Christopher Cross

Did You Know?

• The song 'Think of Laura' was written to celebrate the life of Denison University student Laura Carter, who was killed by a stray bullet, not for the soap opera General Hospital.
• A flamingo appears on Cross's album covers simply because the painting chosen for his first album cover featured the bird, and it has been used as a motif ever since.

Career

Christopher Cross, born Christopher Charles Geppert, got his start in music as a kid inspired by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and Dave Brubeck. In seventh grade, he got a drum kit and joined a band called the Psychos, playing local church events and junior high school dances. He started on drums but ended up singing too because nobody else would. In high school, he switched to guitar, finding it better for writing songs.

Around then, Frank Zappa became a big influence, not for his weirdness but for his instrumental approach and innovative rhythmic ideas. As teenagers in San Antonio, Geppert met bassist Andy Salmon and keyboardist Rob Meurer. Geppert and Salmon played together in a band called Flash, with Geppert on guitar. They later formed a group named Christopher Cross and moved to Austin, adding drummer Tommy Taylor.

To make money, they played covers while recording demos of their own material at Austin's Odyssey Sound, later called Pecan Street Studio, and sent those tapes to record labels. Even though they saw themselves as a band, Warner Bros. signed Cross as a solo act in early 1979. While famous for his singing and songwriting, Cross is also a skilled guitarist. Steely Dan's Donald Fagen and Walter Becker asked him to play on their albums, but he turned them down because he was so intimidated.

In 1970, he substituted for Ritchie Blackmore during a Deep Purple concert when Blackmore fell ill. Cross also originally owned Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Number One" 1962/1963 hybrid Fender Stratocaster. Vaughan bought it at Ray Hennig's Heart of Texas Music in Austin in 1974, just one day after Cross had traded it in for a Gibson Les Paul. His debut album, Christopher Cross, came out on December 27, 1979.

It produced four top-20 Billboard Hot 100 hits: "Ride Like the Wind" with Michael McDonald on backing vocals, "Sailing," "Never Be the Same," and "Say You'll Be Mine" featuring Nicolette Larson. "Ride Like the Wind" hit number two, while "Sailing" topped the chart for one week. "Never Be the Same" went number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. At the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980, the album, the song "Sailing," and Cross himself earned six nominations and won five Grammys.

This feat of winning all four general field awards was not replicated for 39 years, until Billie Eilish won all four at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020.

Personal life

Cross was married to Roseanne Harrison from 1973 to 1982. He was married to Jan Bunch from 1988 to 2007. He has two children.