Richard Marx picks the Top Ten songs he WISHES he wrote from the 80s

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I Jeff Stevens. You are listeningto the Eighties Show. Co host Richard

(00:03):
Marks is here, and this isgonna be a fun little segment. Richard.
Obviously, we've highlighted a bunch ofyour great songs. I would like
to hear some of the songs fromthe eighties that you wish you wrote.
All right, I've got a goodlist. Okay, ready, yes,
I'm ready. I'm going to startwith Angel by Aerosmith. Now, Aerosmith
is one of my lifelong favorite bands. I got to meet Steven Tyler and

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Joe Perry years ago in the eighties. They were both super nice to me,
and then a few years later theyI was living in Chicago, my
kids were, My sons were likeeight, ten twelve. Steven invited me
to the Aerosmith show that they wereplaying at this big outdoor place, and
so I brought my sons and hewas so sweet to them. I have

(00:47):
a great picture of him of themwith Steven Tyler. I think Steven Tyler
is in the top five greatest singersof all time. Amazing and his vocal
on this song, which was cowritten by a great songwriter named Desmond Child.
Yes, the chord change is themelody on this song and Steven's vocal
is just so incredible, and thisis what I wish I had written.
This is Angel by Aerosmith on theeighty Show. Next up, another great

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band from the seventies and eighties,Foreigner, and again big tip of the
hat to Mutt Lang. They didone album with mut Lang producing them,
and it was feign Er four,the big hit, which is probably the
most aside from I Want to KnowWhat Love Is? This song gets played
to this day the most of allForeigner songs, and it's waiting for a

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Girl like You and this vocal byLou Graham, and again the chord change
when it goes into the chorus,because you think that the song's going in
a certain direction and then all ofa sudden, the lous like I've been
waiting and you're not ready for thatchord change. It's so thrilling. It's
such great songwriting. So Mick Jonesand Lou Graham wrote the song, Mutt

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Lang produced it. This is ForeignerWaiting for a Girl Like You on the
eighty Show. Next up, nineteeneighty seven, I was doing my first
concert tour and I was I startedthe first couple of months were in these
horrible clubs when I was trying toget something going. Don't mean nothing was
just starting to get played on theradio. But my band and I were
playing funky little clubs and we werestaying in the Day's in. The def

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Leopard album Hysteria was released, andI was a huge def Leppard fan.
We'd all been all Deaf fans,had been waiting anxiously for the Hysteria album
to come out. Took on,you know, they would always notoriously take
years to make records, and myband loved def Leppard two. And I
remember this one night after a gig, I had bought the CD. Those

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CDs were even new at that point, right, and I had this little
gizmo where I could play my CDWalkman through these little speakers, and looking
back, they must it must havesounded like just garbage. But we sat
on my bed in this Day's Inand we listened to that album from top
to bottom. It's hard for meto pick a favorite track from that album

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because I think it's just a it'sa perfect album. Six or seven singles,
Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna gowith Animal, And it's mainly because
the core changes. Any of yousongwriters out there know that. To come
up with a really cool surprise changewhere the song takes you in a direction
you don't expect, it's hard todo without doing it in a clumsy way.
Mutt Lang is not only a brilliantproducer, but a brilliant songwriter,

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and he co wrote all these greatDeaf Leppard songs. So I'm going with
deaf Leppard Animal on the eighties shownext up. I really again I'm name
dropping, but this guy is oneof my closest friends. He was one
of my biggest influences in high school. I studied every note this guy sang
and wrote. I was a tremendousKenny Loggins fanatic, but when I heard

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This Is It and that Keep theFire album, I became addicted to Loggins.
And when I moved out to LAI met him early on, right
before he did foot Loose. Iremember him playing me the demo of Loose
in my car. That's how farback I go with Kenny Lagins. We've
since over the years, written abunch of songs together. I've produced him,
We've done shows together. I'm doingHe's doing his final tour right now

