CoronaVinyl Day 262 (C): Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross

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Today's CoronaVinyl category is "C," and with the humid weather the last day here in Chicago, it feels like a yacht rock kind of day, so let's go with one of the quintessential albums from the genre:  Christopher Cross's self-titled 1979 debut album.

Cross was a relative unknown when he released his debut album, but man did that change.  With his smooth voice and soft rock songwriting prowess, Cross quickly became one of pop's biggest stars.  This album was huge.  It went to #6 on the Billboard album chart, eventually went 5x platinum in the U.S.  Cross won Best New Artist at the 1981 Grammy Awards, and the album netted him another four Grammy Awards.  He became the first artist in Grammy  Awards history to Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist at the same Grammy Awards (last year Billie Eilish became the second to do so).

The album is a late '70s/early '80s soft rock gem.  Sure, it's cheesy in some parts, but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate the songwriting or the pop sensibilities.  The album yielded four Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.  The inimitable syrupy yacht rock anthem "Sailing" went to #1, "Ride Like the Wind" went to #2, "Never Be The Same" went to #15, and "Say You'll Be Mine" went to #20.

Produced by Michael Omartian -- whose last name I read as a describing Irish being from Mars -- the album was one of the first to be recorded digitally, and Cross had contributions from some great musicians.  Among others, Michael McDonald -- who seemed to have his hand in all things yacht rock (even if that term wasn't coined for another 25 years) -- Don Henley, pop singer Nicolette Larson, pop singer Valerie Carter, and Eagles collaborator J.D. Souther contributed backing vocals on several tracks, Toto percussionist Lenny Castro provided percussion on all but two songs, veteran session guitarist Jay Graydon and blues guitarist Eric Johnson contributed a few guitar solos, and Omartian (a seasoned studio musician in his own right) played piano and synthesizers.

But almost as quickly as he shot into superstardom, Cross came hurtling back towards Earth.  Along with co-writers Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen, Cross won an Oscar in 1981 for "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)," which was, as the title implies, the theme song to the Dudley Moore romper Arthur (and Cross's second #1 song).  He didn't release another single or his second album, Another Page, until 1983.  It did decently (#11 on the Billboard album chart) and produced three Top 40 hits, including the Top 10 "Think of Laura."  But with the dawn of MTV and its emphasis on, well, good looking people, and the shift in musical tastes away from soft rock, Cross's time in the limelight was up.  He didn't have another Top 40 hit after "Think of Laura," although the following year, he did release "A Chance for Heaven," which was the swimming theme song for the 1984 Summer Olympics and is about as 1984 as it gets.

Favorite song on Side 1:  "Say You'll Be Mine"
The album kicks off with a poppy, Fleetwood Mac-esque song with Larson on backing vocals, along with a nice little guitar solo.

Favorite song on Side 2:  "Ride Like The Wind"
With backing vocals by McDonald (parodied fantastically by Rick Moranis), this is a yacht rock classic.  Cross wrote the song during an acid trip, and he dedicated the song to Little Feat front man Lowell George, who died from a cocaine overdose in July 1979.  The song is about a criminal who is trying to make it to the Mexican border to avoid the gallows.  What I find fascinating is that the song has been covered by the eclectic likes of New Wave of British Heavy Metal stalwarts Saxon, Italian dance group East Sdie Beat, and Belgian DJ Laurent Wéry.