Modern soul and R&B star Allen Stone has revived a throwback hit with a new cover of Christopher Cross‘ debut hit, “Ride Like the Wind.” Stone, who has been performing the song during his 2025 concerts, has launched the song on streaming platforms and delivered a live performance video, to boot.
The singer and guitarist brings his own blend of soul, funk, gospel, and folk rock to the song, while maintaining reverence for the original.
“It’s always intimidating to take on an iconic song and perform it for the world, the pressure is high,” says Stone. “But ‘Ride Like the Wind’ is such a stellar tune, and getting to play it live in front of an audience has been a thrill. I’m so glad Seeker was down to release the cover, and stoked to have it in the setlist this tour. Christopher Cross is legendary, and we just hope we did him justice. The history behind this song is wild, from how he wrote it to that killer guitar solo at the end. It’s been cool to see the love it’s received all over the world.”
Cross made his single debut during the week of February 16, 1980. The singer, a native of San Antonio, Texas, wrote the song based on his experiences and the lore of the South. He wrote the lyrics during a psychedelic road trip across the Lone Star State. The melody, however, came from jamming on a song by Paul McCartney and Wings.
“Well, the interesting thing about that tune is that we had a band and we’d play every night,” Cross explained to Greg Prato for Songfacts. “We were doing this Paul McCartney tune called ‘Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five,’ and we’d get into this big jam in the middle of it. It’s funny, I just saw McCartney and I didn’t tell him this, but in this big jam on ‘Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five,’ in the middle of it I did that ‘ba da da da, da da, da da.’ I did that part. So I thought that felt really cool. I thought it felt like it had something, some magic, so I built the song around that. That was the first part of the song, and then I built the rest around it.”
“Ride Like The Wind” hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for four consecutive weeks. Cross would go on to make history at the GRAMMYs by becoming the first artist to sweep the “Big Four” categories in one night: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
Allen Stone will be performing the song as he continues his massive North American tour. The run will take him from coast to coast, finally wrapping up on December 19th with a concert at the Brooklyn Paramount in New York City.
Follow along with the sheet music for “Ride Like the Wind”:
