Richard Marx and Rick Springfield 'Just Bonded' from the First Time They Met: 'I've Always Loved His Music' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Rick Springfield and Richard Marx in New York City in January 2024.Photo:Noam Galai/Getty

Noam Galai/Getty

Richard Marxknows he always has a friend inRick Springfield.

The chart-topping, Grammy-winning “Right Here Waiting” creator, 61, sat down with PEOPLE ahead of his co-headlining acoustic performance with Springfield at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville to reflect on the past and look forward to the future, including the major role that his good friend and “Jessie’s Girl” singer has played in it.

“Rick and I go back,” Marx notes. “We’ve been friends since 1988, and I’m terrible at math, but I’m going to guess that’s 37 years.”

Of that first interaction, Marx, who hosts the new podcast and YouTube seriesStories To Tell, fondly remembers that Springfield “and his wife, Barbara, were just lovely.” Afterward, the singer says, “He and I started hanging out together, and we wrote a really terrible song together, but we just bonded.”

Speaking of their tour, dubbed An Acoustic Evening with Rick Springfield & Richard Marx, the latter recalls that the inspiration to perform together originally came about “years ago” when Springfield “was doing these fan cruises.” Marx recalls that “one year he called me and he said, ‘We do these surveys at the end of every cruise and people write in who would they like to be the guest, and you’re overwhelmingly are the number one request, so would you want to do something like this?”

His response to the request at the time? “F— no, I’m not getting on a f—ing boat.” However, through laughter, Marx continues that “he talked me into it,” thus laying the foundation for a co-headlining synergy that still is in full display to this day.

Richard Marx and Rich Springfield in Las Vegas in August 2024.Denise Truscello/Getty

Denise Truscello/Getty

Then, as Marx recalls, “Maybe seven, eight years ago, we did a bunch of shows where we opened the show with a song together.” That morphed into each doing “a set and then we closed the show with a song together.” Ultimately, the singer notes that it was Springfield who said, " ‘Let’s go do a bunch more shows, but let’s just do a little show together where we just take turns.’ And it really is a really special experience for us and it’s a special experience for the audience because most artists who team up don’t do it that way.’ "

And take turns the two stars do, weaving a musical tapestry on stage comprised of both of their greatest hits, peppered with references to their individual pasts and history together as friends.

“I won’t speak for him, but I really love his songs,” Marx says of Springfield. “I’ve always loved his music. So for me to be up there singing, ‘Don’t Talk to Strangers’ and ‘Jesse’s Girl,’ I have a ball. You can see it in my face.”

Rick Springfield and Richard Marx in Las Vegas in August 2024.Denise Truscello/Getty

Marx and Springfield’s acoustic performances will run until Oct. 8, where they will conclude with a show in Knoxville, Tenn. Beyond touring, the former is also busy working on new music and preparing to take on a coaching role onThe VoiceAustralia, which he considers a “fantastic program.”

“There’s still a lot of mystery in it to me, and I feel so good when I’ve written a song,” Marx shares of his process, which he still considers “astonishing” nearly 40 years into his career. “I feel really good about very few things in my life that give me that sort of buzz or that sense of, I mean, it’s very addictive.”

source: people.com