Background and career
Christopher Charles Geppert (born May 3, 1951), known professionally as Christopher Cross, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", from the 1981 film Arthur, peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "Sailing" earned three Grammys in 1980. "Arthur's Theme" won in 1982 the Oscar for Best Original Song, with co-writers Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen.
Christopher Charles Geppert was born on May 3, 1951 in San Antonio, Texas. A self-described "army brat", Cross is the son of a U.S. Army pediatrician who was stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1950s and acted as a physician for President Dwight Eisenhower's grandchildren. He attended Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, graduating in 1969. He played football and participated in track and field. Cross was raised Catholic.
Geppert developed an early interest in music, citing the influence of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Dave Brubeck during childhood. As a seventh grader, he received a drum kit and began performing in a band called the Psychos, which played local church events and junior high school dances. Initially serving as the group’s drummer, Geppert also took on vocal duties due to the absence of another singer. During high school, he shifted his primary focus to guitar, which he found more conducive to songwriting. Around this time, he became influenced by Frank Zappa, whom he admired less for Zappa's eccentricity and more for his instrumental approach and innovative rhythmic ideas. Geppert, bassist Andy Salmon, and keyboardist Rob Meurer met in San Antonio when they were still teens. Geppert and Salmon became bandmates in Flash, with Geppert on guitar. Together, they formed Christopher Cross as a band and moved to Austin, where they added drummer Tommy Taylor. There, they played covers for cash while recording demo versions of original songs at Austin's Odyssey Sound, which later became Pecan Street Studio, which they shipped to record labels. Though they considered themselves a band, Warner Bros. signed Christopher Cross as a solo artist in early 1979. Although best known for his vocals and songwriting, Cross is also a skilled guitarist. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan invited Cross to play on their albums, but Cross declined because "he was so intimidated, afraid to do it." Cross also substituted for Ritchie Blackmore during a Deep Purple concert in 1970 in San Antonio when Blackmore fell ill, and a local promoter recommended Cross as a last-minute replacement. Cross was the original owner of fellow Austin guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Number One" 1962/1963 hybrid Fender Stratocaster. Vaughan purchased the guitar at Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas Music in Austin in 1974, only one day after Cross had traded the guitar for a Gibson Les Paul.
Cross released his self-titled debut album, Christopher Cross, on December 27, 1979. Billboard Hot 100 top 20 hits from this album included "Ride Like the Wind" (featuring backing vocals by Michael McDonald), "Sailing", "Never Be the Same" and "Say You'll Be Mine" (featuring backing vocals by Nicolette Larson). "Ride Like the Wind" hit number two on the U.S. Hot 100, while "Sailing" topped the chart for one week. "Never Be The Same" went number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. Cross, the album, and the song "Sailing" were nominated for six Grammy Awards in 1980 and won five. Cross was the first artist in Grammy history to win all four general field awards in a single ceremony, bringing home Record of the Year ("Sailing"), Album of the Year (Christopher Cross), Song of the Year ("Sailing") and Best New Artist at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards. This feat was not replicated for 39 years, until Billie Eilish won all four awards at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. In addition, "Sailing" won for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). Christopher Cross has been certified platinum five times in the U.S., selling over 5 million copies. Later in 1981, Cross released "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)", co-written by Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen, which was the main theme for the 1981 film Arthur. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1981, and was nominated for three Grammys, but did not win. In the U.S., it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Adult Contemporary charts in October 1981, remaining at the top of the Hot 100 for three weeks while it also was a top-ten hit in several other countries. The song became the second and last American number-one hit by Christopher Cross.
Cross's second album, Another Page (1983), produced "All Right", "No Time for Talk", and "Think of Laura". "All Right" was used by CBS Sports for its highlights montage following the 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, while "Think of Laura" is used as a reference to characters on the soap opera General Hospital. Against his wishes, ABC used his song in this context. 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. Cross has stated on his social media platforms that he felt it was inappropriate for ABC/General Hospital to use the song against his wishes and those of Carter's family, but the short clips of the song were considered permissible fair use and helped record sales as well. Another Page sold well, getting Gold certification. He also co-wrote and sang the song "A Chance For Heaven" for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
After 1984, Cross's commercial success faded. As music television channel MTV grew to dominate the mainstream music scene in the United States, Cross's style of music proved to be a bad fit for the network, and his brand of adult contemporary music declined in popularity. Cross's next two albums, 1985's Every Turn of the World and 1988's Back of My Mind did not produce any top 40 hits or reach Gold or Platinum status. His track "Charm the Snake" was the sole success from his album Every Turn of the World. It reached No. 68 in the Billboard Hot 100. He did, however, place the song "Swept Away" in the TV show Growing Pains. It was used during a video montage while Kirk Cameron's character Mike fell in love with a local girl while vacationing with the family in Hawaii.
