Christopher Cross

One of the most underrated singers and songwriters

Christopher Cross

The Biggest New Star of 1980

The biggest new star of the 1980, Christopher Cross is one of the most underrated American singers and songwriters. This talented musician was born Christopher Charles Geppert on May 3, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.

Cross's style of music is unique and his knack for laidback melodic pop/rock is a strong. Although best known for his vocals, Cross's guitar-playing is impressive. In 1980 his self-titled debut album took the pop world by storm, racking up hits with "Ride Like The Wind" and "Sailing" (among others), soaring to #1 and sweeping the following year's Grammys. In fact, Cross broke Frank Sinatra's record, taking home 5 Grammy awards in one evening.

Grammy 1980:
Record of the Year – "Sailing"
Song of the Year – "Sailing"
Album of the Year – "Christopher Cross"
Best New Artist – "Christopher Cross"
Best Arrangement – "Sailing"

In 1981, Cross won Oscar, Golden Globe Award, and ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Best Original Song, 1981, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" from the 1981 film Arthur. "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" also peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

Christopher's second album, Another Page came out in January of 1983 after a 3+ year gap between this & his self-titled debut. This album produced "All Right", "No Time for Talk", and "Think of Laura" (among others). "All Right" was used by CBS Sports for its highlights montage following the 1983 NCAA Men's Division I 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. This album, featuring a collection of deep meaning songs sold well, getting Gold Certification but it wasn't even close to the blockbuster the previous album was.

Christopher Cross also co-wrote and sang the song "A Chance For Heaven" for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. After 1984, Cross's star quickly dimmed as the tradition of great, melodic pop songwriting seemed to vanish in the eighties.

Cross's next two albums, 1985's Every Turn of the World and 1988's Back of My Mind, both with well-crafted melodic music, mature lyrics, beautiful arrangements, and his distinctive pop voice, did not produce any top 40 hits or reach Gold or Platinum status, but are great treasure for all music lovers. And pity what has happened to contemporary music and songwriting, where an artist of his caliber can't even get played while our ears are assaulted by the product of so many hit makers who don't have one-tenth the talent of Christopher Cross.