Christopher Cross

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" (1979), 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. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1980, while "Arthur's Theme" won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1980 (with co-composers Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, 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. 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. Though they considered themselves a band, Warner Bros. signed Christopher Cross as a solo artist in early 1979.

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. Cross also substituted for Richie Blackmore during a Deep Purple concert in 1970 when Blackmore fell ill.

Cross was the original owner of fellow Austin guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan’s legendary “Number One” 1962/1963 hybrid Fender Stratocaster. Vaughan 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.

First album and immediate success

Cross released his self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross, on December 20, 1979. 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. "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. 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. This feat was not replicated for 39 years, until Billie Eilish won all four awards at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. 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.

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, and was nominated for three Grammys, but did not win. 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.

Second album

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. He also co-wrote and sang the song "A Chance For Heaven" for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

1980s

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.

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.

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 to late 1980s, he toured and opened for various acts during the 1990s.

2000s

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.

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, 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".

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".

2020s

During 2021–2022, Cross played in his 40th anniversary tour which had been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flamingo

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.

Personal life

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. 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 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. By October 2020, he was able to walk with a cane, but said his memory and speech had been affected. In 2021 and 2022 he played his 40th anniversary concert tour, which had originally been planned for 2020.

He is Catholic.

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: Arthur (Motion picture soundtrack) "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
• 1983: General Hospital (TV series soundtrack) "Think of Laura"
• 1984: Official Music of the XXIIIrd Olympiad "A Chance For Heaven" (swimming theme)
• 1986: Nothing in Common (Motion picture soundtrack) "Loving Strangers (David's Theme)"
• 2010: 30 Rock (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 – "Forever" (background vocals)
• 1985: Soul Kiss, Olivia Newton-John – "You Were Great, How Was I?" (background vocals)
• 1985: Crazy from the Heat, David Lee Roth – "California Girls" (background vocals)
• 1988: Brian Wilson, Brian Wilson – "Night Time" (background vocals)
• 1989: Christmas at My House, Larry Carlton – "Ringing the Bells of Christmas"
• 1991: Love Can Do That, Elaine Paige – "Same Train"
• 1994: Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III – "Arthur's Theme" (live version)
• 1996: Venus Isle, Eric Johnson – "Lonely in the Night" (background vocals)
• 1996: On Air, Alan Parsons – "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 – "Love Remains"
• 2004: Confidential, Peter White – "She's in Love"
• 2006: Skylark, Gigi Mackenzie – "That's All"
• 2008: Soundstage: America Live in Chicago – "Lonely People", "A Horse with No Name"
• 2013: Train Keeps a Rolling, Jeff Golub – "How Long"
• 2013: Imagination of You, Eric Johnson – "Imagination of You"

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

• Official website
• Christopher Cross at IMDb
• Christopher Cross at AllMusic
• Living Legends – Christopher Cross Interview Series
• Elixir Strings Interview at the Wayback Machine (archived January 6, 2006)