Ride Like the Wind

"Ride Like the Wind"
Single by Christopher Cross
from the album Christopher Cross
Released	February 15, 1980
Format	7" single
Recorded	1979
Genre	Pop rock, soft rock, Disco
Length	3:56
Label	Warner Music Group
Writer(s)	Christopher Cross
Producer	Michael Omartian
Christopher Cross singles chronology
"Ride Like the Wind" (1980) "Sailing" (1980)

"Ride Like the Wind" was the debut single by Christopher Cross in February 1980, appearing on his Grammy-winning self-titled debut album. It reached number 2 in the U.S. charts. On the album inner sleeve, Christopher Cross dedicated this song to Lowell George, formerly of the band Little Feat, who died in 1979. It features backing vocals by Michael McDonald and a guitar solo by Cross.

History

According to an interview by Guitar 2001 Magazine with guitarist Eric Johnson, he mentioned performing on "Ride Like the Wind", but his parts did not make the final cut of the song.^{[citation needed]} Johnson performed the guitar solo on the song "Minstrel Gigolo".

Cross performed the single live at Flemington Racecourse, Victoria, Australia, as part of the pre-race entertainment for the 2007 Melbourne Cup. In 2009 Cross performed the song on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon with the house band The Roots and special guest Michael McDonald doing the background vocals.

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	24
UK Singles Chart	69
New Zealand Singles Chart	31

East Side Beat version

"Ride Like the Wind"
Single by East Side Beat
Released	November 29, 1991
Format	7" single, CD
Recorded	1991
Genre	Dance, House
Length	various
Label	FFRR Records
Writer(s)	Christopher Cross
Producer	Dave Seaman, Phil Kelsey
East Side Beat singles chronology
"Ride Like the Wind" (1991) "Alive and Kicking" (1992)

In 1991, the band East Side Beat a remix of the song Ride Like the Wind on. This is in contrast to the original version created the very style of the 1990s. There are also five remixes of the cover. Two of them, there are two versions of it as a 7 "single and the rest are like the two found on the CD single.

Charts

7" single

1. Ride Like The Wind (Factory Edit) 3:58
2. Ride Like The Wind (Subway Mix) 4:09

CD-Single

1. Ride Like The Wind (Factory Edit) 3:58
2. Ride Like The Wind (Factory Mix) 5:51
3. Ride Like The Wind (Piano Version) 5:32
4. Ride Like The Wind (Oceanic Remix) 5:22
5. Ride Like The Wind (Subway Mix) 4:00

Charts

Chart (1991/1992)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	2
German Singles Chart	24
Austrian Singles Chart	29
Swiss Singles Chart	23
Dutch Top 40	6
French Singles Chart	12

Other Versions

The song has been covered by Freddie Hubbard on his 1982 album 'Ride Like the Wind', as well as by Taka Boom on her 1983 album 'Boomerang', British heavy metal band Saxon on their 1988 album Destiny and by American heavy metal band Speeed on their 1999 album Powertrip Pigs.