Christopher Cross | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 27, 1979 [1] | |||
Recorded | July 1979 | |||
Studio | Warner Bros. Recording Studios (North Hollywood, California) Pecan Street Studios (Austin, Texas) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:32 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Michael Omartian | |||
Christopher Cross chronology | ||||
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Singles from Christopher Cross | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Christopher Cross is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, released on December 27, 1979, by Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Michael Omartian and recorded in mid-1979, the album was one of the first in popular music to be digitally recorded, utilizing the 3M Digital Recording System. [4]
Cited as one of the most influential soft rock albums of the late 1970s and early 1980s, [5] [6] it won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, with Cross becoming the first artist to win the four major categories in the same year — a feat not replicated until Billie Eilish in 2020.
According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album was "a huge hit and widely acclaimed, at least among industry professionals (critics didn't give it a second listen), leading to multi-platinum success and Grammys." In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Erlewine says that while its success as a soft rock album has little cachet with most listeners, it "remains one of the best mainstream albums of its time" because of consistent song quality and Cross's skillful musicianship: "Yes, he does favor sentimentality and can be very sweet on the ballads, but his melodicism is rich and construction tight, so there's a sturdy foundation for the classy professional gloss provided by his studio pros and friends, including indelible backing vocals by Michael McDonald." [3]
In retrospective appraisals, Christopher Cross is regarded as a key release of yacht rock music. For Spin in 2009, Chuck Eddy lists it among the genre's eight essential albums. [7] Vinyl Me, Please magazine's Timothy Malcolm includes it in his 2017 list of the 10 best yacht rock albums, explaining that, "It’s actually a sonic outlier for the yacht rock genre, heavy on acoustic guitar and strings. But its message fits the genre (a fool searching for inner peace), and yeah, it’s still undeniably smooth." [8] For The Vinyl District's online publication in 2018, Michael H. Little calls it the genre's best album as well as one of its smoothest, crediting it for making Cross "the face of soft rock". [9]
All tracks written by Christopher Cross.
'Mary Ann' was originally written for the YAMAHA World Music Festival in Japan and released in 1980 as a Japan only single.
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [16] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
France (SNEP) [17] | Platinum | 300,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [18] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) [19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [20] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [1] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Cross, the album and the hit "Sailing" won the following Grammy Awards: [23] [24] [25]
Year | Category | Winner |
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1981 | Album of the Year | Christopher Cross |
Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) | "Sailing" | |
Record of the Year | ||
Song of the Year | ||
Best New Artist | Christopher Cross |
Producer Michael Omartian accepted the Album of the Year award on behalf of Warner Bros. Records and the album's personnel.
Christopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1979), and "Arthur's Theme " peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1980, while "Arthur's Theme" won in 1982 the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Soldiers Under Command is the second release, and first full-length studio album from Christian metal band Stryper, released on August 23, 1985. It was the first Christian metal album to achieve Gold record status, selling more than half a million copies. The album was originally issued on white vinyl. The Live in Japan in-concert video, released in 1986, was filmed on July 8, 1985 during Stryper's tour in support of this album.
Pyramid is the third album by progressive rock band The Alan Parsons Project, released in May 1978. It is a concept album centred on the pyramids of Giza. At the time the album was conceived, interest in pyramid power and Tutankhamun was widespread in the US and the UK. Pyramid was nominated for the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
Heart Like a Wheel is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and released her first album there; due to contractual obligations, though, Heart Like a Wheel was released by Capitol.
Can't Slow Down is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Lionel Richie. It was released on October 14, 1983, by Motown Records.
Unguarded is the seventh studio album by Christian and Pop singer Amy Grant, released in 1985 on A&M Records. It is Grant's first album released by A&M.
Soul Provider is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Bolton. The album was released on June 26, 1989, by Columbia Records/CBS. The album has sold 12.5 million copies worldwide.
