We'll let his website tell it:
Christopher?s entry into the public eye was complicated by unfortunate terms like ?meteoric rise,? ?rocketed to fame,? and the dreaded (and seldom accurate) ?overnight success.? Longed-for terms before the fact, intoxicating in their fruition, and finally next to impossible to parlay into a long-term career, particularly in a business on the verge of being revolutionized...Well, that's one way to put it. The fact is that if you lined up pop recording artists by looks, he'd be on the wrong end of the line. His picture wasn't found on the album covers or in the liner notes, and I know that when I first saw this guy who'd had so many big hits so fast I was expecting something different. Anyway, as I perceived it at the time the guy just all but disappeared after his first TV appearances.
Four years, two albums, eight hit singles, several world tours, five Grammy's, and one Oscar later, Christopher rested. Wouldn?t you? But waiting there in the wings was that music merchandiser?s dream, that music purist?s nightmare, that soon-to-be-ubiquitous usurper of the imagination -- the music video. The world suddenly wanted its MTV, and it didn?t take long to see, in this new era of self-invented media darlings, that no amount of quick cuts, exotic locations, or writhing chorines would disguise the fact that, on the outside, Christopher Cross was just a regular guy.
Then again, why not? Unless he had a recording contract worthy of Boston or the Goo-Goo Dolls, he should have been disgustingly rich by then. If he's happy, everything's OK.
His music as I recall was highly produced pop. The songs were mostly slow and mellow with occasional exceptions like "Ride like the Wind". He sang in a fairly high register, and his voice was kind of asexual. I guess if I were looking for an artist who sounded something like him I'd pick (get the brickbats ready) Dan Fogelberg. Hey, if you want better reviews, go here.
Anyway, if you want more, here's Cross's official site.
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