When the ghost with the most needs a song to serenade his leading lady, naturally he turns to Richard Marx.
If you’ve seen Tim Burton’s hit film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” or are planning to (it’s available on streaming platforms as of this week), there’s a key moment when the garish ghoul, played by Michael Keaton, pulls out an acoustic guitar and starts lip-syncing “Right Here Waiting.”
It’s one of the more memorable song placements in recent memory, bringing the 35-year-old ballad back into cultural consciousness (currently sitting at 508 million and counting on Spotify) and giving it newfound relevance, not unlike the “Beetlejuice” sequel that comes 36 years after the original.
“I love that people have been reposting that scene from the movie and are talking about it,” shares Marx, a former Highland Park resident who most recently released his “Songwriter” album in 2022 and his memoir, “Stories to Tell,” in 2021, before the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” opportunity came up.
The singer-songwriter says he was contacted pretty early on to get his blessing, though it wasn’t a definite and he had no clue how it would be used since filmmaker Burton tends to keep details of his projects tight-lipped.
“It was always sort of like, well, it may be in the movie, it may not be. Usually I have to have some kind of context before I’ll [agree],” says Marx, who is set to perform Oct. 19 at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan. “I [kept] thinking, isn’t this going to wear it out? It seems that the more a song gets placed [in movies and TV shows], the more it gets placed, you know?”
Prior to the latest placement, “Right Here Waiting” was in Tyler Perry’s 2012 movie “Good Deeds” and a 2022 episode of “The Goldbergs” among other drop-ins.
Marx’s favorite part about the song’s moment of “Beetlejuice” glory is that “you hear people cracking up when [Keaton] starts singing,” he shares, unfazed. In fact, it’s the same reaction he had when he saw the scene before the movie was released.
“When I saw it was Michael singing it, I just started laughing so hard,” Marx admits. “It’s really kind of interesting because I met Michael Keaton 30 years ago through a mutual friend, and for a couple of years, we got together here and there.” Though the two didn’t stay in touch in recent times, the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” moment brought the chance to connect again.
Marx recently started working with Keaton’s son, L.A.-based singer-songwriter Sean Douglas, in the studio. “Sean writes for other artists like I used to do. So we’ll see what we come up with. What I love about his writing is, like mine, it’s all over the map,” says Marx, calling from his home in California.
It’s just one of the projects Marx has his hands in; there also will be two new albums forthcoming in 2025. One is a concept record that’s “really something I’ve never done before,” says Marx, and the other is more of an homage to ‘70s sounds. One of the tracks features another product of the North Shore, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin.
Also in 2025, Marx is looking forward to being inducted into the Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Joliet March 30 (rescheduled from the original date this month), saying, “As an Illinois boy, it means a lot.”