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Sail Away: The Oral History of ‘Yacht Rock’

By Drew Toal

This story was originally published on June 26, 2015

I n the late 1970s and early 1980s, musical artists like Kenny Loggins , Michael McDonald , Steely Dan , Toto , Hall and Oates , and dozens of others regularly popped up on each other’s records, creating a golden era of smooth-music collaboration.

And on June 26th, 2005, an internet phenomenon was born. In 12 short but memorable episodes — first via the the short-film series Channel 101 and then online — JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, Dave Lyons, Lane Farnham and their friends redefined an era and coined a term for the sultry croonings of McDonald, Fagen, et al.: “yacht rock.”

As “Hollywood” Steve might say, these guys docked a fleet of remarkable hits. This is the story of Yacht Rock, told from stem to stern — a reimagining of a bygone soft-rock renaissance, courtesy of hipsters with fake mustaches, impeccable record collections and a love of smoothness. Long may it sail.

The Michigan Connection JD Ryznar (Director, “Michael McDonald”): I moved from Ann Arbor to L.A., and ended up making friends with all these other guys from Michigan, like “Hollywood” Steve Huey, Hunter Stair, and David Lyons. Pretty much every weekend I’d have “Chinese Thanksgiving” at my apartment — we’d eat BBQ chicken and burgers, drink beer and listen to records of what I called “yacht rock.” You know, like Michael McDonald is singing background vocals and like there’s guys on boats on the covers; it feels like you’re on a yacht listening to it. And the guys were like, oh, we know this music.

Dave Lyons (“Koko”): You know how, in the Seventies, these big bands started playing arena rock? We liked the idea of these smooth bands playing “Marina Rock.” I thought it was a better name.

“Hollywood” Steve Huey (“Hollywood Steve”): What I mostly remember is JD playing Journey records all the time. He was so into Journey that he had photocopied a photo of Steve Perry and pasted it onto his liquid soap dispenser. He wrote “Steve Perry Soap: Clean as all fuck” on it.

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Lane Farnham (editor, “Jimmy Messina”): JD and I had talked about Journey for a year before we did Yacht Rock. In the third episode, that whole “you need to fly like a pilot” bit? Those are direct lines from Steve Perry in this crazy documentary we found. He’s coked to the gills, in the Eighties, just blabbering about who knows what. We got a kick out of that stuff. 

Sail Away: The Oral History of ‘Yacht Rock’ , Page 1 of 12

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Mockumentary web series about American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s era. Mockumentary web series about American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s era. Mockumentary web series about American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s era.

• Lane Farnham
• J.D. Ryznar
• Hunter Stair
• 'Hollywood' Steve Huey
• 4 User reviews
• 1 Critic review

Episodes 12

• Michael McDonald
• Kenny Loggins

• Koko Goldstein …

• Gene Balboa …

• Christopher Cross …
• Jim Messina
• Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter

• Steve Porcaro …
• Steve Perry
• Donald Fagen
• Walter Becker
• Bette Midler …

• Michael Jackson …

• Eddie Van Halen

• Alex Van Halen …
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Connections Featured in I Can Go for That: The Smooth World of Yacht Rock: 80s (2019)

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• May 30, 2021
• How many seasons does Yacht Rock have? Powered by Alexa
• June 26, 2005 (United States)
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If the Yacht Is a Rockin': Riding the Yacht Rock Nostalgia Wave

By maggie serota | jun 12, 2020.

It’s not often that an entire genre of music gets retconned into existence after being parodied by a web series, but that’s exactly what happened after writer, director, and producer J.D. Ryznar and producers David B. Lyons and Hunter D. Stair launched the Channel 101 web series Yacht Rock in 2005. Hosted by former AllMusic editor “Hollywood” Steve Huey, the series was a loving sendup of the late '70s/early '80s smooth jams to which many Millennials and late period Gen-Xers were likely conceived.

The yacht rock aesthetic was innovated by a core group of musicians and producers including, but not limited to, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Robbie Dupree, Kenny Loggins, Toto, David Foster, and hirsute soft rock titan Michael McDonald, along with scores of veteran session musicians from the Southern California studio scene.

