Children of the Night (Richard Marx song)

"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]
Released1990
Recorded1989
GenreSoft rock
Length4:43 (album version)
4:10 (single version)
Songwriter(s)Richard Marx
Producer(s)
Richard Marx singles chronology
"Too Late to Say Goodbye"
(1990)
"Children of the Night"
(1990)
"Keep Coming Back"
(1991)

Composition edit

In 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 edit

All songs written Richard Marx and produced by Marx and David Cole.

  1. "Children of the Night" – 4:10
  2. "Real World" [Live at The Palace Theatre] – 4:12

Personnel edit

Charts edit

References edit

  1. ^ Richard Marx - Children of the Night Vinyl Records, CDs and LPs. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  2. ^ Richard Marx - Children Of The Night at Discogs. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Children of the Night — Richard Marx | Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  4. ^ "Richard Marx". MTV Artists. 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Prato, Greg (June 20, 2018). "Richard Marx - There's a Song Here". Songfacts. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. July 14, 1990. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  9. ^ "Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1990". RPM. Retrieved November 26, 2017.