View Full Version : Was singer Christopher Cross trying to become a big superstar?


Hawkee
09-12-2025, 04:50 AM
When Christopher Cross made his debut in 1980 with his self-titled album it seemed that Christopher Cross was destined to become a household name in music. But I think when the ballad Sailing became his well-known hit I think Christopher Cross was gonna be happy with the fame that song had given him. Then he released the song Never Be The Same and it too became a hit and I think Christopher was extremely happier because he was gonna become big. But one thing I cannot figure out is how Christopher Cross decided to do Arthur's Theme for the movie Arthur? Because it seemed to be the most overplayed Christopher Cross song next to Sailing and Ride Like The Wind and All Right and I generally think that with a movie theme Christopher Cross thought he could be huge in music. It is surprising you haven't heard any new music from Christopher Cross because he deserves to make a comeback album because I think he thought he could become very popular during the 80's and 90's

GoldenTV
09-12-2025, 10:25 PM
Christopher Cross probably would have been a bigger artist if he was a singer in the 70's rather than 80's. His style and type of music genre was more prominent in 70's (refer to as AM GOLD), and by 80's it was a dying genre. That is why he pretty much disappeared after couple of albums in the early 80's as Hair, Metal, Hip-hop and Alternative Rock bands took over main stream music.

Hawkee
09-13-2025, 03:16 AM
I have never figured out why Sailing became Christopher Cross's biggest hit because it seemed to be popular. And no other singers have covered Sailing except for NSYNC. But it seemed that Christopher Cross was gonna be a big star judging how popular Sailing was as a hit song

Edward216
09-13-2025, 08:19 PM
Aren't all singers or musicians hoping to become big superstars?

Ed.

Hawkee
09-18-2025, 03:04 AM
My mom and I were listening to Pandora and Christopher Cross's song Never Be The Same came on and Mom was surprised at Christopher Cross's sound and she wondered too why he never got far in music. Mom first heard Arthur's Theme in the movie Arthur and she liked the song. But it's easy to see why Christopher Cross's self-titled debut album is such a classic of 1980 because you could see a star in the making

ThisLittlePiggy
10-01-2025, 11:04 AM
In a Songfacts interview with Christopher Cross, he told the story of the song:

"I was just at home sitting in this cheap apartment, sitting at the table. I remember coming up with the verse and chorus, and the lyrics to the first verse of the chorus all came out. These tunings, like Joni [Mitchell] used to say, they get you in this sort of trance, so all that came out at once: 'It's not far down to paradise...' The chorus just sort of came out.

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/christopher-cross/sailing

TJ
11-15-2025, 01:58 PM
It would have been difficult for him to top his first album. Not many people have immediate success like he did.

He still sounds the same at age 74.

Christopher Cross – Sailing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjTEBmMDYgE)

sjTEBmMDYgE

Hawkee
11-16-2025, 04:46 AM
It would have been difficult for him to top his first album. Not many people have immediate success like he did.

He still sounds the same at age 74.

Christopher Cross – Sailing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjTEBmMDYgE)

sjTEBmMDYgE

Christopher Cross is 74 now? I find it hard to believe because when his self-titled album came out in 1980 everyone had a copy of that album including my aunt and Mom loves Arthur's Theme because Arthur's her favorite movie
Great info TJ you're so talented
Hawkee

TMC
12-13-2025, 09:16 PM
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What happens when the music industry decides you don't have the right face for success, even after you've won every award possible?

In this video, we explore the extraordinary story of Christopher Cross, who achieved what no artist had done before (https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/ukf403/how_did_christopher_cross_gain_so_much_success/)—sweeping all four major Grammy categories in a single night in 1981, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. From playing Texas bowling alleys for forty dollars a night to selling millions of albums with hits like "Sailing" (https://stereogum.com/2078911/the-number-ones-christopher-cross-sailing/columns/the-number-ones) and "Arthur's Theme," (https://stereogum.com/2084642/the-number-ones-christopher-cross-arthurs-theme-best-that-you-can-do/columns/the-number-ones) Cross conquered the music world only to watch it all crumble when MTV (https://www.google.com/search?q=Reddit+Christopher+Cross+MTV&sca_esv=c249fe050a18e619&sxsrf=AE3TifN19eYowpQQNymRc-i1Q68d-6KTJg%3A1765674876101&ei=fA8-aZL2BYyQm9cP8PzTiQg&ved=0ahUKEwiSpJ2-87uRAxUMyOYEHXD-NIEQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=Reddit+Christopher+Cross+MTV&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHFJlZGRpdCBDaHJpc3RvcGhlciBDcm9zcyBNVFYyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUj9I1C-Ali2B3ABeACQAQCYAVSgAfgCqgEBNbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCBaACzgLCAgoQABhHGNYEGLADwgIGEAAYFhgewgIIEAAYgAQYogTCAgUQABjvBcICCBAAGIkFGKIEwgIFECEYqwKYAwCIBgGQBgiSBwE1oAfZFLIHATS4B8sCwgcDMC41yAcIgAgB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) arrived and decided (https://www.google.com/search?q=Christopher+Cross+MTV&sca_esv=c249fe050a18e619&sxsrf=AE3TifPN3cw8bCtgm3ZNTi2aCJaS7vg5yQ%3A1765674921080&ei=qQ8-acDPBLCo0PEPgd-N-QQ&ved=0ahUKEwiAyNbT87uRAxUwFDQIHYFvI08Q4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=Christopher+Cross+MTV&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFUNocmlzdG9waGVyIENyb3NzIE1UVjILEAAYgAQYigUYkQIyCxAAGIAEGIoFGIYDMgsQABiABBiKBRiGAzIIEAAYgAQYogQyCBAAGIkFGKIEMggQABiABBiiBEjsB1DFBFjFBHABeAGQAQCYAVWgAVWqAQExuAEDyAEA-AEBmAICoAJbwgIKEAAYRxjWBBiwA5gDAIgGAZAGCJIHATKgB8cDsgcBMbgHV8IHAzAuMsgHBIAIAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp) he didn't look like a rock star.

This is the untold story of how image killed a career that music alone had built, and how the man who defined sophisticated pop music was erased from an industry he'd conquered.