Christopher Cross - Poor Shirley (lyrics)

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5th track from "Christopher Cross" (1979). Who is Shirley? One of the biggest paradoxes of life is that personal relationships, which bring us the most fulfillment and happiness, also bring us the most pain and sorrow. Yet we cannot insulate ourselves from the pain because no one can live without love. So who is Shirley? Well, she is me. She is you. She is all of us—the human condition.

~thatMimosaGrove

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Cross found little support in his home state of Texas, so he took his talent to LA where he somehow bottled the lifestyle and let it pour slowly, all over the radio waves. His pristine voice was one of the first to be immortalized in ones and zeros, which is to say his self-titled album was among the first to be digitally recorded. In 1981 he sent soft rock sailing to new heights by becoming the only artist to win all of the Big Four Grammy awards: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, famously beating out Frank Sinatra and Pink Floyd. All hail the skipper of Yacht Rock!

He wasn’t the first, and his style isn’t rooted in jazz, but Christopher Cross created the quintessential Yacht Rock album. It’s got all the criteria: Michael McDonald on backup vocals, A major nautical motif that culminates in the angelic, “Sailing,” and he’s got a sound that out-smooths the smoothest in the biz, like honey flowing down a flamingo’s throat. Compared to Cross, McDonald sounds like a shopping cart tumbling down a giant cheese grater. We also have this record to thank for a sketch on SCTV starring Rick Moranis as Michael McDonald.

~ http://secretfunspot.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-introduction-to-yacht-rock.html

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Album Personnel:

Larry Carlton – guitar
Valerie Carter – background vocals
Lenny Castro – percussion
Christopher Cross – guitar, vocals
Assa Drori – concertmaster
Victor Feldman – percussion
Chuck Findley – trumpet
Jay Graydon – guitar
Don Henley – background vocals
Jim Horn – saxophone
Eric Johnson – guitar
Jackie Kelso – saxophone
Nicolette Larson – background vocals
Myrna Matthews – background vocals
Marty McCall – background vocals
Lew McCreary – trombone
Michael McDonald – background vocals
Rob Meurer – synthesizer, keyboards
Michael Omartian – synthesizer, keyboards, background vocals
Stormie Omartian – background vocals
Tomás Ramírez – saxophone
Don Roberts – saxophone
Andy Salmon – bass
J.D. Souther – background vocals
Tommy Taylor – drums

Producer: Michael Omartian
Engineer: Chet Himes
Arrangers: Christopher Cross, Michael Omartian

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Image Credits (other than album art, in order of appearance): Brittanie Loren Pendleton / Kevin Chodzinski / Paul Oughton / John Morgan / Robert Silmon de Monerri / Rachel Wilder / Nikos Peikos / SparkCBC / Brittanie Loren Pendleton / Brittanie Loren Pendleton / Brittanie Loren Pendleton / Brittanie Loren Pendleton / David Ohmer / Mohammadali F. / Several seconds / Tim Green / Rachel Wilder / eltpics / Brittanie Loren Pendleton / dca / tumblr.com / Matthew Knight / Rosanne Haaland / George Thomas / Brittanie Loren Pendleton / Arohan Dutt
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