"Sailing" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Christopher Cross | ||||
from the album Christopher Cross | ||||
B-side | "Poor Shirley" | |||
Released | May 27, 1980 (Charted June 14) | |||
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 ) [17] | 1 |
Canadian Top Singles ( RPM ) [18] | 1 |
Ireland (IRMA) [19] | 21 |
Italy (FIMI) [20] | 12 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [21] | 18 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [22] | 8 |
Spain (AFYVE) [23] | 24 |
UK Singles (OCC) [24] | 48 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [2] | 1 |
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [25] | 10 |
Chart (1980) | Rank |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles [26] | 24 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [27] | 32 |
Chart (1981) | Rank |
---|---|
Italy (FIMI) [28] | 66 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [29] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
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.
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.
Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. Soft rock was prevalent on the radio throughout the 1970s and eventually metamorphosed into a form of the synthesized music of adult contemporary in the 1980s. The genre was pioneered by such artists as Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, James Taylor and Hall & Oates.
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"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" is a song performed and co-written by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross as the main theme for the 1981 film Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. It was recognized as the year's Best Original Song at both the 54th Academy Awards and 39th Golden Globe Awards.
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"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.
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"This I Promise You" is a ballad recorded by American boy band NSYNC. It was released in September 2000 as the third and final single in the United States and the fourth and final single in Europe from their third studio album, No Strings Attached, in 2000. The song is included on all three of the band's compilation albums: Greatest Hits (2005), The Collection (2010), and The Essential *NSYNC (2014). The single reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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"All Right" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was released in January 1983 as the lead single from the album, Another Page. On the heels of his Grammy winning first album, and following his #1 hits "Sailing" and "Arthur's Theme ", expectations were strong enough for it to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at #29. It was the fifth-highest debuting single of the 1980s, ranking behind Michael Jackson's "Thriller", USA for Africa's "We Are the World", Paul McCartney's and Michael Jackson's "Say Say Say", and Men at Work's "Overkill". The single, which featured former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald on background vocals, peaked at #12.