Christopher Cross | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cross in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christopher Charles Geppert |
| Born | May 3, 1951 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | christophercross |
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Antonio, Texas. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (from the 1981 film Arthur) peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[2][3][4] "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1980,[5] while "Arthur's Theme" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1980 (with co-composers Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen).
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. There, they played covers for cash while recording demo versions of original songs at Austin's Odyssey Sound, which later became Pecan Street Studio, which they shopped to record labels.[6][7] Though they considered themselves a band, Warner Bros. signed Christopher Cross as a solo artist in early 1979.[6][7][8]
Although best known for his vocals and songwriting, Cross is also a skilled guitarist. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan invited Cross to play on their albums, but Cross declined.[9] Cross also substituted for Richie Blackmore during a Deep Purple concert in 1970 when Blackmore fell ill.[7][10]
Cross was the original owner of fellow Austin guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan’s legendary “Number One” 1962/1963 hybrid Fender Stratocaster. Vaughn purchased the guitar at Ray Hennig’s Heart of Texas Music in Austin in 1974, only one day after Cross had traded the guitar for a Gibson Les Paul.[11]
Cross released his self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross, on December 20, 1979.[12] Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hits from this album included "Ride Like the Wind" (featuring backing vocals by Michael McDonald), "Sailing", "Never Be the Same" and "Say You'll Be Mine" (featuring backing vocals by Nicolette Larson). "Ride Like the Wind" hit number two on the U.S. Hot 100, while "Sailing" topped the chart for one week.[2] "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 1980 and won five.[13] 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 ("Sailing"), Album of the Year (Christopher Cross), Song of the Year ("Sailing") and Best New Artist at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards.[a] This feat was not replicated for 39 years, until Billie Eilish won all four awards at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020.[14][15] In addition, "Sailing" won for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). Christopher Cross has been certified platinum five times in the U.S., selling over 5 million copies.[16]
Later in 1981, Cross released "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", co-written by Burt Bacharach and Peter Allen, which was the main theme for the 1981 film Arthur. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1981,[17] and was nominated for three Grammys, but did not win.[18][b] 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.[19]
Cross's second album, Another Page (1983), produced "All Right", "No Time for Talk", and "Think of Laura". "All Right" was used by CBS Sports 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 on the soap opera General Hospital. Cross allowed ABC 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 college student Laura Carter who was killed when she was struck by a stray bullet. Another Page sold well, getting Gold certification.[20] He also co-wrote and sang the song "A Chance For Heaven" for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
After 1984, Cross's commercial success faded. As music television channel MTV 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 declined in popularity.[21]
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. It was used during a video montage while Kirk Cameron's character Mike fell in love with a local girl while vacationing with the family in Hawaii.
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 to late 1980s, he toured and opened for various acts during the 1990s.[22][23]
_(cropped).jpg)
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.[24][25]
In 2011, Cross released a new studio album titled Doctor Faith.[26]
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.[27]
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.[28]
In 2017, he played a concert in his hometown, at the Tobin Center, San Antonio, Texas.[29] In 2018, he joined with other musicians in Austin to form the band Freedonia.[30]
In late 2019, Cross toured with Todd Rundgren, Jason Scheff, Micky Dolenz and Joey Molland of Badfinger in celebration of the Beatles' White Album on the "It Was Fifty Years Ago Today – A Tribute to the Beatles' White Album". Cross performed "Sailing" and "Ride Like the Wind".[31]
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".
