CHRISTOPHER CROSS
That’s it above! I bought this Christopher Cross album for a whopping 50 cents (U.S.) at a thrift store, at the beginning of this Summer. There is only minimal (normal) wear to the right-hand corners of the album jacket. The vinyl itself looks and sounds like it was never played!
The debut and self-titled album from the legendary Christopher Cross was released on Warner Bros., back in December of 1979. This album has become a beacon, within the pages of Rock Music history. Christopher Cross boasted three Billboard Top 40 songs: Ride Like The Wind, Never Be The Same and Sailing. (Sailing reached #1 status as a single).
Christopher Cross also had won a Grammy Award for Album Of The Year, back in 1981. Here is a Rock history shocker for you: Christopher Cross beat out Pink Floyd’s The Wall for Album Of The Year. Whoa. A Soft Rock performer was chosen over an already proven and justifiably iconic Rock band such as Pink Floyd for that prestigious Grammy, back in ’81. Regardless, I’ve never been a fan of how the Grammy Awards are structured anyways.
If I had to choose one album over the other, I’m choosing The Wall; only this post is about my celebrating Christopher Cross. I like this Christopher Cross album a great deal. This album not only exhibits extremely memorable songs since I first heard them so many years ago; these songs are also timeless for me.
Here is what the back cover of the album jacket looks like:
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Take a listen below to Ride Like The Wind, as performed by Christopher Cross; while you listen, keep an ear out for the backing vocals of the legendary Michael McDonald.
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Take a listen below to the Hard & Heavy cover version of Ride Like The Wind, performed by the legendary Jorn. This song is from Jorn’s 2012 studio album, Bring Heavy Rock To The Land, released on Frontiers Records.
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If you have listened to both of these versions of Ride Like The Wind, which one do you prefer? I’ll always embrace the original from Christopher Cross, yet, Jorn’s version does psyche the living hell out of me! Metal be thy name, it does.
Here is what the inner sleeve for this Christopher Cross debut S/T album looks like (below). Notice the liner notes and lyrics are printed on it… that’s old school.
Thanks for checking out my Christopher Cross album that I scooped-up on a recent Rock ‘N Metal hunting trip. As always, I’ll continue to post more Rockin’ treasures that I stumble upon!
Rock Steady out there this coming week and remember: “leave a penny, take a penny” at your neighborhood convenience stores.
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LONG LIVE CHRISTOPHER CROSS.
Stone.
The debut album by Foreigner, (self titled, released on March 8, 1977), was one of my first vinyl record albums that I ever owned. I actually bought the first Foreigner album shortly after receiving their Double Vision album as a birthday gift, back in 1979. (The Double Vision album was released on June 20, 1978). So it is safe to say, that the debut Foreigner album was playing on my turntable sometime in the Spring of 1979. Being an eighth grader in 1979, my exposure to Heavy Metal Music was at it’s most infant state, KISS was the only Heavy Metal Band I owned on album at this time. I always bring up my past history, as to the year of purchase of a said album and what bands I was into at the given time, so to make clarity to the evolvement of my becoming a Metalhead. It was a progression of listening to different Rock genres for me, since I was a kid. This Foreigner album is as integral a piece to that progression, as any other Rock album I ever listened to. Just as the Double Vision album, Foreigner’s debut album had me wanting more and that was a good symptom to have. There definitely was some psychological imbedding that happened to me with Foreigner at a young age, whenever I listen to their albums, (especially the first four), I feel like everything is alright.
Deep Purple is the Hard Rock band, that deserves so much more respect and attention than what is normally given them. How often are the usual cast of characters brought up in Rock and Hard Rock conversations, articles and televised documentaries; you know the ones and these bands deserve their just due, praise and remembrance. Still, in the midst of Led Zeppelin, The Who, Black Sabbath, The Doors and of course, the Beatles… was Deep Purple. Deep Purple made some momentous and historical Rock Music of their own. Can I confidently say that Deep Purple was a band as commercially big as the other’s just mentioned? Of course no. I will state, that in my Metal opinion, Deep Purple was and always will be considered just as important of a contributor, to the history of Rock and Roll. Consistency in the form of personnel at the lead guitar and lead singer positions are two critical elements missing from the biography of Deep Purple. If this is what sets them apart from ever being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then that is pathetic foolishness on the part of that Cleveland, Ohio country club. With a mid 1980’s reunion, (1984 Perfect Strangers album), Deep Purple has been intact to this very day, with lineup changes being a normal course of their history.
On November 18, 1977, Bob Welch “French Kiss” was released. I was eleven years old then and my beloved New York Yankees were the World Champions of Major League Baseball, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers. At age eleven, the only Heavy Metal band I was listening to was Kiss. Back in 1977, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal and Extreme Metal were non-existent. I did not know what I was missing, at this young age I listened to whatever was on the AM radio dial. Quite honestly, I was not exposed to any FM radio stations back in 1977… it all sounds so unreal now, whew. Catching American Bandstand and the legendary Dick Clark on Saturday afternoons was another outlet for this eleven year old, to be exposed to the current Rock Music of 1977. At age eleven, heck, I did not have the exposure to Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin just yet… or any vintage Heavy Metal bands of the early to mid 1970’s. Step in… Bob Welch.
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