The Poor Top Ten: Poor Shirley (#2)

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Welcome to a different world. I’ll try to ignore that as much as possible and continue on with this countdown of favorites with “poor” in the title. At the risk of incurring the wrath of Scar (or his beleaguered hoomin), I present today’s entry on the list. #2: Poor Shirley - Christopher Cross I remember the first time Jimmy Buffett was on Letterman (before Riddles in the Sand came out, because he debuted “Distantly in Love” that night). Buffett gave a shot to Christopher Cross without calling him by name when he said, “I know how to sail. I’m not one of these guys writing songs about sailing who looks like he couldn’t tie a knot in a Hefty trash bag.” Criticism aside (and yes, that song was overplayed), I love Christopher Cross’s debut album from 1979. That’s one of those mellow albums that just puts me in a relaxed mood. Everybody (well, except Buffett) loved Cross then, too: he won an Oscar for “Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do)” and all those Grammys for this album….then that was it. Oh, he’s still making music. Pretty good music. He just fell off the radar once 1982 rolled around. And I absolutely love this song. Very melodic, and no Michael McDoobie singing on this one the way he did on “Ride Like the Wind.” Sorry JJ. And Jimmy Buffett. Poor Shirley Written by Christopher Cross Recorded by Christopher Cross From Christopher Cross, 1979 Stars will light up the lonely night: