Right Here Waiting

For the Chinese pop song, see Right Here Waiting for You 2010.
"Right Here Waiting"
Single by Richard Marx
from the album Repeat Offender
B-side "Wait for the Sunrise"
Released June 29, 1989
Format 7" single, CD single, cassette, 12" 45 rpm maxi single
Recorded December 11, 1988
(Magic Record Studios, Salt Lake City)
Genre Soft rock[1]
Length 4:24
Label EMI
Writer(s) Richard Marx
Producer(s) Richard Marx
David Cole
Certification RIAA Platinum
Richard Marx singles chronology
"Satisfied"
(1989)
"Right Here Waiting"
(1989)
"Angelia"
(1989)

"Right Here Waiting" is a song by American singer-songwriter Richard Marx. It was released in June 29, 1989 as the second single from his second album, Repeat Offender. The song was a hit, topping charts throughout the world, including the U.S. where it hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] It was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[3]

The song was also covered by Alexander O'Neal on his 2008 album, Alex Loves....

Original version

Background and writing

"Right Here Waiting" was the second single from Repeat Offender, after "Satisfied". Marx wrote the song on the road as a love letter to his wife, actress Cynthia Rhodes, who was in South Africa shooting for a film.[4] The track was arranged by Marx with Jeffery (C.J.) Vanston to feature none of the heavy drums and synth popular at the time, with Marx's vocal accompanied only by classical guitar (by Bruce Gaitsch) and keyboards (by Vanston). It is one of Marx's most frequently covered compositions.

Chart performances

"Right Here Waiting" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number 44, the week of July 8, 1989, and became Marx's third consecutive number-one single on August 12, 1989.[2] Certified Gold on August 21, the record spent three consecutive weeks at number-one, replaced by Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted", the week of September 2, 1989. The song was Marx's first of several to go to number-one on the Hot Adult Contemporary Chart. Certified Platinum on October 16, 1989, "Right Here Waiting" is Marx's best selling single. It is also his most enduring, charting in the top 15 of Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents chart for four years running—from 2000–2003, more than ten years after its release.

In the United Kingdom, the song was released in September 1989 and peaked at number 2.[5]

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Right Here Waiting" — 4:23
  2. "Wait for the Sunrise" — 4:13
3" single
  1. "Right Here Waiting" — 4:23
  2. "Wait for the Sunrise" — 4:13
  3. "Hold on to the Nights" (live at the Palace Theatre, Los Angeles, CA) — 4:48

CD single
  1. "Right Here Waiting"
  2. "Hold on to the Nights" (live)
  3. "That Was Lulu" (live)
  4. "Wild Life"
Cassette
  1. "Right Here Waiting" — 4:23
  2. "Wait for the Sunrise" — 4:13
  3. "Right Here Waiting" — 4:23
  4. "Wait for the Sunrise" — 4:13

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1989–90) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[6] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 3
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 1
France (SNEP)[9] 19
Germany (Media Control Charts)[10] 12
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 1
Italy (FIMI)[12] 48
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 4
Spain (AFYVE)[16] 17
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 6
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[5] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[2] 1

End of year charts

End of year chart (1989) Position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 14

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Canada[20] Gold September 27, 1989 50,000
UK[21] Silver September 1, 1989 200,000
U.S.[3] Platinum October 16, 1989 1,000,000

Chart successions

Preceded by
"If You Don't Know Me by Now" by Simply Red
Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single
August 5, 1989 (6 weeks)
Succeeded by
"One" by The Bee Gees
Preceded by
"Batdance" by Prince
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
August 12, 1989 - August 26, 1989 (3 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Cold Hearted" by Paula Abdul
Preceded by
"If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Simply Red
Australian ARIA number-one single
September 10, 1989 - October 8, 1989 (5 weeks)
Succeeded by
"If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher
Preceded by
"Every Day (I Love You More)" by Jason Donovan
Irish IRMA number-one single
September 21, 1989 (1 week)
Succeeded by
"Ride On Time" by Black Box
Preceded by
"Swing the Mood" by Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers
New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
November 10, 1989 - November 24, 1989 (3 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Escaping" by Margaret Urlich

Cover versions

Monica cover

"Right Here Waiting"
Single by Monica featuring 112
from the album The Boy is Mine
Released December 14, 1999 (R&B radio)
Format Vinyl
Recorded 1998
Genre R&B
Length 4:29
Label Arista
13577
Writer(s) Richard Marx, Bruce Gaitsch
Producer(s) David Foster
Monica singles chronology
"Gone Be Fine"
(1999)
"Right Here Waiting"
(1999)
"I've Got to Have It"
(2000)
The Boy Is Mine track listing
"Take Him Back"
(9)
"Right Here Waiting"
(10)
"Cross the Room"
(11)

"Right Here Waiting" was covered by American R&B artist Monica. It was only released in the United States in December 1999 as the seventh and final single from her second studio album The Boy Is Mine and features R&B band 112. No music video was made for the song.

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
US Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 1

Other cover versions

Live cover performances

Parodies and influences on other songs

References

  1. Jon O'Brien (2010-11-01). "Stories to Tell - Richard Marx | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
  3. 3.0 3.1 U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
  4. Right Here Waiting Songfacts
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Right Here Waiting", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
  6. "Australian-charts.com – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  7. "Austriancharts.at – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. "Lescharts.com – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting" (in French). Les classement single.
  10. "Chartverfulgong > Richard Marx > Right Here Waiting – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  11. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved February 15, 2008)
  12. Italian peaks
  13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Richard Marx search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  14. "Charts.org.nz – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting". Top 40 Singles.
  15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting". VG-lista.
  16. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  17. "Swedishcharts.com – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting". Singles Top 60.
  18. "Swisscharts.com – Richard Marx – Right Here Waiting". Swiss Singles Chart.
  19. 1989 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
  20. Canada certifications cria.ca (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
  21. UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved September 8, 2008)
  22. "Årets skiftningar" (in Swesish). Svensk mediedatabas. 1990. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  23. Video on YouTube
  24. "På vårt sätt" (in Swesish). Svensk mediedatabas. 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  25. Melody Thornton Lyrics

External links