording artist Ken Nordine, which was released on the Dot label in 1958.Edwards, D. and Callahan, MDot Album Discography Part 2: LPs 3000-3250/25 ...

'' (Dot, 1958) * ''Next!'' (Dot, 1959) With others * 1957 ''The Singing Reed'',

Lucy Reed Lucy Reed (January 14, 1921 – July 1, 1998) was an American jazz singer, active on the Chicago jazz scene in the 1950s. She was born in Marshfield, Wisconsin as Lucille Dollinger. In 1955, she performed with Bill Evans in New York City, and Di ...

* 1987 ''

'',

* 1992 ''S'Wonderful'',

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

* 1992 ''The Gershwin Songbook: 'S Wonderful'', George Gershwin * 1995 ''Pee Wee King and His Golden West Cowboys'',

Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Pee Wee King is credited with ...

& His Golden West Cowboys * 1995 ''The Complete Gershwin Songbooks'', George Gershwin * 1997 ''America's Song Butchers: The Weird World of Homer & Jethro'',

Homer and Jethro Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. "Homer" Haynes (1920–1971) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versio ...

* 2006 ''Blue Suede Shoes: Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight'', Pee Wee King

As arranger or conductor

* 1989 ''Repeat Offender'', Richard Marx * 1994 ''Have a Little Faith'',

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

* 1996 ''Kissing Rain'',

Roch Voisine Joseph Armand Roch Voisine, (born 26 March 1963) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actor, and radio and television host who lives in Montreal and Paris. He writes and performs material in both English and French. He won the Juno Award for Male V ...

* 1997 ''Across from Midnight'', Joe Cocker * 1997 ''Flesh & Bone'', Richard Marx * 1993 ''Art Of Life'',

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Dick 1924 births 1997 deaths American film score composers American jazz pianists American male pianists Richard Marx 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century American pianists American male film score composers American male jazz musicians Road incident deaths in Illinois 20th-century American male musicians