Today’s singer was born to musically inclined parents; his mother was a singer and his father a jazz musician who also founded a jingle company. When he was only 5 years old, he made his debut in music by singing jingles for his father's company. Some of the products he sang for were Nestlé Crunch and Arm & Hammer.
At the age of 17, the kid created a demo to showcase his talents, which landed in the hands of soul artist Lionel Richie who invited today’s singer to Hollywood! He would eventually appear as a background singer in Richie’s songs “You Are” and “Running With The Night” as well as on Richie’s follow-up album, which included the smash hit “All Night Long”.
But today’s song finds the singer front and center and feeling hopeful about a summer fling he wants to develop into something more, despite his girl’s resistance. This song must’ve done the trick, because in real life, he later married the woman he was on vacation in Hawaii with, and who inspired the song, actress Cynthia Rhodes. Cynthia is most famous for her role as Penny in Dirty Dancing.
They have since divorced, but they were married for 25 years and have three sons.
Despite the eventual success of this song, it was a tough sell apparently because, as he said, “this recording is the [same] demo that every record company in the business rejected in 1985 and 1986.”
At its peak, the song reached #2, where it stayed for two weeks, firmly lodged behind "Man In The Mirror" by Michael Jackson.
Today's artist and his wife Daisy are both active on Twitter. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is convinced that a tweet by today’s singer-songwriter is the reason he received a suspicious package at his home just last month. Politico reported that Rand Paul received an envelope at his home that contained an unidentified white powder and a note that read, “I’ll finish what your neighbor started…”
Rand Paul issued a statement linking the mysterious package specifically to a tweet from today’s singer, which he sent out [apparently] after Paul said he had no immediate plans to get the Covid-19 vaccine: “I’ll say it again: If I ever meet Rand Paul’s neighbor I’m going to hug him and buy him as many drinks as he can consume.”
In his statement, Paul said, “I take these threats immensely seriously. As a repeated target of violence, it is reprehensible that Twitter allows C-list celebrities to encourage violence against me and my family. Just this weekend {today's artist} called for violence against me and now we receive this powder-filled letter.”
Today’s singer who has also become a much followed celebrity critic of conservative politicians, rebuffed the allegation “I’m the only person on Twitter who’s ever referenced Rand Paul’s neighbor,” he said in one tweet. “Must have been me.”
We will talk to this artist on K103 a week from Friday at 7:40!
Richard Marx...Endless Summer Nights...I Know That Song