He may be best known for his ’80s and ’90s pop ballads.

But Richard Marx wasn’t always a ballad kind of songwriter.

As an up-and-coming musician and performer from Chicago, Marx cut his teeth on rock radio, with energetic, guitar-driven melodies and rhythms— and, of course, that trademark rock mullet.

He’d always intended to stick with the soulful rock stint, but fate and the recording industry would intervene and leave him with a ballad-boy reputation.

“It bothered me because it was inaccurate,” Marx said during a recent phone interview. “It’s so dramatically the opposite of what I listen to.”

So don’t expect to hear any sappy ballads on Marx’s latest album “Emotional Remains,” self-released last fall and distributed digitally through his Web site, http://www.RichardMarx.com.

The album smacks of the kind of heady songwriting and rock style reminiscent of his earliest hits, with the guitar-heavy, up-tempo influences of co-producers Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon, and co-writer Fee Waybill of The Tubes.

The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and producer plans to share those tunes and resurrect his old hits during shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 5-6, at the Skagit Valley Casino Resort in Bow.

Marx, 45, has spent the past decade happily focusing his efforts on producing other artists’ works and co-writing songs with other musicians, including Vince Gill, Kenny Loggins, Keith Urban, Natalie Cole, Emerson Drive, Barbra Streisand, Sarah Brightman and Luther Vandross.

In fact, his 2004 collaboration with Vandross won him a Grammy for Song of the Year, “Dance With My Father.”

It was just another hit for the man who is the first solo artist to have his first seven singles hit the Top 5 on the U.S. music charts.

Marx said he’s fortunate to have the opportunity to still be producing and writing hits more than 15 years since he first hit the big-time with his rock and soul-inspired 1987 debut “Don’t Mean Nothing,” the follow-up “Should’ve Known Better,” and later with heartfelt ballads “Hold on to the Nights,” “Endless Summer Nights” and the platinum-selling “Right Here Waiting.”

“I always knew there was going to be a point when the songs I write as an artist wouldn’t be important to radio,” Marx said. “I always knew that my shelf life as a recording artist was limited.”

Marx started his career as a child singing jingles for commercials.

As a teen, his music found its way to legendary R&B artist Lionel Richie, who convinced him to come to Los Angeles to start a music career. Marx ended up working with Richie and as a background singer for pop artists Madonna and Whitney Houston, to name a few.

His songs caught the attention of big-name stars, including Kenny Rogers, who scored hits with Marx’s songs “Crazy” and “What About Me?,” the latter an emotional song that featured Rogers, James Ingram and Kim Carnes.

Eventually Marx landed a recording contract with EMI/Manhattan Records for a 10-track, self-titled album that made him a mainstay on the U.S. billboard charts.

His success exploded with the release of his second album “Repeat Offender,” which went on to sell 5 million copies in the U.S.

But as time went on, Marx said he began to butt heads with recording industry executives, who wanted him to keep up an image that didn’t match what he wanted.

“The record company at the time saw an opportunity to pimp me out as a softer ballad guy; that’s what they figured at the time was going to make them more money,” he said.

That image made reintroducing himself into rock radio almost impossible.

“It was really important to me that we try to take that base and take care of the people who broke me, but it was a futile thing,” Marx said. “Even rock radio was saying, ‘We appreciate what you’re trying to do, but you’re not steering the boat anymore.’”

Marx went on to record three more albums in the 1990s that produced a smattering of hits on mostly adult contemporary music charts.

Throughout the early years, Marx was on a whirlwind of writing, recording and worldwide tours. As the ’90s gave way to the 2000s, Marx concentrated more on the business end of the music industry, creating his own recording label, Signal 21 Records, with former Blood, Sweat and Tears drummer and record producer Bobby Columby, and opened his own recording studio in Illinois.

Touring slowed, and Marx dug into a new chapter of his life as a music producer. Through the years, he’s comfortably jumped across genres to produce everything from country to hip-hop.

“It’s been really rewarding, and probably my favorite part of everything that I do,” Marx said.

But for the man who used to pack them in at arenas and venues across the world, the biggest challenge has been putting aside his ego.

“First of all, the number one job as a producer in my opinion is to disappear, musically,” he said. “The biggest disservice I could do is produce a record that someone says, ‘It sounds like a Richard Marx album.’”

Most recently, Marx produced two albums: “Sundown,” with original tracks, covers and duets with Toni Braxton and Vince Gill; and “Emotional Remains,” an 11-track album that hails back to Marx’s rock aspirations.

He released “Emotional Remains” digitally on his online Web site, a move he expects to become more the norm for musicians as record companies continue to falter under the weight of competition primarily from online music sales and distribution.

“Within the next five years, there won’t be any record companies anymore,” he said.

Marx said he plans to continue writing and producing more music, and playing more live shows — his three sons are almost grown and out of the house, so spending time at home won’t be as critical.

But he said he isn’t concerned about hitting the airwaves anytime soon. He’s reveling in the freedom he’s found out of the spotlight.

“I feel so blessed that I can take the approach that, if it’s not fun, I’m not going to do it,” he said. “It’s so free — no pressure.”