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called this is it. Yes,he's decided to retire from mainstream touring.
I said to him, look,what do you why And he said,
I'm seventy five. I'm tired.Okay, all right, I get it
looks like he's about six. Hestill looks great, he still sounds great,
And I actually really respect that hewants to kind of go out,
he wants to spend more time withhis family, and he's just calling it

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a day from you know, thegrind of touring. I respect that.
Yeah, I'm doing a show withhim in Lincoln, California, and I'm
planning to be at his final showin Santa bar Rand November. We've just
recently written a song together for adocumentary about Kenny, so I've gotten to
work with him again very recently,and we just I just adore him as

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a person, like we're really reallygood friends. But he's also still one
of my favorite singers. And I'vechosen again, so many great Kenny Loggins
hits. It's tough to choose,but I picked this one because I remember
seeing Caddyshack and the Kenny Loggins themecame on, and this is before I
knew Kenny, and I was sucha fan of his, but I was
so blown away by how he couldwrite such a great song over one chord.

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There's like no chord changes in thissong. It's just all d It's
just if you go back and listenwhen you listen to it right now,
except for this really cool little break. This like vocal harmony with any Money.
Yeah, and Eddy Money's in theretoo. Yeah. It's this song
is basically one chord, and tobe able to pull that off and have

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dynamics and have the power of arock song over one chord is a testament
to how great a song is.So here on the eighty Show, this
is my buddy, Kenny Loggins withI'm all right. Next up maybe the
most successful duo in pop history,Darryl holland John Oates. Yes again,
where do you even begin to pickyour favorites from that catalog of song so

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many great songs. And again DarylHall, one of the greatest singers of
all time. I'm going with thisbecause it's really this again, it's really
really hard. But I played thissong. I started playing this song in
sound checks on the road, andthen I started when I would do my
solo acoustic shows before I would closethe show with right Here Waiting or whatever
song I was closing with. I'dgo to the piano and everybody would be

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expecting right Awaiting it or don't meannothing, whatever, I would close with
at the piano and I would justkick into this song, and no matter
what country I was in, nomatter what town I was in, everybody
in that audience sang this song withme at the top of their lungs.
It's a brilliantly crafted song. Thisis Darryl holland John Oates with Kiss on
My List on the eighties show NextUp. We lost him a few years

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ago, talk about eight an iconiclegend. I was a big David Bowie
fan. Yes, you know,he didn't really have that many hit singles,
but I loved all of them.I loved China Girl, and I
loved Let's Dance, of course,and from that same Let's Dance album is
my favorite Bowie radio song, whichis Modern Love. The groove is so

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sick and it's a great lyric andit's just like that's one of those songs
when it comes on the radio,it is cranked up. Yeah, it
is timeless, and it just neverever ages huge Bowie fan. This is
David Bowie with Modern Love Next up, one of my favorite eighties bands,
In Excess. If you've not seenthe documentary about Michael Hutchins, you should.

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It's pretty it's heartbreaking, but it'sreally powerful. This guy was truly
one of the greatest frontmen we've everseen. Really fascinating character, such an
interesting artist and a great band fromAustralia. Again, they had a handful
of hits in the eighties and Iloved all of them, but this one
is always my favorite. I crankedthis song up any chance I get.

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This is in Excess New Sensation onthe Eighties show Next Up. I mentioned
when we were talking earlier that innineteen eighty six, Peter Gabriel released an
album called SO. I was ahuge fan of Peters. I'd bought every
album. I loved him with Genesis, and when So came out it changed
my life as a songwriter and asan artist. It was sort of like
I was starting to make my firstalbum and the SO album was so inspiring

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and influential, and to this dayis neck and neck with Earth Wind and
Fires. I am as my favoritealbum of all time. SO. If
I had to have a Desert Islandalbum, I would go with Earthwin and
Fire because I want to dance toBoogie Wonderland, but it would be I'd
also want to dance to Big Timeand Sledgehammer. It would be really,

