Marc Jordan Biography Rhythm Of My Heart Reveals The Untold Story Of A Hit Songwriter

Rhythm Of My Heart: The Authorized Biography Of Marc Jordan documents the remarkable career of Marc Jordan, the songwriter whose music has been recorded by Rod Stewart, Cher, Diana Ross and dozens more global stars.

by Paul Cashmere

A new biography of songwriter Marc Jordan is bringing the story of one of modern music’s most prolific yet often overlooked creators into the spotlight.

Rhythm Of My Heart: The Authorized Biography Of Marc Jordan, written by Emmy-winning composer and author Don Breithaupt, charts more than five decades of music history through the life and career of the Brooklyn-born, Toronto-raised artist. The book has already climbed to number one on Amazon’s Pop Musician Biographies chart, reflecting renewed interest in a songwriter whose catalogue has quietly shaped popular music for generations.

Jordan’s songs have been recorded by a long list of major artists including Rod Stewart, Cher, Diana Ross, Bette Midler, Chicago, Bonnie Raitt and The Manhattan Transfer. Across those recordings and his own albums, the music has sold more than 35 million copies worldwide.

The biography traces Jordan’s journey from a musical household in Toronto, where his father Charles Jordan was a cantor and singer, through the unpredictable life of a working songwriter in Los Angeles during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early in his career Jordan studied film at Brock University before music took over. He first gained professional visibility as a guitarist for pop star Bobby Vee before launching his own recording career in the mid-1970s. Early singles such as It’s A Fine Line, New York Kids and Original Sin caught the attention of American producer Gary Katz, best known for his work with Steely Dan. That connection helped Jordan secure a recording deal with Warner Bros. Records in the United States.

His Warner years produced the albums Mannequin in 1978 and Blue Desert in 1979. The latter record has since become a cult favourite among fans of the late-1970s West Coast sound. Songs like Marina Del Rey and Survival established Jordan as a distinctive songwriter with a cinematic sense of melody.

While Jordan built a catalogue as a recording artist, it was his work behind the scenes as a songwriter that would bring the widest recognition. One of his most famous compositions, Rhythm Of My Heart, became a major global hit for Rod Stewart in 1991, reaching the Top Five in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and several European countries.

According to the story recounted in the biography, Stewart personally phoned Jordan just days before his own wedding in late 1990 to say he had discovered the song and intended to record it. The track would go on to become one of Stewart’s most recognisable recordings and remains a staple of his live performances.

The book also explores the unpredictable and sometimes chaotic realities of the music business during Jordan’s years in Los Angeles. In one episode, Jordan lived in a Malibu duplex below Richard Manuel of The Band, observing the celebrated musician’s struggles during a difficult period of his life. In another story, a late-night recording session for the demo of Rhythm Of My Heart became so stifling inside the studio that the engineer abruptly walked out mid-session and never returned, leaving Jordan and co-writer John Capek to complete the recording themselves.

Jordan’s songwriting reached far beyond traditional pop and rock. His composition Taxi, Taxi appeared on Cher’s global hit album Believe, a record that sold more than ten million copies worldwide and helped define late-1990s dance pop.

Away from the charts, Jordan also contributed music to film. He co-wrote the theme for the Australian film Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, which received an Australian Film Institute nomination, and earned a Genie Award nomination in Canada for Shadow Dance, written for the film Shadow Dancing.

His work as a recording artist continued alongside his songwriting career. Albums such as Talking Through Pictures, C.O.W., Reckless Valentine and Cool Jam Black Earth demonstrated Jordan’s stylistic range, moving from pop and rock into jazz-influenced material. In 1994 he received the Juno Award for Producer Of The Year with Steven MacKinnon for the song Waiting For A Miracle.

In later years Jordan recorded several acclaimed albums including This Is How Men Cry, Make Believe Ballroom and Crucifix In Dreamland. His most recent studio album of original material, Waiting For The Sun To Rise, was released in 2023.

Recognition for his songwriting legacy arrived again in 2023 when Jordan and his longtime collaborator John Capek were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

Beyond the industry milestones, the biography also focuses on Jordan’s personal life and long creative partnership with singer-songwriter Amy Sky. The couple have been married for nearly four decades and share two children, Ezra and Zoe, both of whom have pursued careers in music.

Written after extensive interviews with Jordan and many of his collaborators, Breithaupt’s book presents a portrait of a songwriter who has navigated the music industry across multiple eras while continuing to write, record and perform into his seventies.

Rhythm Of My Heart: The Authorized Biography Of Marc Jordan is available now through major booksellers.