- [Host] Ma'am, how you doing?

- I'm fantastic.

- Look, she's got a Christopher Cross shirt on.

- I know.

I saw that.

- [Host] I know.

- 40th anniversary.

- [Host] It's like wearing the race shirt to the race.

That's great.

Okay.

- I'm Kathy Tabor, I'm an entertainment lawyer.

I was fortunate enough to experience your collaboration with Peter Bay when I heard you do "Sailing" with 26 stringed instruments.

I counted them.

It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

So first, how did you come to do the collaboration with the Austin Symphony conductor?

And would you please do another one?

(audience laughing) - Well, actually my girlfriend, Joy is good friends with Peter and his wife Sarah Jane.

And so she's the one that made the initial introduction, I think.

And so, you know, Peter's an incredible person because even though he's classically trained, he's a big pop fan.

He loves pop music, all kinds of pop music.

So we started a conversation about trying to do something collaboratively, and the symphony was up for it.

So it was a very, very special night for me to play an evening with the orchestra like that.

And we've done a couple things since.

And Peter also conducts for me, on other symphonic shows that I do.

- [Host] He does?

- When he's available.

I have two conductors, and Peter's one of them.

He's become a dear friend, and he's, he's great.

- Yeah.

The Christopher Cross operation it sounds like is pretty elaborate.

- Yeah.

- You got a lot, you got a lot of parts, and a lot of moving pieces and all that.

- Yeah, it's fun, and there's a lot to keep up with, but that's what I do when I'm not touring.

But no, thank you.

Yeah, Peter, it's very special.

It's probably the most favorite thing I get to do right now is play symphonic shows, 'cause it's incredible.

- It was amazing.

- Thank you very much.

- [Host] Thank you.

Thank you, Ma'am.

(audience applauding) Good.

How you doing?

Thanks for being here.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- I'm Suzanne.

- Hi, Suzanne.

- And, I got to see you on the 80's cruise this year.

We were so excited that you were able to join us, but we didn't get a Q&A, so that's why I had to come, to come see you now.

So I guess the question is, do you remember the first time you heard your song on the radio?

- Great question.

- Yeah.

Well, I can't, you know, remember it exactly, but I remember being in the car and hearing it.

And it was, I pulled over on the side of the road, and it was kind of out of body.

You know.

It's hard to, it's kind of like when you hear your voice on answering machine, and you, you tell your husband, "Is that what I sound like?"

(audience laughing) You know.

It was kind of surreal.

But yeah, I remember, and it was, it's funny that there's some great producers, Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam who did a lot of Janet Jackson work.

They told me that they heard "Ride Like The Wind" come on the radio, and they actually pulled over and turned up the radio.

And they told me, they just went... You know, they said, "This is great."

- [Host] Yeah.

- But no.

So it was pretty, pretty thrilling.

Sorry about the 80's cruise.

I actually got sick- - Oh.

- On the 80's cruise.

And so I barely made it through the- - [Suzanne] Well it sounded wonderful.

- Well, thank you.

- And Minute Work was there, and Colin was fantastic.

So y'all go see their tour.

- Yeah.

And there were a lot of yacht rock people there dressed up like- - Well, it's like an actual boat, I mean.

- Yeah.

(audience laughing) - Okay.

And I have one other favor since you didn't get to see- - Oh, you did, I didn't get your- - Will you sign my- - autograph your Japanese- - Are you okay with it?

- Yes.

- My Japanese (indistinct) - Yeah.

- All right.

Here's Japanese Arthur, friends.

That's something- - Is that so?

- that you don't... Yeah.

- Pretty good.

- The Japanese- - That's something you don't see, the Japanese.

(laughing) - Okay.

- The Japanese Arthur.

You don't see that every day.

- We allow fans to rush the stage once a season.

- Whew!

(audience laughing) Thank you so much.

- Thank you very...

Okay.

- Thank you very much.

- Pleasure.

- Appreciate you, man.

Thank you.

All right.

(audience applauding) Sir.

- Good afternoon to you, Sir.

My name is Brent Allen, - Hi, Brent Allen.