During 2021–2022, Cross played in his 40th anniversary tour which had been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One common feature of Cross's album covers is the appearance of a flamingo. 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.[32]
A self-described "Army brat", Cross is the son of a U.S. Army pediatrician stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1950s, acting as physician for President Dwight Eisenhower's grandchildren.[33] He attended Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio and graduated in 1969. He was involved in football and track and field.[34] 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.[35]
On April 3, 2020, Cross confirmed through his Facebook page that he had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and was ill, but was recovering. Cross later reported on Twitter that he had lost the use of his legs, but his doctors told him he should fully recover. Physicians told him his illness triggered an episode of Guillain–Barré syndrome that caused the nerves in his legs to stop functioning properly.[36] By October 2020, he was able to walk with a cane, but said his memory and speech had been affected.[37] In 2021 and 2022 he played his 40th anniversary concert tour, which had originally been planned for 2020.[38]
| Year | Album | Label | Chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [39] |
CAN [40] |
GER [41] |
JPN [42][43] |
NLD [44] |
NZ [45] |
SWE [46] |
UK [47] |
US [48] | ||||
| 1979 | Christopher Cross | Warner Bros. | 6 | 26 | — | 18 | 14 | 16 | — | 14 | 6 | |
| 1983 | Another Page | 6 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 11 | ||
| 1985 | Every Turn of the World | — | — | 44 | 27 | — | 34 | 37 | — | 127 | ||
| 1988 | Back of My Mind | — | — | 45 | 27 | — | 93 | 49 | — | — | ||
| 1992 | Rendezvous | CMC | — | — | — | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1994 | Window | — | — | — | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998 | Walking in Avalon | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999 | Red Room | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 | A Christopher Cross Christmas | Ear | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2008 | The Café Carlyle Sessions | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010 | Christmas Time Is Here | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | Doctor Faith | — | — | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | A Night in Paris | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014 | Secret Ladder | Christopher Cross Records | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | Take Me As I Am | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [52] |
GER [53] |
IRE [54] |
NED [55] |
NOR [56] |
AUS [39] |
NZ [57] |
SWI [58] |
UK [59] |
US [60] |
US A/C [61] | |||||||||
| 1980 | "Ride Like the Wind" | 3 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 31 | — | 69 | 2 | 24 | Christopher Cross | ||||||
| "Sailing" | 1 | — | 21 | 18 | — | 46 | 8 | — | 48 | 1 | 10 | ||||||||
| "Never Be the Same" | — | — | 25 | — | — | 42 | 41 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||||||||
| "Say You'll Be Mine" | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 15 | ||||||||
| "Mary Ann" (Japan only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Single only | |||||||
| 1981 | "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" | 2 | — | 7 | — | 1 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
|
Arthur (soundtrack) | |||||
| 1983 | "All Right" | 13 | 23 | 14 | 16 | 5 | 30 | 44 | 5 | 51 | 12 | 3 | Another Page | ||||||
| "No Time for Talk" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 33 | 10 | ||||||||
| "Think of Laura" | 9 | — | — | — | — | 100 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1984 | "A Chance for Heaven" (swimming theme from 1984 Summer Olympics) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 76 | 16 | The Official Music of the XXIIIrd Olympiad Los Angeles 1984 | ||||||
| 1985 | "Charm the Snake" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 68 | — | Every Turn of the World | ||||||
| "Every Turn of the World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1986 | "Love Is Love (In Any Language)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Loving Strangers" | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 27 | Nothing in Common (soundtrack) | |||||||
| 1988 | "Swept Away" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Back of My Mind | ||||||
| "I Will (Take You Forever)" (with Frances Ruffelle) | 90 | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | — | 41 | ||||||||
| 1993 | "In the Blink of an Eye" (Germany only) | — | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rendezvous (Germany & Japan only) | ||||||
| "Nothing Will Change" (Germany only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Is There Something" (Germany only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1994 | "Been There, Done That" (Germany only) | — | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Window (Germany & Japan only) | ||||||
| "Wild, Wild West" (Germany only) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Academy Awards | Best Original Song | "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" (from Arthur) | Won | [63] |
| 1991 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Most Performed Feature Film Standards | Won | ||
| 1981 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | Won | [64] | |
| 1980 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Christopher Cross | Won | [65] |
| Record of the Year | "Sailing" | Won | |||
| Song of the Year | Won | ||||
| Best New Artist | — | Won | |||
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male | Christopher Cross | Nominated | |||
| Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) | "Sailing" | Won | |||
| 1981 | Record of the Year | "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male | Nominated | ||||
| 1988 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics | "Swept Away" (from Growing Pains – Episode: "Aloha") | Nominated | [66] |