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really a tough call. I'd haveto take both of them. But this
song is just timeless and brilliant,written solely by Peter Gabriel, as almost
all of his great songs are hereon the eighty Show. This is Peter
Gabriel with Sledgehammer. Next up oneof my favorite artists really from the sixties
and seventies, Jackson Brown. Youknow Jackson Brown. A lot of people
don't know. Co wrote Take ItEasy for the Eagles. He had a

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great career as a songwriter, separateand apart from his career as an artist,
which was very inspiring to me becausethat's what I wanted to do and
was able to do. And Jacksonis known for very sophisticated, sometimes political,
month politically minded lyrics. He justcomes out with a straight up pop
song. I this is again oneof those songs that I've heard this song

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thousands of times, never get tiredof it. If I pick up a
guitar and somebody says, just playsomething. It's very likely that this will
be the song I play, becauseit's just so much fun to play.
I do. I've over the years, I've done a bunch of shows with
Rick Springfield. It was a greatbuddy of mine, Yes, and we've
done tours together, and whenever we'vedone a cover, we do this song.

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And it's just a really, reallywell crafted song. Here on the
Eighties show, this is Jackson Brownwith Somebody's Baby. Last, but not
least. I'm so excited because againI get to name drop a little bit.
So if you've if anybody asked mewhen I was fourteen who my favorite
performer was, I would have toldhim this person. When I was twenty
four, who's your favorite performer?Same guy when I was thirty four,

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forty four, fifty four, theanswer is Rod Stewart. I've seen Rod
Stewart in concert more than anybody else. I've seen him probably nine times.
Wow. Started I saw him whenI was in high school. I would
go see him any chance. Igot met him very briefly a couple times
over the years at award shows whatever, like literally like hi, nice to
see you, kind of thing.He was always nice, but like never

(10:30):
really a conversation. I did agig with him. I opened for him
in Atlanta about six years ago.When I was walking down the hall to
go do my opening set, hehad just arrived at the venue and he
came down the hall to say hello, And as we're walking towards each other,
we realized we were both wearing theexact same shoes. And I felt
so proud of myself because I waswearing the same shoes Rod was wearing.

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Because he's so freaking cool. Becausehe's so cool. So cut too early.
This year January February, I dida tour in Australia and it was
the last That was the night beforethe last show, and I was in
Perth. We ended the tour inPerth. Daisy, my wife and I
were there with my band. Wewent out to dinner and walking out of

(11:15):
the restaurant. As we walked inwas Rod Stewart some of his people.
We ran into each other. Wehad this really nice little conversation. He
was just starting his tour so hesaid, mate, we've got a dress
rehearsal tomorrow or else I'd come tothe show, but why don't you come
back here. We'll meet back here, we'll have drinks after your show.
And I said, oh man,it's gonna be lady. He goes,
no, no, no, let'sdo it, and I'm thinking he's not

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gonna do Sure enough, I getthe text the next day. You know,
Rod's expecting you at the So weall come back after my show and
Rod Stewart and I end up havingsome drinks and talking for an hour.
We've since become text buddies. We'vehad We had an epic dinner together about
two months ago, just me andhim. And it's one of those things

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where it's like they say, don'tmeet your heroes. Whoever said don't meet
your heroes and never met Rod Stewart. Rod Stewart is everything you want him
to be. He's so funny andgracious and awesome and the most under valued
and underappreciated songwriter of our time.Yeah, everybody loves Rod Stewart and he's

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had all these hits, and he'sreally good at choosing songs by outside people.
But people don't remember that this guywrote Tonight's the Night, this guy
wrote You Wear It Well, thisguy wrote Maggie May This guy wrote,
do you think I'm sexy? Thisguy wrote passion on and on these great
songs that Rod Stewart wrote, andso I'm because it's the eighties, I
picked my favorite, one of myfavorite eighties tracks of Rod here on the

(12:41):
Eighties Show. This is the great, legendary, forever Cool Rod Stewart with Young Turks