- and I'm a local country singer, but I have not been doing it nearly as much as you have.

So, blessings to you, Sir.

- [Christopher] Thank you.

- It is also my birthday, so I'm willing to actually say happy birthday to myself.

- [Christopher] Yeah.

Well happy birthday to you.

- [Host] Happy birthday, Brent.

- It's just been a fantastic day.

Kevin Russell and I were together at the Saxon yesterday, also with, you know, little Christopher Cross, you know, t-shirt lady.

She was my best friend.

So since I'm 52 today, I just wanted to be able to obviously address the elephant in the room.

"Arthur," the theme song, 1981, I was just a kid.

But that thing is was just like, I've seen the movie literally about a hundred times.

I would just love to, as a songwriter, - Yeah.

- I would love to be able to hear more about how that cultivated, and just the Academy award-winning thing, and it just, - Right.

- 'cause it's just, I grew up on that movie.

I still, I watched it like four days ago.

- Can you tell the, tell the story behind that song?

- It's a, it's a good one.

- Yeah.

- Well, you know, I was supposed to actually be involved with "Tootsie," the movie "Tootsie" with Dustin Hoffman, but- - Dust Hoffman.

Yeah.

- But it, it didn't work out 'cause the company problems and stuff.

So then they called me about somebody that Warner's was connected to, which was "Arthur."

And they said, "Would you wanna score the picture?"

And I said, "I never scored a picture before, but okay."

- Yep.

- And then Steven Gordon, who wrote the script and directed it, who passed away six weeks after the movie came out, Steven was 56, heavy smoker, died of a heart attack.

- Wow.

- But Steven said, "Look, I'm new, I'm a new director, a new writer.

"I don't need everything to be new.

"I'd rather find somebody to "score who's got some experience."

And so they gave it to Bacharach, to Burt, which was fine with me 'cause I was amazed- - [Host] Come on.

- they asked me anyway.

- [Host] It's Burt Bacharach.

- So Burt was married to Carole Bayer Sager at the time.

And they called me up and said, "Look, Burt's gonna do the score, "but we need a theme song.

"Would you be interested in writing the theme song?"

And so, you know, I went over to their house, like at midnight, in this fabulous house, and walked in.

There's already two academy awards on the mantle.

Very intimidating.

But Burt, they both couldn't have been more lovely.

And it was an amazing experience to sit with him.

I wrote a couple of things with him later, but just to sit with him, harmonically, he's really a genius.

He actually studied with the same composition teacher as Brubeck.

- [Host] Oh wow.

- Burt did.

- [Host] Yeah.

- But anyway, we sat down and wrote the song, and Carol, I did the lyric, and during the writing of the song, we're looking at what are called "Rushes" from the picture, getting some ideas.

We knew the moon, and we had to do something with the moon.

And Carol said, "You know, there's a song Peter Allen "and I were writing a long time ago, "that has a line that would be fantastic right here.

"'When you get caught between "the moon and New York City.'"

And I went, "Come on.

That's it right there."

- Right.

- And so she called Peter- - In fact, I thought that the Peter Allen story was that he was on a plane.

- Right.

- So Peter came up- - hovering over an airport.

- So Peter was hovering Kennedy, waiting to go see his partner.

And he was stuck in a holding pattern.

And he came up with the line, "When you get caught between New York City..." - Because he was literally- - On holding pattern.

- caught between a moon and New York City.

On a plane.

- So when, when Carol, we called him in Australia, and Peter was very gracious and said, "Well, we're probably never gonna finish the song.

"It's been a million years.

"So sure.

If it works for you."

And so that was sort of Peter's input.

- [Host] Yeah.

- But it was ama, you know, very important input.

So that's how that came together.

And then, you know, the whole thing was a little intimidating for me.

So when I left that night at like five in the morning with the cassette tape, - [Host] Right.

- You know, Burt and Carole were saying, "I think this is an Oscar song."

And I'm just like, - It's amazing.

- I just, you know, I just won the Grammys.

Like, I don't know.

So that was pretty unbelievable.

