"Sailing" | ||||
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Single by Christopher Cross | ||||
from the album Christopher Cross | ||||
B-side | "Poor Shirley" | |||
Released | June 15, 1980 | |||
Recorded | 1979 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Christopher Cross | |||
Producer(s) | Michael Omartian | |||
Christopher Cross singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Christopher Cross - Sailing (Official Music Video)" on YouTube |
"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. [1] [2] 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. [3] VH1 named "Sailing" the most "softsational soft rock" song of all time. [4]
The song was recorded in 1979, utilizing the 3M Digital Recording System, making it one of the first digitally recorded songs to chart. [5] In his Grammy acceptance speech, Cross acknowledged "Sailing" as his favorite song on the album and that originally it was not meant to be a single. [6] The song was later identified as an archetype of the style that later became known as yacht rock [7] (at the time, Cross and similar artists referred to the style as the West Coast sound). [8]
Cross has said in interviews that the song's inspiration was his friendship with an older friend from his high school, Al Glasscock, who would take him sailing as a teenager, just to get away from the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. [9] [10] Glasscock functioned as a surrogate older brother during a tough time for Cross emotionally. [11] Although Cross lost touch with Glasscock, The Howard Stern Show in April 1995 reunited the two after 28 years. Cross acknowledged on the show that his sailing trips with Glasscock had been the inspiration for the song. After that reunion, Cross sent Glasscock a copy of the platinum record he earned for selling more than five million copies of "Sailing." [11]
Chart (1980–1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) | 46 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [16] | 38 |
Canadian Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) | 1 |
Canadian Top Singles ( RPM ) [17] | 1 |
Ireland (IRMA) [18] | 21 |
Italy (FIMI) [19] | 12 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [20] | 18 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [21] | 8 |
Spain (AFYVE) [22] | 24 |
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 48 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [2] | 1 |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 10 |
Chart (1980) | Rank |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles [23] | 24 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [24] | 32 |
Chart (1981) | Rank |
---|---|
Italy (FIMI) [25] | 66 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [26] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Christopher Cross 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 " 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.
Christopher Cross is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was 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.
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