Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

CROSS, Christopher

(b Christopher Geppert, 3 May '51, San Antonio TX) Singer- songwriter. Rise to stardom after fronting bar bands (e.g. Flash) in Texas began with signing to WB '78 on strength of writing. Tailored-for-radio sound hit with eponymous debut LP '80 incl. hits "Ride Like The Wind' no. 2, "Sailing' no. 1, "Never be The Same' no. 15, with soaring backing vocals by labelmates Mike McDonald, Nicolette Larson, Valerie Carter. Single "Say You'll Be Mine' was fourth hit (no. 20); '81 saw him sweep the board at Grammy time with five awards, but public exposure was a two-edged sword: with a keening, fragile voice, Cross was overweight and bearded, hence artist's flamingo logo on the album instead of a photo. Hits continued with Oscar-winning song by Peter Allen, Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)' from the Dudley Moore film, no. 1 '81. Another Page '83 brought more of the same: extrapolation of '70s USA soft rock (Eagles, later Doobie Bros, etc) without much character of its own; three more hits incl. "Think Of Laura', used in TV soap opera General Hospital (again without any personal appearance). Third LP was Every Turn Of The World '85.