Editing Christopher Cross (section)

===First album and immediate success===
Cross released his self-titled debut album, ''[[Christopher Cross (album)|Christopher Cross]]'', on December 20, 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold & Platinum |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/ |access-date=July 28, 2022 |website=RIAA |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] top 20 hits from this album included "[[Ride Like the Wind]]" (featuring backing vocals by [[Michael McDonald (singer)|Michael McDonald]]), "[[Sailing (Christopher Cross song)|Sailing]]", "[[Never Be the Same (Christopher Cross song)|Never Be the Same]]" and "Say You'll Be Mine" (featuring backing vocals by [[Nicolette Larson]]). "Ride Like the Wind" hit number two on the U.S. Hot 100, while "Sailing" topped the chart for one week.<ref name=":0" /> "Never Be The Same" went number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. Cross, the album, and the song "Sailing" were nominated for six Grammy Awards in 1980 and won five.<ref name="Grammy 1980">[https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/23rd-annual-grammy-awards 23rd Annual GRAMMY Awards] at Grammy.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.</ref> Cross was the first artist in Grammy history to win all four general field awards in a single ceremony, bringing home [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]] ("Sailing"), [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] (''Christopher Cross''), [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]] ("Sailing") and [[Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Best New Artist]] at the [[23rd Annual Grammy Awards]].{{efn|Cross and producer [[Michael Omartian]] also won [[Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)]], he was nominated for but did not win [[Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male]]. The album was also nominated for [[Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical]] (Chet Himes).<ref name="Grammy 1980" />}} This feat was not replicated for 39 years, until [[Billie Eilish]] won all four awards at the [[62nd Annual Grammy Awards]] in 2020.<ref name="EW2007">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070327234246/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1567466_20010832_20010920,00.html "A Virtual College of Grammy Knowledge"], by Wook Kim, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sisario |first=Ben |date=January 26, 2020 |title=Billie Eilish Sweeps Top Awards at the Grammys |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/arts/music/grammy-awards.html |access-date=January 27, 2020}}</ref> In addition, "Sailing" won for [[Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)|Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist]](s). ''Christopher Cross'' has been certified [[Platinum (RIAA certification)|platinum]] five times in the U.S., selling over 5 million copies.<ref>{{Cite certification|region=United States|artist=Christopher Cross|title=Christopher Cross|access-date=July 24, 2022}}</ref>

Later in 1981, Cross released "[[Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)]]", co-written by [[Burt Bacharach]], [[Carole Bayer Sager]] and [[Peter Allen (musician)|Peter Allen]], which was the main theme for the 1981 film ''[[Arthur (1981 film)|Arthur]]''. The song won the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] in 1981,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=David |title=British Hit Singles & Albums |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |year=2006 |isbn=1-904994-10-5 |edition=19th |location=London |page=136}}</ref> and was nominated for three Grammys, but did not win.<ref name="Grammy 1981">[https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/24th-annual-grammy-awards 24th Annual GRAMMY Awards] at Grammy.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.</ref>{{efn|The song was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male<ref name="Grammy 1981" />}} In the U.S., it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and on the Hot Adult Contemporary charts in October 1981, remaining at the top of the Hot 100 for three weeks while it also was a top-ten hit in several other countries. The song became the second and last American number-one hit by Christopher Cross.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Christopher Cross Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny - Awards |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/christopher-cross-mn0000123754/awards |access-date=March 30, 2014 |publisher=Allmusic.com}}</ref>