"Ride Like The Wind" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. It was released in February 1980 as the lead single from his Grammy-winning self-titled debut album. It reached number 2 on the U.S. charts, behind Blondie's "Call Me." On the album's inner sleeve, Christopher Cross dedicated this song to Lowell George, formerly of the band Little Feat, who had 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, guitarist Eric Johnson performed on "Ride Like the Wind," but his contributions were not included in the final version.
This soft rock classic tells the story of a condemned man on the run to Mexico. The storyline is one not often heard on adult contemporary radio, but the precise instrumentation and soaring background vocals, which were provided by Michael McDonald, helped make the song a big hit.
The story told in the lyrics, according to Cross himself, is "sort of a romanticized Western where the bad guy gets away." Told from a first-person point of view, it describes how an outlaw and convicted multiple murderer, on the run from a death-by-hanging sentence, has to "ride like the wind" to reach "the border of Mexico," where, presumably, the posse apparently in pursuit of him will not be able to reach him. Cross is Texan, and the narrator, presumably, drew his death-by-hanging sentence from a criminal court in Texas, where hanging was then a permissible method of execution of convicted criminals who had been sentenced to death.
Christopher Cross was on acid when he wrote the lyrics. "We were living in Houston at the time, and on the way down to Austin to record the songs, it was just a beautiful Texas day," he told us. "I took acid. So I wrote the words on the way down from Houston to Austin on acid."[1]
In 1999, the satirical newspaper The Onion published a story with the headline, "Christopher Cross Finally Reaches Mexican Border,"[2] which was a reference to this song. Cross appreciated the honor.
Charts
East Side Beat version
In 1991, Italian dance music group East Side Beat remixed "Ride Like the Wind" in a style typical of early 1990s dance music. There are five remixes in total. Two versions are found on the 7" single and an additional three are on the CD single.
Charts
- 7" single
- "Ride Like the Wind" (Factory Edit) – 3:58
- "Ride Like the Wind" (Subway Mix) – 4:09
- CD single
- "Ride Like the Wind" (Factory Edit) – 3:58
- "Ride Like the Wind" (Factory Mix) – 5:51
- "Ride Like the Wind" (piano version) – 5:32
- "Ride Like the Wind" (Oceanic Remix) – 5:22
- "Ride Like the Wind" (Subway Mix) – 4:00
Charts
Laurent Wery version
Belgian DJ Laurent Wéry released a cover version of the song, which features vocals from Joss Mendosah. The song was produced by Laurent Wery. It was released in Belgium as a digital download on March 30, 2013. The song peaked at number 26 in Belgium.
Music video
A music video to accompany the release of "Ride Like the Wind" was first released onto YouTube on April 8, 2013 at a total length of two minutes and fifty-four seconds.[11]
Track listing
|
|
| 1. |
"Ride Like the Wind" (Original Extended) (feat. Joss Mendosah) |
4:38 |
| 2. |
"Ride Like the Wind" (Original Radio Mix) (feat. Joss Mendosah) |
2:53 |
Chart performance
Release history
| Region |
Date |
Format |
Label |
|---|
| Belgium |
March 30, 2013[13] |
Digital download |
La Musique du Beau Monde |
|
Natalia
Ride like the wind is the 27th single of Belgian singer Natalia. It was released in Belgium on May 19, 2014. It's the fourth single of her album Overdrive. Natalia also released a Spanish version of the song called Ride like the wind/Cabalgaré. The videoclip was shot in Malta and was released the same day as the song.
Track listing
|
|
| 1. |
"Ride Like the Wind" (Radio Edit) |
3:14 |
| 2. |
"Ride Like the Wind/Cabalgaré" (Spanglish Version) |
3:14 |
Release history
| Region |
Date |
Format |
Label |
|---|
| Belgium |
March 19, 2014[14] |
Digital download |
Universal Music |
|
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, American heavy metal band Speeed on their 1999 album Powertrip Pigs and Norwegian heavy metal singer Jorn on his 2012 album Bring Heavy Rock to the Land. In 2013, the song was covered by Robin Thicke and Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) for the film Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and its soundtrack (which also includes the original version). The song was also heard at the beginning of the film. In promotion of the film, Cross and Ferrell sang the song together on Jimmy Kimmel Live.[15]
See also
Break Like the Wind, a 1992 album by the semi-fictional band Spinal Tap.
References
External links
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| | Singles | |
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|  Book:Christopher Cross |
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| | Albums | |
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| | Singles | |
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| | Related articles | |
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