‘Don't Mean Nothing’ is the debut single by singer/songwriter/producer Richard Marx from his triple platinum 1987 self-titled album. It hit No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100. With the chart success of ‘Don't Mean Nothing’ and subsequent singles from his debut album, Marx became the first male artist to reach the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart with four singles from a debut album. As the lead single from Richard Marx, the song saw success on both the Billboard Hot 100 singles and Album Rock Tracks charts. The single entered the Hot 100 chart upon release at number 78 and, 12 weeks later, reached its peak of number 3. The song also became a number-one hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart. In the UK, the song peaked at number 78.
The song was aided by a popular MTV music video that featured Cynthia Rhodes, who would later become Marx's first wife. In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Vocal Performance - Solo" for ‘Don't Mean Nothing’. He competed against Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Bob Seger, and Joe Cocker.
Perhaps the ultimate Hollywood insider's song, this is about the frustration of dealing with the phoniness and crass commercialism of the entertainment industry while trying to pursue one's artistic calling. It's what you might expect from a musician who had been around a while and built up some bitterness, but this was Richard Marx' first single. He explained in a 2012 interview: "I got a lot of people saying, 'Dude, you're 22. How can you be so cynical?' I think cynicism and gratitude can co-exist. And I was very grateful. I moved to L.A. when I was 18, and I definitely spent a lot of time sitting around doing nothing, trying to get something going and nothing was happening. I got rejected by every label multiple times, and I got a lot of doors slammed in my face and more than my share of rejection and all that stuff.”
He continued, “But when things did turn around for me, I was still really young. But it didn't mean that I hadn't already been exposed to the jive and the empty promises, and the thing that really makes up the music business in Hollywood and the film business, as well. But my chosen field was music. Guys at record companies telling me, 'You're signed, don't worry about it,' and then they won't call you back, and all kinds of stuff that you count on. Right down to people that sent me notes stamped 'Hobby' on my demo tape. So by the time I wrote 'Don't Mean Nothing,' I was pissed off. I definitely had a little chip on my shoulder at that point. While at the same time being aware that at least I was making a living in some way, shape, or form. I was doing music. I didn't have to work at McDonald's or the car wash."
According to Marx's personal commentary about the song's origin, his manager at the time asked Joe Walsh to play slide guitar on the song and he agreed. As a fan of the Eagles, Marx felt that musically the song could have belonged on the album The Long Run. Two other Eagles members, Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit, sang background vocals on the song. Marx reportedly wrote the lyrics himself and co-wrote the music for this song with Bruce Gaitsch at his first apartment on Lowry Road in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, where Marx resided during the early 1980s.
Label – Manhattan Records
Songwriters – Richard Marx, Bruce Gaitsch
Producers – Richard Marx, David Cole
SONG LYRICS
Welcome to the big time, you're bound to be a starEven if you don't go all the way, I know that you'll go far
This race is for rats, it can turn you upside down
Ain't no one you can count on in this sleazy little town, oh no
Lots of promises in the dark
Don't you open your heart
'Cause it don't mean nothing
The words that they say
No, it don't mean nothing
These games that people play
No, it don't mean nothing
No victim, no crime
No, it don't mean nothing
Till you sign it on the dotted line
Whoa yeah
The director smiles as you walk in the door
He says, "I love your work, babe, but you're just not what we're looking for"
It's never what, but who it is you know
So easy to get stuck in all that California snow, oh no
Take a good look around and you'll find
People trying to mess with your mind
But it don't mean nothing
The words that they say
No, it don't mean nothing
These games that people play
No, it don't mean nothing
No victim, no crime
No, it don't mean nothing
Till you sign it on the dotted line
Hollywood can be so lonely
Make you the winner of a losing fight
Party is never over
The stars are always shining, doesn't matter if it's day or night
The producer says, "let me change a line or two"
And a little bit of something can look awfully good to you
And you wanna scream, but you gotta keep it all inside
When you're trying to make a living, there ain't no such thing as pride, oh no
Lots of promises in the dark
Don't you open your heart
'Cause it don't mean nothing
The words that they say
No, it don't mean nothing
These games that people play
No, it don't mean nothing
No victim, no crime
No, it don't mean nothing
Till you sign it on the dotted line
(Don't mean nothing) Don't mean nothing
(Don't mean nothing) Oh, no, it don't mean nothing
(Don't mean nothing) Oh, no, it don't mean nothing
(Don't mean nothing) (Don't mean nothing at all)
(Don't mean nothing)
(Don't mean nothing)
(Don't mean nothing)
(Don't mean nothing)