Sailing (Christopher Cross song)

1979 song by Christopher Cross

"Sailing"

Single by Christopher Cross
from the album  Christopher Cross
B-side| "Poor Shirley"
Released| June 15, 1980
Recorded| 1979
Genre|

* Soft rock
* yacht rock

Length| 4:14
Label| Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)| Christopher Cross
Producer(s)| Michael Omartian
Christopher Cross singles chronology
| "Ride Like the Wind"
(1980)  | "Sailing"
(1980)  | "Never Be the Same"
(1980)

|
|

Music video
"Christopher Cross - Sailing (Official Music Video)" on YouTube

"Sailing" is a 1979 soft rock song written and recorded by American artist Christopher Cross. It was released in June 1980 as the second single from his debut album Christopher Cross (1979), which was already certified Gold by this time. The song was a success in the United States, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 30, 1980, where it stayed for one week.[1][2] The song also won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, and helped Cross win the Best New Artist award.[3] VH1 named "Sailing" the most "softsational soft rock" song of all time.[4]

The song was recorded in 1979, utilizing the 3M Digital Recording System, making it one of the first digitally recorded songs to chart.[5] In his Grammy acceptance speech, Cross acknowledged "Sailing" as his favorite song on the album and that originally it was not meant to be a single.[6] The song was later identified as an archetype of the style that later became known as yacht rock[7] (At the time Cross and similar artists referred to the style as the West Coast sound).[8]

## Background[edit]

Cross has said in interviews that the song's inspiration was his friendship with an older friend from his high school, Al Glasscock, who would take him sailing as a teenager, just to get away from the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.[9] [10] Glasscock functioned as a surrogate older brother during a tough time for Cross emotionally.[11] Although Cross lost touch with Glasscock, The Howard Stern Show in April 1995 reunited the two after 28 years. Cross acknowledged on the show that his sailing trips with Glasscock had been the inspiration for the song. After that reunion, Cross sent Glasscock a copy of the platinum record he earned for selling more than five million copies of "Sailing."[11]

## Legacy[edit]

* "Sailing" was covered in 1997 by American boy band NSYNC on their eponymous debut studio album.[12] NSYNC and Christopher Cross performed the song together at the 1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.[13]

* "Sailing" was sampled on "Bagsy Not in Net" by the 1975 from their album Notes on a Conditional Form.[14]

* The song was sampled on Puff Daddy's song "Best Friend" from his 1999 album Forever.

* The song was sampled on Krayzie Bone's song "Paradise" released in 2008.

* The song can be partially heard in the 2022 Michael Bay movie Ambulance.[15]

* Also covered by George Benson on his album, Songs and Stories.

* Daveed Diggs covered the song in Trolls Band Together in the medley number Vacay Island.

## Personnel[edit]

* Christopher Cross – vocals, 12-string electric guitar, arrangements
* Andy Salmon – bass
* Michael Omartian – acoustic piano, arrangements
* Rob Meurer – electric piano, arrangements
* Victor Feldman – percussion
* Tommy Taylor – drums

## Charts[edit]

Chart (1980–1981)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (Kent Music Report)  | 46
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] | 38
Canadian Adult Contemporary (RPM)  | 1
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)[17] | 1
Ireland (IRMA)[18] | 21
Italy (FIMI)[19] | 12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[20] | 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] | 8
Spain (AFYVE)[22] | 24
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)  | 48
US Billboard Hot 100[2] | 1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary | 10

### Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (1980)  | Rank

|

Canada Top Singles[23] | 24
US Billboard Hot 100[24] | 32
Chart (1981)  | Rank

|

Italy (FIMI)[25] | 66

## See also[edit]

* List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1980

## References[edit]

1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (rev. and expanded 9th ed.). New York: Billboard Books. pp. 162, 889. ISBN 9780823085545.
2. ^ a b Sailing - Chart History Billboard. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
3. ^ "Best New Artists Who Also Won Album Of The Year". Grammy.com. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
4. ^ "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. 2007-05-31. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
5. ^ Jim McCullaugh (November 1, 1980), "Digital the Major Topic For N.Y. AES Parley", Billboard "The Christopher Cross LP, at number 32, uses the 3M digital technology"
6. ^ Video on YouTube
7. ^ Kamp, Jon (October 11, 2015). "Can You Sail to It? Then It Must Be 'Yacht Rock'". The Wall Street Journal.
8. ^ Cross, Christopher (February 22, 2014). "Hall & Oates Are Genuine Rock Stars in My Book". The Huffington Post.
9. ^ Tady, Scott. "Ride like the wind to see Christopher Cross in Warrendale". The Times. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
10. ^ Tady, Scott. "Ride like the wind to see Christopher Cross in Warrendale". Beaver County Times. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
11. ^ a b "Transportation News" (PDF). Texashistory.unt.edu. May 2006. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
12. ^ NSYNC (booklet). Trans Continental, RCA. 1997.
13. ^ Breihan, Tom. "The Number Ones: Christopher Cross' "Sailing"". Stereogum. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
14. ^ Turman, Katherine (May 22, 2020). "How Yacht Rocker Christopher Cross Almost Sank the 1975's New Album". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
15. ^ Seibold, Witney (April 8, 2022). "Jake Gyllenhaal Came Up With the "Sailing" Duet in Ambulance". /Film. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
16. ^ "Christopher Cross – Sailing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
17. ^ "100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. 11 October 1980. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
18. ^ "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
19. ^ "Christopher Cross – Sailing". Top Digital Download. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
20. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Christopher Cross" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
21. ^ "Christopher Cross – Sailing". Top 40 Singles.
22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
23. ^ "Top 100 Singles (1980)". RPM. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
24. ^ "Pop Singles" Billboard December 20, 1980: TIA-10
25. ^ "Top Annuali Single (1981)". Retrieved 2022-01-30.

