Soft-rock singer Christopher Cross had a brief yet fruitful turn in the spotlight in the late 1970s and early ’80s. He topped the US charts with the Grammy-winning “Sailing” and the Oscar-winning “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).” • A Texas native, Cross honed his guitar chops as a young musician who came up in the same scene as ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Eric Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. • Cross’s self-titled 1979 solo debut climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1981, beating out competition including Pink Floyd and Frank Sinatra. • In addition to hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Sailing” won three Grammys in 1981, for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). Cross also won Best New Artist, sweeping all four of the major categories. • He notched his second No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” from the 1981 film Arthur. The song won the Oscar for Best Original Song. • Cross’ second album, 1983’s Another Page, yielded the No. 9 hit “Think of Laura,” which was later used on the daytime soap General Hospital. • Though Cross’s commercial fortunes declined in the ’80s, he has continued to release albums, including Take Me As I Am in 2017. His last album to reach the US charts was Every Turn of the World in 1985. • Belying his soft-rock reputation, Cross once filled in on guitar with Deep Purple in concert when Richie Blackmore was too ill to perform.