"Hold On to the Nights" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

written and performed by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

singer/songwriter/musician

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 ...

. This was the fourth and final single released from his self-titled debut album, and his first to reach number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song has been re-released on numerous albums and is included on Marx's live performance DVD '' A Night Out with Friends'' (2012).

Release

"Hold On to the Nights" reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 1 position on July 23, 1988, preventing

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

's "

Pour Some Sugar on Me "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is a song by the English rock band Def Leppard from their 1987 album '' Hysteria''. It reached number 2 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 23 July 1988, behind "Hold On to the Nights" by Richard Marx. "Pour Some Sugar ...

" from reaching the top spot that same week. The song was on the chart for twenty-one weeks, and left the chart at number 91. The song also reached at number three on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart.

Chart performance

Charts

Personnel

– vocals, keyboards, acoustic piano *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– guitars * Patrick O'Hearn – bass *

Tris Imboden Gregory Tristan "Tris" Imboden (born July 27, 1951) is an American rock and jazz drummer. As a performer, he has been in studio sessions and on tour with some of the most notable and highest-selling musicians of all time. He was the drummer fo ...

– drums * Paulinho da Costa – percussion

Other performances

Marx appeared as lounge singer/piano player Buddy Daquiri in the "Poison Fire Teats Universe" episode of the TV series ''

Life in Pieces ''Life in Pieces'' is an American sitcom television series created by Justin Adler and which premiered on CBS on September 21, 2015 and concluded on June 27, 2019. The series was produced by 40 or 50 Years, Inc., Kapital Entertainment in associa ...

'' in 2017, in which he played the song on the piano while whistling.

References

1987 songs 1988 singles Richard Marx songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Songs written by Richard Marx Pop ballads Rock ballads EMI Records singles Songs about nights {{1980s-pop-song-stub