## External links[edit]

* The 45 version of "Sailing" on YouTube
* Lyric Video

* v
* t
* e

Christopher Cross

Studio albums|

* Christopher Cross
* Another Page
* Every Turn of the World
* Back of My Mind
* Rendezvous
* Window
* Walking in Avalon

Singles|

* "Ride Like the Wind"
* "Sailing"
* "Never Be the Same"
* "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
* "All Right"
* "Think of Laura"

Awards for "Sailing"

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Record of the Year

1950s|

* "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno (1958)
* "Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin (1959)

1960s|

* "Theme from A Summer Place" – Percy Faith (1960)
* "Moon River" – Henry Mancini (1961)
* "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" – Tony Bennett (1962)
* "Days of Wine and Roses" – Henry Mancini (1963)
* "The Girl from Ipanema" – Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz (1964)
* "A Taste of Honey" – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (1965)
* "Strangers in the Night" – Frank Sinatra (1966)
* "Up, Up and Away" – The 5th Dimension (1967)
* "Mrs. Robinson" – Simon & Garfunkel (1968)
* "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" – The 5th Dimension (1969)

1970s|

* "Bridge over Troubled Water" – Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
* "It's Too Late" – Carole King (1971)
* "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Roberta Flack (1972)
* "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Roberta Flack (1973)
* "I Honestly Love You" – Olivia Newton-John (1974)
* "Love Will Keep Us Together" – Captain & Tennille (1975)
* "This Masquerade" – George Benson (1976)
* "Hotel California" – Eagles (1977)
* "Just the Way You Are" – Billy Joel (1978)
* "What a Fool Believes" – The Doobie Brothers (1979)

1980s|

* "Sailing" – Christopher Cross (1980)
* "Bette Davis Eyes" – Kim Carnes (1981)
* "Rosanna" – Toto (1982)
* "Beat It" – Michael Jackson (1983)
* "What's Love Got to Do with It" – Tina Turner (1984)
* "We Are the World" – USA for Africa (1985)
* "Higher Love" – Steve Winwood (1986)
* "Graceland" – Paul Simon (1987)
* "Don't Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (1988)
* "Wind Beneath My Wings" – Bette Midler (1989)

1990s|

* "Another Day in Paradise" – Phil Collins (1990)
* "Unforgettable" – Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole (1991)
* "Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton (1992)
* "I Will Always Love You" – Whitney Houston (1993)
* "All I Wanna Do" – Sheryl Crow (1994)
* "Kiss from a Rose" – Seal (1995)
* "Change the World" – Eric Clapton (1996)
* "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin (1997)
* "My Heart Will Go On" – Celine Dion (1998)
* "Smooth" – Santana featuring Rob Thomas (1999)

2000s|

* "Beautiful Day" – U2 (2000)
* "Walk On" – U2 (2001)
* "Don't Know Why" – Norah Jones (2002)
* "Clocks" – Coldplay (2003)
* "Here We Go Again" – Ray Charles & Norah Jones (2004)
* "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" – Green Day (2005)
* "Not Ready to Make Nice" – Dixie Chicks (2006)
* "Rehab" – Amy Winehouse (2007)
* "Please Read the Letter" – Alison Krauss & Robert Plant (2008)
* "Use Somebody" – Kings of Leon (2009)

2010s|

* "Need You Now" – Lady Antebellum (2010)
* "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele (2011)
* "Somebody That I Used to Know" – Gotye featuring Kimbra (2012)
* "Get Lucky" – Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers (2013)
* "Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) – Sam Smith (2014)
* "Uptown Funk" – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars (2015)
* "Hello" – Adele (2016)
* "24K Magic" – Bruno Mars (2017)
* "This Is America" – Childish Gambino (2018)
* "Bad Guy" – Billie Eilish (2019)

2020s|

* "Everything I Wanted" – Billie Eilish (2020)
* "Leave the Door Open" – Silk Sonic (2021)
* "About Damn Time" by Lizzo (2022)
* "Flowers" – Miley Cyrus (2023)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Song of the Year

1950s|

* "Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)" – Domenico Modugno (songwriter) (1958)
* "The Battle of New Orleans" – Jimmy Driftwood (songwriter) (1959)

