Christopher Cross Biography
Christopher Geppert, 3 May 1951, San Antonio, Texas, USA. Formerly a member of Texas heavy rock band Flash, Cross was signed to Warner Brothers Records on the strength of his songwriting talents. His 1980 debut, full of smooth AOR songs ideal for radio-play, spawned hits in "Ride Like The Wind" (US number 2 - featuring Michael McDonald), "Sailing (US number 1)", "Never Be The Same" and "Say You'll Be Mine". Cross won five Grammy Awards in 1981, including Best Album of the Year. Cross also sang and co-wrote, along with Carole Bayer Sager, Burt Bacharach and Peter Allen, the theme song, "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)' for the top-grossing Dudley Moore movie Arthur in 1981. The song gave Cross another US number 1 hit and his only UK Top 10 single. Despite having a UK Top 20 album, Cross" singles sales propelled him no further than number 48 ("Sailing"). His sophomore album, Another Page supplied him with a further US Top 10 hit with "Think Of Laura" in 1983, which was featured on US ABC television's General Hospital series.
Later years saw a decline in Cross' sales, indicating either a loss of touch in songwriting or in popularity, or both. He was dropped by Warners following the release of 1988's Back Of My Mind. A revamped dance version of "Ride Like The Wind' was used by East Side Beat in late 1991 and reached the UK Top 10. Cross' subsequent releases include 1998"s Walking In Avalon, a double album containing a new studio work and a live set which was later re-released in the US as two single albums, Red Room (studio) and Greatest Hits Live (live).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
|