The Yacht Rock web series was perfectly timed to coincide with a contemporary renaissance of smooth music from the late '70s, the kind that was previously considered a guilty pleasure because it fell out of fashion in the mid-'80s and was soon thereafter regarded as dated and square compared to other burgeoning genres, like punk rock and hip-hop.

Yacht Rock's Early Years

The yacht rock era began roughly around 1976, when yacht rock pillar Kenny Loggins split up with songwriting partner Jim Messina to strike out on his own. That same year, fellow yacht rock mainstay Michael McDonald joined The Doobie Brothers. The two titans of the genre joined forces when Loggins co-wrote the definitive yacht rock hit “What a Fool Believes” with McDonald for the Doobies. They collaborated several times during this era, which was par for the course with such an incestuous music scene that was largely comprised of buddies playing on each other’s albums.

"Look at who performed on the album and if they didn’t perform with any other yacht rock hit guys then chances are [it's] ‘nyacht’ rock,” Ryznar said on the  Beyond Yacht Rock podcast, referencing the pejorative term frequently used to describe soft rock songs that just miss the boat.

"The basic things to ask yourself if you want to know if a track is yacht rock are: Was it released from approximately 1976 to 1984? Did musicians on the track play with Steely Dan? Or Toto?," Ryznar said. "Is it a top 40 radio hit or is it on an album meant to feature hits?" And, of course, does the song celebrate a certain breezy, SoCal aesthetic?

Building the Boat

There are certain key ingredients necessary for a track to be considered yacht rock. For starters, it helps (though is not necessary) to have album art or lyrics that specifically reference boating, as with Christopher Cross's landmark 1980 hit “Sailing.” The music itself is usually slickly produced with clean vocals and a focus on melody over beat. But above all else, the sound has to be smooth . That’s what sets yacht rock apart from "nyacht" rock.

"Its base is R&B, yet it’s totally whitewashed," Ryznar explained on  Beyond Yacht Rock . "There [are] jazz elements. There can be complex, challenging melodies; the solos are all cutting-edge and really interesting. There’s always something interesting about a true yacht rock song. It goes left when you expect it to go right."

Yacht rock’s complex musicianship can be attributed, in part, to the session players on each track. Musicians like percussionist Steve Gadd, guitarist and Toto founding member Steve Lukather, and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro don’t have much in the way of name recognition among casual soft rock listeners, but they’re the nails that hold the boat together. Steely Dan, “the primordial ooze from which yacht rock emerged,” according to Ryznar, famously cycled through dozens of session musicians while recording their 1980 seminal yacht rock album Gaucho .

"These musicians were not only these slick, polished professionals, but they were highly trained and able to hop from style to style with ease,” Huey explained on  Beyond Yacht Rock . “Very versatile.”

In Greg Prato’s 2018 tome, The Yacht Rock Book : An Oral History of the Soft, Smooth Sounds of the 70s and 80s , Huey broke down “the three main defining elements of yacht rock,” explaining that it requires “Fusing softer rock with jazz and R&B, very polished production, and kind of being centered around the studio musician culture in southern California … It’s not just soft rock, it’s a specific subset of soft rock that ideally has those elements."

Soft rock untethered

Whereas the music of the late 1970s and early ‘80s is often associated with the anti-establishment music of punk pioneers like the Dead Kennedys and the socially conscious songs being written by early hip-hop innovators like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, yacht rock is the antithesis of the counterculture.

Yacht rock occupies a world that is completely apolitical and untethered to current events. Between the oil crisis, a global recession, and inflation—not to mention the fact that the U.S. was still licking its wounds from the loss of the Vietnam War and the disgrace of Watergate—the late '70s were a dark time for Americans. Yet yacht rock, at its heart, is a tequila sunrise for the soul, whisking the listener away to a world where they have the time, and the means, to idle away the hours sipping piña coladas at sea while decked out in flowy Hawaiian shirts and boat shoes.

