Richard Marx talks key to health at 62, being 'madly in love' with wife Daisy Fuentes

Richard Marx tells us why he loves Elvis, the sun, his wife and (most of the time) working with Keith Urban.

Richard Marx is an ace musician, but he’s also a champion conversationalist.

The singer/songwriter/producer who has commandeered the charts for decades with more than 30 Top 40 pop and adult contemporary hits can easily zigzag topics, whether music past and current, shaking a martini, or applying moisturizer.

Marx talked to USA TODAY recently about his new album, “After Hours,” which embraces the Great American Songbook, and podcast/YouTube series “Stories to Tell.” But he also took time to chat about some of his favorite music; how, at 62, he still looks like the guy who dropped “Don’t Mean Nothing” in 1987; and yes, his spectacular hair.

Marx was about 8 years old when he purchased his first album, Elvis Presley’s “’68 Comeback Special,” spending $8.99 of his allowance.

“I was the Elvis freak (in the house). My dad was never an Elvis fan. He was a jazz musician; he looked down on Elvis but came to appreciate his charisma and performance. My mom loved Elvis but not like I did,” Marx says. “The first time I saw him on TV, I was captivated like everyone else."