The multi Grammy Award winning artist was born in San Antonio on this day in 1951…Happy 70th birthday !!
He is the son of an Army doctor and a nurse, and is a big supporter of those who have served in the armed forces. He says. “I feel strongly that returning vets, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice, deserve to be recognized and never forgotten.”
Photo: Jornal Hoje em Dia
Growing up in San Antonio, he attended Alamo Heights High School and graduated in 1969. While at High School he played football and was involved in track and field.
Talking about his music he said, “I started out being influenced by Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Joni Mitchell.” He also developed a great admiration for singer-songwriter Randy Newman.
Photo: Backing Tracks 40
He cut his musical teeth in a cover band called “Flash” who were playing hits by The Eagles, Boz Scaggs, America, Foreigner, The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Up to that time, he had kept his original compositions to himself. In 1978, he signed a recording contract with Warner Brothers in 1978. It was almost two years later that his self-titled album was released to widespread acclaim and success. It contained the worldwide hits “Ride Like The Wind”, “Sailing”, “Never Be The Same” and “Say You’ll Be Mine”
Some of the people who he has recorded with include Michael McDonald, Don Henley and Carl Wilson from The Beach Boys. In fact, he enjoyed a strong friendship with Carl Wilson, sang with him a number of times, including when they provided the backing vocals together on David Lee Roth’s cover of The Beach Boys classic “California Girls”
For some time he was a house-husband, and he recalled, “I’d sit around and when my son was napping, and bang out some new tunes. I remember writing “Sailing” at the kitchen table while my son was about 2. I had a lot of time during the day, I didn’t have a regular job.”
Christopher was the “new kid” at the 1981 Grammy Awards, beating out legends like Pink Floyd, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb, and Billy Joel in the “Album of the Year” category.
During that memorable night he won five awards, and is one of only two artists to sweep the “Big Four” categories…. “Record of the Year”, “Album of the Year”, “Song of the Year”, and “Best New Artist”. Christopher Cross and Producer Michael Omartian also won a Grammy for best arrangement for the hit “Sailing.”
Photo: Grammy.com
In 1981 Christopher Cross also won a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for the co-written “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”, on which he collaborated with Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer-Sager and Peter Allen.
On Saturday night, June 3rd 2017, Christopher returned to the Tobin Center in San Antonio for a one-night only concert with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. It was a return to that site for him, because he had visited there a number of times while growing up when it was the Municipal Auditorium, and where he got to see a number of legendary performers, including Jimi Hendrix in concert.
In March 2020, Christopher contracted the COVID virus, reportedly as he was touring with Pat Benatar, and as a result, he developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare nervous system disorder which left him partially paralyzed and he subsequently spent time in the ICU fighting the battle of his life. He recently recalled the trauma he went through, “ I was the second person in the world to contract (GBS) from COVID. Those 10 days in the hospital were the worst of my life, not knowing if I was going to live. I was alone, nobody could visit me”
When he was released, he faced the prospect of living in a wheelchair, and after a lengthy time undergoing physical therapy, he was able to walk with a walker, and then a cane.
The great news was that he can still play guitar, and the illness did not affect his voice.
Happy Birthday Christopher Cross !
An additional Christopher Cross story:
Back in 1970, an associate of his, Joe Miller, was running a venue in San Antonio called the JAM Factory. Joe had brought Deep Purple to town on their first American tour, and prior to the tour, the band was given flu shots. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had an adverse reaction to the shot which laid him low. Faced with the prospect of calling off the show, Joe Miller convinced the band to go ahead with it, and substitute a young local guitarist that he knew to fill in for Ritchie Blackmore. The show went ahead with the fill-in musician whose name was Christopher Geppert……who later found fame as Christopher Cross.
Sources:
MYSA
history.com
yahoo.com
classicbands.com ( Gary James )
hollywoodbowl.com
encyclopedia.com
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