Yacht rock was never edgy, nor did it ever feel dangerous. Yacht rock didn’t piss off anyone’s parents and no one ever threatened to send their kid to boot camp for getting caught listening to Kenny Loggins's “This Is It.” Yacht rock tracks are more of a siren song that invite your parents to join in on the chorus anytime they hear Toto’s "Rosanna."

Yacht rock songs are meant to set the soundtrack to a life where the days are always sunny, but as Ryznar pointed out on Beyond Yacht Rock , there’s “an underlying darkness”—just not the kind that’s going to derail a day of sailing to Catalina Island. No, yacht rock has elements of low-stakes heartbreak with sensitive male protagonists lamenting their own foolishness in trying to get back together with exes or hitting on women half their age.

The aspirational aspect of the genre dovetailed nicely with the overarching materialism defining the Reagan era. “Yacht rock was an escape from blunt truths, into the melodic, no-calorie lies of ‘buy now, pay never,’ in which any discord could be neutralized with a Moog beat,” Dan O’Sullivan wrote in Jacobin .

Some Like it Yacht

Although the cult comedy series Yacht Rock ceased production in 2010, the soft rock music revival it launched into the zeitgeist is still going strong. For the past few years, SiriusXM has been running a yacht rock station during prime boating season, or what those of us without bottomless checking accounts refer to as the spring and summer months. Yacht rock tribute acts like Yacht Rock Revue are profitable business endeavors as much as they are fun party bands. There’s also a glut of yacht rock-themed song compilations for sale and a proliferation of questionably curated genre playlists on Spotify.

Whether you believe yacht rock is an exalted art form or the insidious soundtrack to complacency, any music lover would probably agree that even a momentary escape from the blunt truths of life is something we could all use every now and then.

Defining 'yacht rock' once and for all with the genre's creators

Jd ryznar and dave lyons coined the joke genre while making the mid-2000s comedic web-series of the same name.

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JD Ryznar and Dave Lyons are the co-creators of the mid-2000s comedic web-series Yacht Rock.  

While the joke genre they coined led to a legitimate smooth-music renaissance in pop culture, it has also led to a distorted definition of what yacht rock is all about.

The pair join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about setting the record straight with this week's launch of their podcast Yacht or Nyacht , where they'll adjudicate which songs belong to the yacht rock canon using a scientific scoring system.

WATCH | Yacht Rock Episode 1 :

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts .

Interview with JD Ryznar and Dave Lyons produced by Stuart Berman.

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This Is the Definitive Definition of Yacht Rock

By Timothy Malcolm July 12, 2019

Michael McDonald. One might say the smoothest mother in music history.

Image: Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com

About 10 years ago , somebody showed me a YouTube video of Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins writing a song that’s smoother and more polished than anything else on the airwaves.

That video—lovingly spoofing the writing of the Doobie Brothers' 1978 hit “What a Fool Believes”— was the first episode of a series called Yacht Rock . Premiering in 2005 on the Los Angeles-based television incubator Channel 101, Yacht Rock struck a chord with a generation of music nerds who attempt to compartmentalize and categorize the songs they heard as children. The term “yacht rock” itself grew out of the video series, permeating our culture today as much as the music had back in the late 1970s and early '80s.

But here’s the thing about terms that permeate our culture today: They get compromised and bastardized to fit other people’s cozy narratives, typically based on their own nostalgia. Google “yacht rock” and you’ll find articles from across the media spectrum attempting to define the term , failing hard because these writers just don’t get it. There’s even a new BBC series about yacht rock , and while it went into great detail providing context on the emergence of the musical style, it still turned out to be one person’s definition that included songs that were—as some of us might say— nyacht rock.

I’m here to set the record straight—or smooth. Yacht rock is music, primarily created between 1976 and ‘84, that can be characterized as smooth and melodic, and typically combines elements of jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock. You’ll hear very little acoustic guitar (get that “Horse With No Name” out of there) but a lot of Fender Rhodes electric piano. Lyrics don’t get in the way of the song’s usually high musicality (some of the finest Los Angeles session players, including members of the band Toto, play on many yacht rock tunes.) The lyrics may, however, speak about fools. The songs are as light and bubbly as champagne on the high seas, yet oddly complex and intellectual.

