Sailing - Christopher Cross (1980) 12/30/23

Ever wonder where the term "Yacht Rock" came from?

Actually, it can be traced back to one Great Song of 1980:

"Sailing" by Christopher Cross.

Christopher had burst onto the charts earlier in the year with his Grammy-winning debut album, and his first single, "Ride Like the Wind, which reached #2 on the Hot 100. (We highlighted the song back on 6/24/23.)

As a follow-up, he released "Sailing," an autobiographical song about how he and Al Glasscock, an older high school friend would spend hours on Al's sailboat to get away from the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.

(Note: He and Al lost track of each other after they graduated, but were reunited 28 years later on The Howard Stern Show.) After they reconnected, Christopher sent Al a copy of the platinum record "Sailing" had earned by selling five MILLION copies!)

With that many copies sold, it should be pretty obvious that "Sailing was a #1 hit...and it was...in both the US and Canada. But that was only ONE of the reasons why it earned "Great Song" status...

It also won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, while helping Christopher win the Best New Artist award!

Later on, VH1 named "Sailing" the most "Softsational soft rock" song of all time!

Impressive to say the least!

 "Sailing" by Christopher Cross: A Great Song of 1980, and the genesis of a whole new genre of Great Music: Yacht Rock! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEO6gYCFbr0

Tomorrow: A Kool New Year's Celebration!