1960s|

* "Theme of Exodus" – Ernest Gold (songwriter) (1960)
* "Moon River" – Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1961)
* "What Kind of Fool Am I?" – Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley (songwriters) (1962)
* "Days of Wine and Roses" – Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini (songwriters) (1963)
* "Hello, Dolly!" – Jerry Herman (songwriter) (1964)
* "The Shadow of Your Smile" – Paul Francis Webster & Johnny Mandel (songwriters) (1965)
* "Michelle" – John Lennon & Paul McCartney (songwriters) (1966)
* "Up, Up, and Away" – Jimmy Webb (songwriter) (1967)
* "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (songwriter) (1968)
* "Games People Play" – Joe South (songwriter) (1969)

1970s|

* "Bridge over Troubled Water" – Paul Simon (songwriter) (1970)
* "You've Got a Friend" – Carole King (songwriter) (1971)
* "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Ewan MacColl (songwriter) (1972)
* "Killing Me Softly with His Song" – Norman Gimbel & Charles Fox (songwriters) (1973)
* "The Way We Were" – Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch (songwriters) (1974)
* "Send In the Clowns" – Stephen Sondheim (songwriter) (1975)
* "I Write the Songs" – Bruce Johnston (songwriter) (1976)
* "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)" – Barbra Streisand & Paul Williams (songwriters) / "You Light Up My Life" – Joe Brooks (songwriter) (1977)
* "Just the Way You Are" – Billy Joel (songwriter) (1978)
* "What a Fool Believes" – Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald (songwriters) (1979)

1980s|

* "Sailing" – Christopher Cross (songwriter) (1980)
* "Bette Davis Eyes" – Donna Weiss & Jackie DeShannon (songwriters) (1981)
* "Always on My Mind" – Johnny Christopher, Mark James & Wayne Carson (songwriters) (1982)
* "Every Breath You Take" – Sting (songwriter) (1983)
* "What's Love Got to Do with It" – Graham Lyle & Terry Britten (songwriters) (1984)
* "We Are the World" – Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie (songwriters) (1985)
* "That's What Friends Are For" – Burt Bacharach & Carole Bayer Sager (songwriters) (1986)
* "Somewhere Out There" – James Horner, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil (songwriters) (1987)
* "Don't Worry, Be Happy" – Bobby McFerrin (songwriter) (1988)
* "Wind Beneath My Wings" – Larry Henley & Jeff Silbar (songwriters) (1989)

1990s|

* "From a Distance" – Julie Gold (songwriter) (1990)
* "Unforgettable" – Irving Gordon (songwriter) (1991)
* "Tears in Heaven" – Eric Clapton & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1992)
* "A Whole New World" – Alan Menken & Tim Rice (songwriters) (1993)
* "Streets of Philadelphia" – Bruce Springsteen (songwriter) (1994)
* "Kiss from a Rose" – Seal (songwriter) (1995)
* "Change the World" – Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick & Tommy Sims (songwriters) (1996)
* "Sunny Came Home" – Shawn Colvin & John Leventhal (songwriters) (1997)
* "My Heart Will Go On" – James Horner & Will Jennings (songwriters) (1998)
* "Smooth" – Itaal Shur & Rob Thomas (songwriters) (1999)

2000s|

* "Beautiful Day" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2000)
* "Fallin'" – Alicia Keys (songwriter) (2001)
* "Don't Know Why" – Jesse Harris (songwriter) (2002)
* "Dance with My Father" – Richard Marx & Luther Vandross (songwriters) (2003)
* "Daughters" – John Mayer (songwriter) (2004)
* "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" – Adam Clayton, David Evans, Laurence Mullen & Paul Hewson (songwriters) (2005)
* "Not Ready to Make Nice" – Emily Burns Erwin, Martha Maguire, Natalie Maines Pasdar & Dan Wilson (songwriters) (2006)
* "Rehab" – Amy Winehouse (songwriter) (2007)
* "Viva la Vida" – Guy Berryman, Jonathan Buckland, William Champion & Christopher Martin (songwriters) (2008)
* "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Thaddis "Kuk" Harrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Nash & Christopher Stewart (songwriters) (2009)

2010s|

* "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (songwriters) (2010)
* "Rolling in the Deep" – Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth (songwriters) (2011)
* "We Are Young" – Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess (songwriters) (2012)
* "Royals" – Joel Little & Ella Yelich O'Connor (songwriters) (2013)
* "Stay with Me" (Darkchild version) – James Napier, William Phillips & Sam Smith (songwriters) (2014)
* "Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge (songwriters) (2015)
* "Hello" – Adele Adkins & Greg Kurstin (songwriters) (2016)
* "That's What I Like" – Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip (songwriters) (2017)
* "This Is America" – Donald Glover, Ludwig Göransson & Jeffery Lamar Williams (songwriters) (2018)
* "Bad Guy" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2019)

2020s|

* "I Can't Breathe" – Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas (songwriters) (2020)
* "Leave the Door Open" – Brandon Anderson, Christopher Brody Brown, Dernst Emile II & Bruno Mars (songwriters) (2021)
* "Just Like That" – Bonnie Raitt (songwriter) (2022)
* "What Was I Made For?" – Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell (songwriters) (2023)

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