And just to hammer this home: Fleetwood Mac is not yacht rock. Daryl Hall & John Oates are 98 percent not yacht rock. Those folkie songs from America, Pure Prairie League, and Crosby, Stills & Nash? Nope. Rupert Holmes's "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"? Too wordy and not musically interesting—not yacht rock. How about "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts? A little too folky, but close.

I’m not affected by personal nostalgia (I was born in 1984, just as the yacht rock era was ending); instead, I’m an objective music lover who just so happens to have been researching yacht rock for the past several years. I know the men who coined the term “yacht rock” ( they have a great podcast and actually rate whether or not a song is yacht rock ), and they can back me up on this. 

So whether you’re docked for the summer or about to set sail on an adventure, allow me to steer you in the right direction. I've crafted for you the definitive yacht rock playlist—below are a few highlights:

“What a Fool Believes,” The Doobie Brothers

I won’t get any nerdier, I’ll just say that this is the song that epitomizes yacht rock. It’s effortlessly melodic, bouncy, and bright, features a prominent Fender Rhodes electric piano, and includes an ultra-smooth vocal from Michael McDonald.

“Heart to Heart,” Kenny Loggins

Loggins never quite knew whether to be a jazzy folkie or a rocker, but in between those two phases were a couple yachty gems, including this cool breeze on a warm summer day, from the 1982 album High Adventure . Just listen to Loggins’s vocal—it’s butter.

“FM,” Steely Dan

Steely Dan brought a New York edge and a habit of wanting the best players on their records to Los Angeles. In time their sound morphed into the whitest smooth jazz on the planet, aka yacht rock. “FM,” from 1978, has both that snarky exterior and smooth center, but look up the band’s classic albums Aja and Gaucho for a number of yachty delights.

“Human Nature,” Michael Jackson

Once you get to know yacht rock, you can begin traveling into yacht soul—smooth songs from top studio players that lean just a little harder on the R&B. This classic song from the 1982 album Thriller was written and performed by Toto. Jackson provides the gorgeously breezy vocal.

“Rosanna,” Toto

Speaking of Toto, these guys were and still are awesome musicians. The 1982 hit “Rosanna” proves this in spades—the drum shuffle is iconic, the twists are remarkable, and the sound is smoother than a well-sanded skiff.

“Nothin’ You Can Do About It,” Airplay

Who is Airplay? A one-album band created by mega-producer David Foster and session guitarist Jay Graydon. These guys wrote Earth, Wind & Fire’s “After the Love Has Gone,” then this absolute stunner from 1980, a bouncy, giddy, and gentle pop classic.

“I Really Don’t Know Anymore,” Christopher Cross

Emerging out of nowhere with a Grammy-winning album in 1979, Cross is the perfect yacht rock figure, a normal-looking white dude who just so happens to sing like the wind on a summer’s evening. This song, from that debut album, is essential yacht rock with a noticeable background singer—of course, Michael McDonald.

If you want to catch McDonald and sing along to some of his yacht rock classics, he’s performing Friday night at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands. Chaka Khan—who also has a few yacht rock tunes in her catalog—will open. Tickets start at $39.50; prepare accordingly with this  summer yacht rock playlist on Spotify . You’re welcome.

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Yachty by Nature

What is Yacht Rock?

What is yacht rock.

Photo by Joel Goodman

Let’s answer the question “what is yacht rock”.  In short, it is that smooth, soft rock that emanated from Southern California in the late 1970s and early 80s. It has long served as the anthem for the “yuppies” of the 80s, since they LOVE to listen to smooth music as they cruise through the harbor.

If you’ve ever visited the dentist or been in an elevator you’ve definitely heard some Yacht Rock.  In fact, some say it’s a guilty pleasure because the music seems to offer an escape to good times.  Importantly, here’s the short answer but if you need a full Yacht Rock 101 , enjoy this article from Captain Carl.

Smooth Music Timeline

First you’ll need a little timeline.  So, let’s put the genre of yacht rock into perspective.

