"Children of the Night" is a song written and recorded by Richard Marx, issued as the sixth and final single from his second album Repeat Offender.[2] The song peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990,[3] and was written in support of the suburban Los Angeles (Van Nuys)-based organization for runaways.[4][5][6]
| "Children of the Night" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Richard Marx | ||||
| from the album Repeat Offender | ||||
| B-side | "Real World"[1] | |||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 4:43 (album version) 4:10 (single version) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Richard Marx | |||
| Producer(s) |
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| Richard Marx singles chronology | ||||
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Composition
editIn a 2018 interview with Songfacts, Marx said:
I was in a hotel room on tour, and I was watching 60 Minutes. There was a piece on this woman, Dr Lois Lee, who created the Children of the Night foundation, and I was just riveted by the story. The next day, I had my manager reach out to Dr Lee. We got on the phone, and I said, "I want to help. I also think that there is a song here. But I can't remotely write this without really researching it." So, when I got off the road, she connected me with three or four of the kids that had been sheltered by the foundation, and had been on the streets – had been prostitutes, drug addicts, in rehab – and had their lives together. I spent a couple of days just hanging out with these kids, and they were very generous with telling me what their lives had been like. So, I wrote the lyric based upon the conversations I had with these kids. And immediately, I knew the only right thing to do was to make all of the proceeds from the song go to the foundation. Luckily, the song was a pretty big hit, and the money generated from it built a whole new shelter in Los Angeles, and I continue to support them to this day.[7]
Track listing
editAll songs written Richard Marx and produced by Marx and David Cole.
- "Children of the Night" – 4:10
- "Real World" [Live at The Palace Theatre] – 4:12
Personnel
edit- Richard Marx – lead and backing vocals
- Michael Omartian – keyboards, acoustic piano
- C.J. Vanston – keyboards
- Michael Landau – guitars, guitar solo
- Randy Jackson – bass
- Prairie Prince – drums
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Tom Scott – sax solo
- Larry Williams – saxophones
- Gary Grant – trumpet
- Jerry Hey – trumpet
- Dick Marx – horn arrangements
- Shelley Cole – backing vocals
- Kevin Cronin – backing vocals
- Larry Gatlin – backing vocals
- Rudy Gatlin – backing vocals
- Steve Gatlin – backing vocals
- Ruth Marx – backing vocals
- Gene Miller – backing vocals
- Cynthia Rhodes – backing vocals
- Don Shelton – backing vocals
- Terry Williams – backing vocals
- The Children of the Night – choir
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
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Year-end chartsedit
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References
edit- ^ Richard Marx - Children of the Night Vinyl Records, CDs and LPs. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ Richard Marx - Children Of The Night at Discogs. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ a b c Children of the Night — Richard Marx | Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ "Richard Marx". MTV Artists. 2012. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ Amy Dulebohn (September 23, 2011). "Singer, songwriter and producer Richard Marx to perform acoustic show at Weinberg". The Herald-Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ "Richard Marx coming to Kirtland Oct. 15". Petoskey News-Review. Petoskey, Michigan. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ Prato, Greg (June 20, 2018). "Richard Marx - There's a Song Here". Songfacts. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
- ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. July 14, 1990. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Retrieved November 26, 2017.