- And you had won five Grammys out of the six you were nominated for of the previous album.

And then on this one you were nominated for three Grammys, didn't win.

I looked it up actually.

'Cause like, how did they not, how did you not win the Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year?

But I saw who you lost to.

Do you remember who you lost to?

- Loggins?

- Kim Carnes.

- Oh, Kim Carnes.

"Betty Davis Eyes."

I thought, you got ripped off, I thought.

- Well, you know, (audience laughing) Bill Murray did a funny thing on "SNL" where he's singing in the Catskills or something, and he sang "Sailing."

And he said, "How about that Chris Cross?

"He just can't get enough awards."

(audience laughing) And, when I was up for an Emmy at one point for something I wrote, and when they said, "And the winner is..." I just started to get up.

- Right, of course.

Because, you're conditioned.

Of course.

Of course.

- I'm like, "Yeah."

But anyway, that, that's how it came together.

- That's the story.

- Well, thank you again for living, letting me live vicariously through you.

- Well, thank you very much.

- As the 80, you know, 1981, it was 1981 when "Arthur," we came out.

I have, one of my best friends, he actually has named all of his dogs Arthur because of that song.

- As a result.

Wow.

- Well my dog, one of my dogs is named Arthur as well.

So there you go.

- All right.

Thank you.

- [Brent] Thank you for raising me.

- Very good.

- Thank you very much.

(audience applauding) - All right.

Hi.

- [Speaker] We still have time for two more if they're quick.

- We'll do two quick ones.

Okay.

Yes.

- Hi, I am Aubrey Steiner, - Hi.

- And I'm an anthropologist, and you're a witty and brilliant musician.

- [Christopher] Thank you.

- And I was wondering if you would be interested in, in creating a protest song for the times of today?

- Well, I enjoy living in the United States.

(audience laughing) So... (audience applauding) Actually, I enjoy living period.

But thank you.

I'll give it some consideration.

It's dangerous.

- Last one.

- Hi there.

My name's Amanda Holland.

I'm from Waco, Texas.

- Hey, Amanda.

- We drove in today just for this with my girlfriends.

- [Host] Oh, aren't you nice to drive in.

- [Christopher] Thank you very much.

- You get the Traveled Farthest to Come Here Award.

That's good.

- Absolutely.

- [Host] Yeah.

- Okay.

So, my question is, I'm sure you know that you're trend, you're trending right now on TikTok with "Sailing."

Do you know that?

- I don't do any of, I mean, - Yeah.

- I don't keep up with it very much.

- All right, so I gotta ask why.

Why is that?

- Why am I trending?

- I don't, the song is just, people are putting their TikToks to your song.

And I just think it's great that every generation, I'm looking around at all the different age groups here, and you've touched all of our lives, and we wanna thank you for that.

- [Christopher] Well, thank you very much.

- Yeah.

- Thank you very much.

- Look at that.

- And, two, I have to know, what did you do after the Grammy Awards?

What did you do that night?

- You know what?

Ugh... (audience laughing) - Can you say it?

- Is this gonna be another one of those stories you don't wanna tell me?

(Amanda laughing) - If you wanna know the truth, I've been married twice, and those were my biggest indulgences in my life.

But my first wife, you know, well, she wouldn't be my ex-wife over (indistinct).

So after the Grammy's (indistinct), sadly she just, she, she was miserable.

Her shoes didn't fit her well.

I guess something was wrong with her shoes.

So, we had to go back to the hotel.

She didn't want to go out and do anything.

So we just went back to the hotel.

Why did I tell that?

Why did I tell that?

But, - [Amanda] What do you wish you had done?

- I wish I'd strangled her.

(audience laughing) - [Amanda] Thank you.

- We'll, we'll, we'll edit that out in post.

(audience laughing) As, as I think back on the end of this season, I'll remember that.

Okay?

(audience laughing) It's okay.

(audience applauding) We are so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend this time with Christopher Cross.

Give him a big hand.

Thank you so much for being here.

We'll see you next season.

Thank you.

Listen, man, thank you very much.

- [Audience Member] Whew!

(audience applause continues)