2005  First Episode of Yacht Rock written and produced by JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, and Dave Lyons.

2009 Yacht Rock Revue band in Atlanta becomes the first “yacht rock band”

2010  Final episode of the YouTube series

2011 Mustache Harbor becomes the first West Coast band to play smooth music

2016 Yachty by Nature is the first West Coast yacht rock band to play nationwide

2020 Rolling Stone features Yacht Rock Revue and their new original music album

The Answer to Smooth…

Honestly, the question, “What is yacht rock?” is that question that hits us quite often.  Moreover, Yachty by Nature was the original Yacht Rock band in Southern California to play on a regular basis.  Ultimately, when we dropped anchor in the genre in 2016, there were only 3 bands:  Mustache Harbor (No Cal), High Tide Society (SD), and Harbor Party (LA).  So, in our first year of existence, everyone was curious to know what the heck these guys in captains hats were doing.  Little did they know what smooth wave was to hit them.

Especially, now we are in the midst of a smooth rock revolution!  Audiences from coast to coast have really jumped on the vibe, the groove, and are now wearing the Broner Captain’s Hats we pioneered.  Even a competing band followed our lead on the Broner hat!  Truly, Yachty by Nature broke down a lot of doors to smooth soft rock music on the West Coast, Midwest and even the East Coast.  Yachty by Nature has now played concerts in North Carolina, Florida, Iowa, Washington, Nevada, Arizona as well as Northern and Southern California.  Lastly, take a look at the complete song list of smooth tunes the band enjoys playing!

In the music…what is yacht rock music.

Most importantly, this genre of music lasted from 1976 to 1984.  Truthfully, the incredibly talented session musicians playing the music made it hot.  For example, the guys in Toto were featured most famously on Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall & Thriller & many more hit songs.  In addition, the Doobie’s singer Michael McDonald would be prominent on Steely Dan’s Peg.  And then, sang on Christopher Cross’ Ride Like the Wind and wrote songs with Kenny Loggins.  This is one of the things the authors of the Yacht Rock YouTube series evidenced for the crossover effective of these smooth artists.

To boot, this music was jazzy, R&B, and groove oriented that made it sound “smooth”.  It was no easy task to play or sing this music.  In addition, the music featured lighter lyrics and focused on that groove.  The beautiful effect made the music a light hearted affair focusing on a musical hook that made people swoon.  Indeed, the yacht party emanates from the music and conjures visions of good times under swaying palm trees and endless sunsets.

Yachty Groove

Factually, the authors of yacht rock have a very tight criteria for songs to be on the yacht.  In more recent times and with Sirius/XM Yacht Rock radio, many more songs are considered to be yacht rock.  Importantly, the purists disagree about which songs make the grade.  But, when it comes down to it, let’s pay attention to the elements that rock the yacht.  Most notably, the purists don’t consider Hall and Oates, Little River Band, and even Brandy as smooth music.  Effectively, many tunes are more on the soft rock side and don’t feature those outstanding session musicians like Jeff Porcaro that float our boat.  However, the genre is evolving and people seem to take those liberties of what may say, “I’m on a Boat”.

Deep in the yacht

Listen to the prominent songs of the genre.  For example, Michael McDonald scores a perfect 100 on the Yachtski scale with his hit song What a Fool Believes.  It is lushly produced with lots of rhodes electric piano, smooth synth, big harmonies, and high vocals.  The groove is unmistakable, the lyric laments a foolish and melancholic love lost, and the vocal oozes the warm and comfy home of SMOOTH.  Of course, McDonald is the godfather of the genre along with the royalty of Christopher Cross and Kenny Loggins.  Don’t forget the immediate yachtiness of Boz Scaggs, David Foster, Jay Graydon, Michael Jackson, Toto, Steely Dan, and Pablo Cruise.

And, for the astute listeners, go deep and check out the lesser known but extremely yachty Bill LaBounty, Larsen Feiten band, Robbie Dupree, Marc Jordan, Pages, and Ned Doheny.  These are just a few of the really great and highly rated yacht rock music of the 70’s and 80’s.  Definitely worth a listen.