She Works Hard for the Money is the eleventh studio album by American singer Donna Summer, released on June 13, 1983, by Mercury Records. It was her most successful studio album of the decade, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and its title track became one of the biggest hits of her career and her biggest hit of the decade, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Sailing" is a 1979 soft rock song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was released in June 1980 as the second single from his self-titled debut album (1979), which was already certified gold by this time. The song was a success in the United States, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 30, 1980, where it stayed for one week. The song also won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, and helped Cross win the Best New Artist award. VH1 named "Sailing" the most "softsational soft rock" song of all time.
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. "Think of Laura", taken from the album as Cross's third single, reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. It was Cross' final single to reach the Top 10. The first single, "All Right", reached #12 on the chart a year before. As a single, "No Time For Talk" peaked at #33. "Arthur's Theme " appeared as a bonus track on the cassette and later CD releases of the album. The album reached number 1 in Japan in 1983.
Quiet Lies is the seventh studio album by American country pop artist Juice Newton, released in 1982. It reached number 20 on the Billboard 200, her highest position on the chart, and included three major hits: "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me", "Break It to Me Gently", and "Heart of the Night". Quiet Lies sold more than 900,000 copies in the United States in 1982 and was re-issued on CD in 1990 and 2006.
Cats Without Claws is the twelfth studio album by American pop singer Donna Summer, released on September 11, 1984. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, though her previous album had been released on another label. It peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's album chart, failing to attain the success of its predecessor which peaked at No. 9.
Repeat Offender is the second studio album by singer/songwriter Richard Marx. Released on April 26, 1989, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The album was certified four times platinum in United States due to five major singles on the Billboard charts, including two No. 1 hits: "Satisfied" and the platinum-certified "Right Here Waiting".
Richard Marx is the debut studio album by singer/songwriter and record producer/arranger, Richard Marx, released in June 1987.
"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 consecutive weeks, behind "Call Me" by Blondie. On the album's inner sleeve, Christopher Cross dedicated this song to Lowell George, formerly of the band Little Feat, who had died in 1979. It features backing vocals by Michael McDonald and a guitar solo by Cross.
Breakin' Away is an album by Al Jarreau, released on June 30, 1981, through the Warner Bros. Records label. To quote AllMusic, "Breakin' Away became the standard bearer of the L.A. pop and R&B sound."
This Time is the fourth studio album by Jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. The release marked a change in Jarreau's sound to a more R&B-oriented flavor. As a result, the album achieved more success on the mainstream charts than his previous works, while also topping the Jazz Charts. It also reached No. 6 on the R&B charts and No. 27 on the Billboard 200." In 1981 "Never Givin' Up" gave Jarreau a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.
If That's What It Takes is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael McDonald. The album was released in August 1982 and peaked at #6 on Billboard 200, while singles "I Keep Forgettin' " and "I Gotta Try" went to #4 and #44 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
"Don't Mean Nothing" is the debut single by singer/songwriter/producer Richard Marx from his triple platinum 1987 eponymous album. It hit No. 1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100. With the chart success of "Don't Mean Nothing" and subsequent singles from his debut album, Marx became the first male artist to reach the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart with four singles from a debut album. In 1988, Marx was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Rock Vocal Performance - Solo" for "Don't Mean Nothing". He competed against Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Bob Seger, and Joe Cocker.
Walls of Glass is the debut solo album by former Imperials lead singer Russ Taff, released in 1983 on Myrrh Records. After he left the Imperials in 1981, Taff started work on his first solo album featuring songs that he co-wrote with his wife Tori and his guitarist and songwriter James Hollihan Jr. "We Will Stand" was released as the first single and became his first Christian radio hit topping the Christian AC chart for 15 weeks. The song is ranked at number 29 by CCM Magazine's 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music. Taff won his first solo Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance, Male at the 26th Grammy Awards. At the 15th GMA Dove Awards, Taff won his third Male Vocalist of the Year title, his first as a solo artist. "We Will Stand" was nominated for Song of the Year twice at the Dove Awards in 1984 and 1985. Walls of Glass reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top Inspirational Albums chart.