"Sailing" is a number-one single, released in July 1980, written and performed by Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. His debut album earned him five Grammys. He is perhaps best known for his Top Ten hit songs, "Sailing", "Ride Like the Wind", and "Arthur's Theme ", the last of which he performed for the film Arthur starring Dudley Moore...

 and appeared on his 1979 eponymous debut album

Christopher Cross (album)

Christopher Cross is the self-titled debut album by Christopher Cross, released in 1979 . In 1981, it won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year...

. The song was a phenomenal success, winning Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, and helping Cross win the Best New Artist award. VH1 named this the greatest "softsational soft rock" music song of all time.

It was a number-one rated single in the United States. Since its debut, it has been covered by many artists, including Avant

Avant

Myron Avant , better known as Avant is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is best known for hits such as "Separated" , "My First Love," which one version features KeKe Wyatt, and "Read Your Mind"...

, Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

, Big Bub, 'N Sync

'N Sync

N Sync was an American boy band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich, *NSYNC consisted of JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick...

, Phajja

Phajja

Phajja an all-female contemporary R&B trio that released two albums on Warner Bros. Records and several moderately successful singles. Its members are Kena and Nakia Epps, sisters from Chicago, and Karen Johnson, of Boston. The ladies began singing together in 1987. The group originally consisted...

, and Patrick Yandall

Patrick Yandall

Patrick Yandall is a contemporary jazz/rock/blues guitarist with 13 album releases. Patrick's song "Who's The Bossa Now" from the album "Samoa Soul" was used in the political satire film War, Inc. starring John Cusack and Marissa Tomei. Yandall's music has also been featured on television and news...

.

The song was one of the first digitally recorded songs, utilizing the 3M digital recording system.

The Mexican airline AeroMéxico

Aeroméxico

Airways of Mexico, SA de CV , operating as Aeroméxico, is the flag carrier airline of Mexico based in Colonia Cuauhtémoc, Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. It operates scheduled domestic and international services to North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia...

 used the theme during the middle 1980s as a jingle for its advertisements; it was also used for the cigarette

Cigarette

A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...

 brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

 Winston.

Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagon

Dr. Octagon was a persona created and used by American rapper Keith Matthew Thornton, better known as Kool Keith. First appearing on Thornton's 1996 debut solo album, Dr. Octagonecologyst, Dr. Octagon is an extraterrestrial time traveling gynecologist and surgeon from the planet Jupiter. Thornton...

 refers to the lyrics in the song "Blue Flowers Revisited" on the album Dr. Octagonecologyst

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Dr. Octagonecologyst is the debut solo album of American rapper Keith Thornton and the first album he released under the alias Dr. Octagon. It was released May 6, 1996, on Bulk Recordings in the United States and Mo' Wax in the United Kingdom, and re-released in the US on DreamWorks Records in...

.

It was also sampled for the Chris Brown song Can't Let You Go.

Charts

Chart (1980/1981)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	10
Canadian Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	48
Dutch Top 40	18
New Zealand Singles Chart	8