Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He won five

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

" (1980), and "

Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do) "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is a song performed and co-written by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, which was the main theme for the 1981 film ''Arthur'' starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The song won the Oscar f ...

" (from the 1981 film ''Arthur'') peaked at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1981, while "Arthur's Theme" won the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

in 1981 (with co-composers

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

and Peter Allen).

Career

Early musical career

Geppert, bassist Andy Salmon and keyboardist Rob Meurer met in San Antonio when they were still teens. Geppert and Salmon became bandmates in Flash, with Geppert on guitar. Together, they formed Christopher Cross as a band and moved to Austin, where they added drummer

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster. Career Taylor was born in Smithies, ...

. There, they played covers for cash while recording demo versions of original songs at Austin's Pecan Street Studios, which they shopped to record labels. Though they considered themselves a band,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

signed Christopher Cross as a solo artist in early 1979.Margaret Moser
"The Reluctant Celebrity: Christopher Cross."
''The Austin Chronicle.'' 20 January 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2022. Although best known for his vocals and songwriting, Cross is also a skilled guitarist.

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

and

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

invited Cross to play on their albums, but Cross declined. Cross also substituted for Richie Blackmore during a

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

concert in 1970 when Blackmore fell ill.

The first album and immediate success

Cross released his self-titled debut album, '' Christopher Cross'', on Dec. 27, 1979. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 20 hits from this album included "

Ride Like the Wind "Ride Like the Wind" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was released in February 1980 as the lead single from his Grammy-winning 1979 self-titled debut album. It reached number two on the US charts for four ...

" (featuring backing vocals by Michael McDonald), "

", " Never Be the Same" and "Say You'll Be Mine" (featuring backing vocals by

Nicolette Larson Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contem ...

). "Ride Like the Wind" hit number two on the U.S. Hot 100, while "Sailing" topped the chart for one week. "Never Be The Same" went number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. Cross, the album and the song "Sailing" were nominated for six Grammy Awards in 1981 and won five.23rd Annual GRAMMY Awards
at Grammy.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022. Cross was the first artist in Grammy history to win all four general field awards in a single ceremony, bringing home

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

("Sailing"), Album of the Year (''Christopher Cross''), Song of the Year ("Sailing") and

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards. This feat was not replicated for 39 years, until

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

won all four awards at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

in 2020."A Virtual College of Grammy Knowledge"
by Wook Kim, ''

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'', 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-07. In addition, "Sailing" won for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). ''Christopher Cross'' has been certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

five times in the U.S., selling over 5 million copies. Later in 1981, Cross released "

", co-written by

, which was the main theme for the 1981 film ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

''. The song won the

for

in 1981, and was nominated for three Grammys, but did not win.24th Annual GRAMMY Awards
at Grammy.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022. In the U.S., it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Adult Contemporary charts in October 1981, remaining at the top of the Hot 100 for three weeks while it also was a top-ten hit in several other countries. The song became the second and last American number-one hit by Christopher Cross.

The second album

Cross's second album, ''

Another Page ''Another Page'' is Christopher Cross's second studio album, recorded in 1982 and released in early 1983. It was not as commercially successful as its predecessor (it was certified Gold by the RIAA, but only after his self-titled debut album ha ...

'' (1983), produced " All Right", "No Time for Talk", and "

Think of Laura "Think of Laura" is a popular song by the American Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. Released as a single in late 1983 from Cross's second studio album, '' Another Page'', "Think of Laura" became the singer's fourth (and, ...

". "All Right" was used by

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...

for its highlights montage following the 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, while "Think of Laura" is used as a reference to

characters Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

on the soap opera ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. Cross allowed

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

to use his song in this context; however, he has stated that he wrote "Think of Laura" not in reference to the television characters, but to celebrate the life of

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

college student Laura Carter who was killed when she was struck by a stray bullet. ''Another Page'' sold well, getting

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

certification. He also co-wrote and sang the song "A Chance For Heaven" for the

1984 Summer Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

The 1980s

After 1984, Cross's star quickly dimmed. As music television channel

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

grew to dominate the mainstream music scene in the United States, Cross's style of music proved to be a bad fit for the network, and Cross's brand of

adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

declined in popularity. Cross's next two albums, 1985's '' Every Turn of the World'' and 1988's '' Back of My Mind'' did not produce any top 40 hits or reach Gold or Platinum status. He did, however, place the song "Swept Away" in the TV show ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the Se ...