Yachty Rock visuals

Lastly, many of the prominent songs of the era had nautical lyrics and featured boats and other yachty references on their album covers.  In fact, check out the level fun of Yacht Rock found in movies new and old and the overall pop culture of the music.  For example, Caddyshack features the yachty outfits and fun around the yacht club and the country club.  More recently, Step Brothers features the song “Boats ‘n Hoes”.  SNL star Andy Samberg raps with T-Pain on the expletive filled but Yachty “I’m on a Boat”.  And, of course, Will Ferrell and cast embodies the 70’s clothes and groovy music of yacht rock on the film Ron Burgundy.  The visuals abound in culture, dress, and everyday life now thanks to this resurging music.  Just look at the preponderance of flamingos, anchors, palm trees, and boat shoes and boat wheels around you.  Celebrities, artists, and even new music is being transformed by the genre, so get on the yacht!

Check out Captain Carl’s post about smooth fashion tips too!!!

Youtube series.

So let’s cast off, shall we?  Check the series at the top of the post or search on YouTube for the series by the authors of the genre.

Watch this epic YouTube series entitled Yacht Rock which coined the phrase and blazed the trail for the resurgence of people loving on the glorious tunes of the soft rock era! Here is episode 1, enjoy 🙂  Lastly, listen to a taste of us on What a Fool Believes if you haven’t had enough Michael McDonald for the moment.  We recorded this at Sea Legs when we opened for Snoop.

#yachtrock #softrock #whatafoolbelieves #whatisyachtrock #yachtybynature

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• Mar 10, 2020

'The New Yacht Rock'- Reviving the Soundtrack to Your Summer

By: Scott Way

People never forget the song that played during their first dance, or the anthem to their high school years, or the songs that defined epic road trips with friends or family. Everyone has a soundtrack to their life. If you’re a boater, and depending on your age, you’ve probably got a playlist that’s been pretty consistent over the years, and it’s probably got some ‘yacht rock’ on it. For anyone uninitiated, yacht rock is the term for the quintessential soft rock jams that invaded every marina from ‘76-'84 (ish). Think Hawaiian shirts, white slacks, sunsets, daiquiris, and dock shoes. Think gentle rock grooves with a touch of R&B, smooth jazz, sun-soaked melodies, and lyrics overloaded with romantic escapism. The genre was all about good vibes. The term ‘yacht rock’ is actually relatively new, coined in 2005 for a YouTube web series of the same name. The show satirically portrayed the 80’s as the apex of bad style and ultra-lameness, but it spent an equal amount of time worshiping the soundtrack with genuine reverence. Boaters are comically guilty of this same worship- somewhere in the mid 80’s yacht rock became the definitive soundtrack to the boating lifestyle.

Yacht rockers include the legendary Jimmy Buffett, as well as second-level smoothies Michael McDonald, Hall & Oates, and The Doobie Brothers, among others. The Godfathers of Yacht Rock, for the artist who laid the groundwork for the genre’s respectful party vibes, likely goes to the Beach Boys, who taught everyone that although Kokomo was a fictitious place off the Florida Keys it was probably an ideal location for one of Buffett’s ‘Margaritaville’ restaurants. During yacht rock’s heyday, dock parties came with a Captain & Tennille guarantee from the DJ and record players spun tirelessly to Toto, Steely Dan, and Christopher Cross. While it’s impossible to capture all of yacht rock’s gentle jams and satisfy every boater’s taste, here’s a solid introduction to kickstart your summer playlist:

Christopher Cross- Sailing (1979)

Toto- Rosanna (1982)

Kenny Loggins- This Is It (1979)

Captain & Tennille- Love Will Keep Us Together (1975)

Hall & Oates- I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (1981)

Doobie Brothers- What A Fool Believes (1978)

Steely Dan- Hey Nineteen (1980)

Robert Holmes- Escape (The Pina Colada Song) (1979)

Player- Baby Come Back (1977)

Pablo Cruise- Love Will Find A Way (1978)

