Following the success of Guruh Gipsy, in 1977 Chrisye recorded two of his most critically acclaimed works: "Lilin-Lilin Kecil" by James F. Sundah, which eventually became his signature song, and the soundtrack album Badai Pasti Berlalu.

[1] While attending GIKI Elementary School, Chrisye befriended the neighbouring Nasution family; he became especially close to Bamid Gauri, with whom he played badminton and flew kites.

[4] He also began listening to his father's record collection, singing along to songs by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Dean Martin.

[7] In the mid-1960s, the Nasution siblings formed a band; Chrisye and Joris watched them play songs by Uriah Heep and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

The band, housed in an apartment on Fifth Avenue, performed in New York for almost a year, providing Indonesian-themed music and covering songs by Procol Harum, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

After his unsuccessful attempt to buy up all the stock, the album was released, but because the general public considered it a sequel to Badai Pasti Berlalu, the sales were poor.

[28] The album included Chrisye's first songwriting credit, "Merepih Alam" ("Fragile Nature"),[23] but sales were stagnant for the first week until radio stations began to play the singles.

[26][31] He recorded it after locking himself in the studio with the sound engineer and arranger; despite Amin's wanting to monitor their progress, Chrisye refused to allow him access.

[31] The album, greatly influenced by Badai Pasti Berlalu and drawing on the double tracking technique pioneered by the Beatles (in which the vocals are recorded twice to achieve fuller sound), was released in August that year.

[36] After deciding that romantic pop songs influenced by easy listening would suit him best, Chrisye began recording his next album, Puspa Indah (Enchanting Blossom).

Two of the songs, "Galih dan Ratna" ("Galih and Ratna") and "Gita Cinta" ("Melody of Love"), were used in the 1979 film Gita Cinta dari SMA (Melody of Love from High School); Chrisye played a minor part in the film's sequel, Puspa Indah Taman Hati (Enchanting Blossom in Nursery of Heart), as a singer.

Due in part to the popularity of the film, Puspa Indah was well received and sold well; "Galih dan Ratna" and "Gita Cinta", released as singles, were also commercially successful.

[37] In 1980 Chrisye appeared in the Indonesian film Seindah Rembulan (As Beautiful as the Moon);[2] at first reluctant to accept the role, he was convinced by Sys NS that it would be fun.

[8][42] When she moved to Bali to work at a five-star hotel there for several weeks, Chrisye followed her and told her that he would marry her when she returned to Jakarta; although this was not a formal proposal, Yanti accepted.

The album, drawing on new wave influences and dealing mainly with issues facing youth, was well received, later going silver; the single "Selamat Jalan Kekasih" ("Goodbye Dear") also became a hit.

The following year, Chrisye, Djarot, and Jockie collaborated again on Nona (Miss), which featured social criticism; the album spawned four singles and went on to be certified platinum.

[49] The album called for more emoting, which Chrisye – known as having a stiff stage persona – struggled to deliver, though Yanti prepared colourful costumes and Alex Hasyim trained him in choreography.

[11] Although Sendiri Lagi did fairly well, in the beginning of the 1990s Chrisye began to feel pressure from the increasingly visual-oriented music industry and growing amount of young talent.

Around the time of RCTI's fourth anniversary, the television station relented and agreed to fund the concert as part of their celebrations; the thousands of tickets available sold out within a week.

Chrisye performed a set that included his greatest hits and several duets, among them "Malam Pertama" with Ruth Sahanaya, in front of a full orchestra conducted by Gutawa.

[62] Chrisye recalled later that the audience – children and adults – had memorised the lyrics to his songs, classics and recent releases; he said that this gesture made him feel incredibly small.

After basic recording in Jakarta, Chrisye, Gutawa, and sound engineer Dany Lisapali spent two weeks in Studios 301 in Sydney finishing off the album.

[8] Chrisye began work on a rearrangement of Badai Pasti Berlalu in 1999 at the request of Musica Studios – although he felt that the original album was fine – and once again teamed up with Gutawa.

[77] On 15 December 2002 Chrisye participated in the Bali for the World – Voices of Stars concert at Kartika Beach Plaza to raise funds for the victims of the bombings on 12 October; other acts involved included Melly Goeslaw, Gigi, Slank, and Superman is Dead.

The concert, with a set that contained numerous classics included in Dekade, featured duets with Sophia Latjuba and several of the original performers, such as Fariz RM with "Sakura" and A. Rafiq with "Pengalaman Pertama" ("First Experience"); Gutawa's orchestra again provided the music.

[89] His funeral was attended by hundreds, including Indonesian celebrities such as his collaborator Erwin Gutawa and singers Titiek Puspa, Ahmad Albar, Sophia Latjuba, and Ikang Fawzi.

[104] The concert included a new song, "Kidung Abadi" ("Eternal Ballad"), written by Erwin and Gita Gutawa and made using 246 previously recorded syllables.

[106] In 2017, a biopic film depicting on his life journey was scheduled to be released in September, directed by Rizal Mantovani and starring Vino G. Bastian as Chrisye.

[57] Chrisye also released many singles,[89] several of which were used as theme songs for Indonesian soap operas: "Pengalaman Pertama" was used for the serial Ganteng-Ganteng Kok Monyet (Very Handsome, But Like a Monkey!

), "Cintaku" ("My Love") from the remastered Badai Pasti Berlalu was used for Gadis Penakluk (The Maiden Conqueror), and "Seperti Yang Kau Minta" was used for Disaksikan Bulan (Witnessed by the Moon).