''. It was used during a video montage while

Kirk Cameron Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor and evangelist. He first gained fame as a teen actor playing Mike Seaver on the ABC sitcom ''Growing Pains'' (1985–1992), a role for which he was nominated for two Golden Glob ...

's character Mike fell in love with a local girl while vacationing with the family in Hawaii.

The 1990s

Cross made three more albums in the 1990s, and although some of his releases gained critical response, he was not able to attract the mass audience he once enjoyed. After his decline in fame in the mid-1980s, he toured and opened for various acts during the 1990s.

The 2000s

Christopher Cross in beaumont ca (2637703689) (cropped)

The year 2002 saw the release of the ''Very Best of...'' album, and in 2007 he completed a Christmas album titled ''A Christopher Cross Christmas''. In 2008, Cross recorded a new acoustic album of his hits titled ''The Cafe Carlyle Sessions''.

The 2010s

In 2011, Cross released a new studio album titled ''Doctor Faith''. In 2013, he released ''A Night in Paris'', a 2-CD live album he recorded and filmed in April 2012 at the Theatre Le Trianon in Paris, France. The song "Ride Like the Wind" was featured on the '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'' original movie soundtrack, released in 2013. In September 2014, he released ''Secret Ladder'', followed in November 2017 by ''Take Me as I Am''. In 2017, he played a concert in his hometown, at the Tobin Center, San Antonio, Texas. In 2018, he joined with other musicians in Austin to form the band Freedonia. In late 2019, Cross toured with

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

Jason Scheff Jason Randolph Scheff (born April 16, 1962) is an American bassist, singer, and songwriter. From 1985 to 2016, he was the bassist and one of the lead vocalists for the rock band Chicago; he is the longest-serving member in the bassist/vocalist p ...

Micky Dolenz George Michael Dolenz Jr. (born March 8, 1945) is an American actor, musician, TV producer and businessman. He is best known as the drummer and one of three primary vocalists for the pop-rock band the Monkees (1966–1970, and multiple reunions ...

and

Joey Molland Joseph Charles Molland (born 21 June 1947, Edge Hill, Liverpool) is an English songwriter and rock guitarist whose recording career spans five decades. He is best known as a member of Badfinger, the most successful of the acts he performed wit ...

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recog ...

in celebration of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' ''White Album'' on the "It Was Fifty Years Ago Today – A Tribute to the Beatles' White Album". Cross performed "

" and "

". Since 2018, Cross has been playing in a band called Freedonia. They have 2 full length albums: "Freedonia" and "Firefly" and an EP titled "Bring Back The Dinosaurs".

Flamingo

One common feature of Cross's album covers is the appearance of a

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

. According to Cross, there is no meaning behind this other than the painting chosen for his first album cover featured the bird, which has been used as a motif ever since.

Personal life

A self-described "Army brat", Cross is the son of a U.S. Army pediatrician stationed at

Walter Reed Army Hospital The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1950s, acting as physician for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's grandchildren. He attended Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio and graduated in 1969. He was involved in football and track and field. Cross was married to Roseanne Harrison from 1973 until the couple divorced in 1982. His 1988 marriage to Jan Bunch ended in a 2007 divorce. On April 3, 2020, Cross confirmed through his

Facebook page Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of ...

that he had tested positive for the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

virus, and was ill, but was recovering. Cross later reported on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he has lost the use of his legs, but his doctors have told him he should fully recover. Physicians told him his COVID-19 disease triggered an episode of

Guillain–Barré syndrome Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, both sides of the body are involved, and the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain often ...

that caused the nerves in his legs to stop functioning properly.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

*1991: ''The Best of Christopher Cross'' (WEA) *1999: ''Greatest Hits Live'' (CMC) *2001: ''Definitive Christopher Cross'' (Warner Bros./Asia) *2002: ''The Very Best of Christopher Cross'' (Warner Bros.) *2011: ''Crosswords: The Best of Christopher Cross'' (101 Distribution)

Soundtracks

*1981: ''

'' (Motion picture soundtrack) "

" *1983: ''

'' (TV series soundtrack) "Think of Laura" *1984: '' Official Music of the XXIIIrd Olympiad'' "A Chance For Heaven" (swimming theme) *1986: ''

Nothing in Common ''Nothing in Common'' is a 1986 American comedy-drama film directed by Garry Marshall. It stars Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason in what would be Gleason's final film role; he was suffering from cancer during the production and died less than a yea ...

'' (Motion picture soundtrack) "Loving Strangers (David's Theme)" *2010: ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'' (TV series soundtrack) "Lemon's Theme"

Singles

Other appearances

*1974: ''Electromagnets'', (with Eric Johnson) - "Motion" *1981: ''Chris Christian'', (Boardwalk Records) - "Don't Give Up on Us" (guitar solo) *1982: ''Long Time Friends'',

Alessi Brothers The Alessi Brothers, also known as Alessi, are an American pop rock singer-songwriter duo who first came to international prominence with their 1977 hit single "Oh Lori". The duo are identical twin brothers, Billy and Bobby Alessi (born July 1 ...

- "Forever" (background vocals) *1985: ''Soul Kiss'',

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

- "You Were Great, How Was I?" (background vocals) *1985: ''Crazy from the Heat'',

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

- "California Girls" (background vocals) *1988: ''Brian Wilson'',

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

- "Night Time" (background vocals) *1989: ''Christmas at My House'',

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorde ...

- "Ringing the Bells of Christmas" *1991: ''Love Can Do That'',

Elaine Paige Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professiona ...

- "Same Train" *1994: ''Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III'' - "

Arthur's Theme "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is a song performed and co-written by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, which was the main theme for the 1981 film ''Arthur'' starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. The song won the Oscar f ...

" (live version) *1996: ''Venus Isle'',

Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...

- "Lonely in the Night" (background vocals) *1996: ''On Air'',

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

- "So Far Away" *1998: ''Imagination'', Brian Wilson (special edition "Words and Music" bonus disc) - "In My Room" *2001: ''A Gathering of Friends'', Michael McDonald - "Ride Like the Wind" *2001: ''When It All Goes South'',

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

- "Love Remains" *2004: ''Confidential'', Peter White - "She's in Love" *2006: ''Skylark'',

Gigi Mackenzie Gigi MacKenzie (born 1962) is a smooth jazz artist; daughter of the singer Gisele MacKenzie. MacKenzie has a number of credits as a studio singer in Los Angeles. She has recorded national commercials and music for major movie soundtracks, inclu ...

- "That's All" *2008: ''Soundstage:

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Live in Chicago'' - "Lonely People", "A Horse with No Name" *2013: ''Train Keeps a Rolling'',

Jeff Golub Jeff Golub (April 15, 1955 – January 1, 2015) was an American jazz guitarist who had a solo career and who led the band Avenue Blue. He worked as a sideman for a number of rock and pop musicians. He was arguably best known for his work with Rod ...

- "How Long" *2013: ''Imagination of You'',

- "Imagination of You"Golden Globe Award for best original song

Awards

*Academy Award, 1981 –

, "

" *Golden Globe Award, 1981 –

, "

" *Grammy, 1981 –

– "Sailing" *Grammy, 1981 – Song of the Year – "Sailing" *Grammy, 1981 – Album of the Year – ''Christopher Cross'' *Grammy, 1981 –

– Christopher Cross *Grammy, 1981 – Best Arrangement – "Sailing" *ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards, 1991 – "

Nominations

* Primetime Emmy Awards,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

- Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics, Growing Pains (1985) episode Aloha - "Swept Away"

Performances and in popular media

*Cross filled in for guitarist

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

(who had fallen ill) by performing with the band in San Antonio, Texas, in 1970. *Cross wrote and performed "Mary Ann" for the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in 1980, in which he finished as a finalist. *Cross contributed backing vocals (along with

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

) to

's 1985 hit "

California Girls "California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album, '' Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women across the world and a wish ...

". *Cross performed the song "Sailing" alongside the pop band

'N Sync NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...

at the Fifth Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in 1999. *Cross also performed lead vocals on "So Far Away", a song from

' album '' On Air''. When Parsons was touring in support of that album, Cross sometimes joined the band onstage to sing the song if he was available. *Cross spent much of his youth living in a home on Newbury Terrace in

Terrell Hills Terrell Hills is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States; it is located northeast of downtown San Antonio. As of the 2020 census Terrell Hills had a population of 5,045. It is part of a group of three cities—Terrell Hills, Alamo Heights, ...

, just outside San Antonio, Texas. That home had earlier belonged to the Cummins family. Another notable San Antonian, the historian and author

Light Townsend Cummins Light Townsend Cummins (born April 23, 1946) is an American educator and historian. He was the Bryan Professor of History at Austin College in Sherman, Texas prior to his retirement in 2018 and was the official State Historian of Texas from May 20 ...

, had grown up in that same house a decade earlier. It has since been demolished. *A small snippet of Cross's early hit "Sailing" (in slow-motion) was played in the

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

Aardman Animations Aardman Animations Limited (also known as Aardman Studios, simply Aardman or Aardman Animation and stylised as AARDMAN as of 2022) is a British animation studio based in Bristol, England. It is known for films made using stop-motion and clay an ...

film ''

Flushed Away ''Flushed Away'' is a 2006 computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by David Bowers and Sam Fell, produced by Cecil Kramer, David Sproxton, and Peter Lord, and written by Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd, Joe Keenan and W ...

''. *"Sailing" was also featured in an episode of the Fox sitcom ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

''. It was also revealed that the full name of Chris Griffin's character is Christopher Cross Griffin. *Cross performed his hit song "Ride Like the Wind" on the NBC show ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' on Monday, October 5, 2009, in a "

Yacht Rock Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast soundThat ' ...

" themed episode. He was joined by Michael McDonald, whom he has worked with in the past. As the credits were rolling, Cross, McDonald, and The Roots, the Fallon house band, broke into "Sailing", which he also performed in an online-only performance on NBC.com. *Toured as part of the 2002 "A Walk Down Abbey Road" tour with

Mark Farner Mark Fredrick Farner (born September 29, 1948) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, and later as a contemporary Christian musician. Early ...

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

, and

. *Performed as part of the 2003 "A Walk Down Abbey Road" show, which consisted of two performances at the Atlantic City Hilton on August 8–9, with Alan Parsons, Todd Rundgren,

, and

Denny Laine Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, known as a founder of two major rock bands: the Moody Blues, with whom he played from 1964 to 1966, and Wings, with whom he played from 1 ...

. * Christopher Cross was portrayed in the parody web series ''

Yacht Rock Yacht rock (originally known as the West Coast soundThat ' ...

'' by

Justin Roiland Mark Justin Roiland (born February 21, 1980) is an American voice actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known as the co-creator of Adult Swim's ''Rick and Morty'' and its subsequent Rick and Morty (franchise), franchise. H ...

. * "

" was featured in a skit on the television series '' SCTV'' in which the song's use of Michael McDonald's distinct yet decidedly sparse backup vocal is satirized. This skit was the subject of an episode of ''Yacht Rock''. * Newman booked Christopher Cross for his Millennium party in Season 8 Episode 20 of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

''. * Singer

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

named "

" as his 'most-hated' song in a 2013 A.V. Club interview. *"Sailing" was also featured in an episode of the Fox comedy '' The Last Man on Earth''. * "Ride Like the Wind" is featured in a party scene from the film ''

The Worst Person in the World (film) ''The Worst Person in the World'' ( no, Verdens verste menneske) is a 2021 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Joachim Trier. It is the third film in the director's "Oslo Trilogy", following ''Reprise'' (2006) and '' Oslo, August 31st'' (201 ...

''. *"Sailing" was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster Ambulance in a tense scene during a police chase, it was partly sung along to by

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...

and

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (; born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films ''Aquaman'' (2018) and ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama ' ...

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Living Legends – Christopher Cross Interview Series
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Christopher 1951 births Living people 20th-century American Jews Alamo Heights High School alumni American acoustic guitarists American male pop singers American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters American pop rock singers American pop guitarists American rock guitarists American rock songwriters American soft rock musicians American people of German-Jewish descent Ballad musicians Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Golden Globe Award-winning musicians Guitarists from Los Angeles Guitarists from Texas Grammy Award winners Musicians from San Antonio Reprise Records artists Singer-songwriters from Texas Warner Records artists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American Jews Singer-songwriters from California American people of German descent American people of Irish descent