As a loosely defined genre, yacht rock also had a fringe collection of unofficial members. The cousins to yacht rock royalty include Bob Marley ( Jammin ’), Billy Ocean ( Caribbean Queen ), and a few other artists who flirted with the yachties including The Eagles, Boz Scaggs, and Fleetwood Mac. In the end, yacht rock was undone by its insatiable appetite for the saccharine, the breaking point arguably being Peter Cetera’s 1984 melodramatic synth-schmaltz ‘ The Glory of Love ’ from the Karate Kid soundtrack. After that, no number of roundhouse kicks in white slacks on the aft deck could bring the coolness back. The dream was dead. And so despite its sensual rhythms and sunset smiles, yacht rock faded into obscurity while New Wave commandeered the synthesizer. That being said, if you’d like to relive the magic 'yacht rock' is a searchable term on both Pandora and Spotify, so not all hope is lost.

Which brings us to now: the glory days are gone and sit sadly on the precipice of ‘dad rock’ territory. But like the return of 80's high-waisted jeans, a slow burning revival of yacht rock style has emerged from the ashes; a millenial revitalization that blends equal parts 70’s slow groove with contemporary pop and country. Research into terms like ‘boating music’ or ‘best boating songs’ will bring up the original jams, but The New Yacht Rock movement has taken the framework and added some zest (no sign of white slacks yet, though). The most obvious, and the strangest, new trait is that country music and boating have apparently coalesced. Where once country stood firm in its crooning about beloved pickup trucks and broken hearts through a crackly FM radio on a Tennessee backroad, it now twinkles with ballads about sandy beaches and nautical adventures. In fact, you could make an argument that a good chunk of country music has traded in its pickup truck for a pontoon boat. Simply put, you can’t search ‘boating songs’ from 2010-present without seeing country music sitting at the helm. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing; clearly they discovered that pickup trucks and powerboats offer comparable thrills. This new cooperative became formalized when The Zac Brown Band yanked Jimmy Buffett out of retirement for their 2010 dock party anthem ‘Knee Deep.’ It’s no big ruse either, they were looking to re-imagine Margaritaville in muddin’ country. Case in point: Buffett proclaims ‘(s)trummin’ my six string on my front porch swing’ while Brown counters with ‘is the tide gonna reach my chair.’ The cowboy boots have been traded in for sandals.

So with a new decade upon us and a catalogue of classics to draw from, the yacht rock revival has boaters poised for a new soundtrack to their dock party. Contemporary artists like Vampire Weekend, Thundercat, Foxygen, and Carly Rae Jepson (yes, of ‘Call Me Maybe’ infamy) have all infused some California calmness into their contemporary pop. Thundercat even pulled the ‘out of retirement’ trick, enticing Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald to appear on their 2017 slow jam ‘Show You The Way.’ There’s more ambient pop flair and slide guitar to the new stuff, but the heart and soul of the Reagan years is alive and well.

As the intermixing of young artists with old pioneers continues to usher in the new era, doing away with the original 'yacht rock' moniker seems necessary at this point. Today musical genres are more flexible than ever, and locking boaters into a small segment of musical preference isn’t fair (or as much fun). If you're looking at pop music from 2010-present to fill your boating playlist, you’ll find a consistent parade of songs from multiple genres carrying yacht rock’s torch of idealism. So let’s just call it ‘boat rock’ for now, until someone at Rolling Stone coins something more iconic.

Now, here’s the obvious disclaimer: suggesting music is an invitation to criticism. You cannot appease all genres, styles, and opinions. Therefore, in the name of inclusiveness, the new boat rock movement will cover as many genres as possible, consider mainstream popularity, and will give favour to tracks dubbed ‘summer songs’ by the popular press within the last 15 years (or so, let’s be flexible here. This is for fun). There are also considerations for any artist bearing yacht rock’s original influences including R&B, blues, jazz, reggae, and soft rock, and with lyrical content that promotes a good time. Here's a prototype playlist:

Thundercat ft. Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald- Show You The Way

Kid Rock- All Summer Long

Chris Janson- Buy Me A Boat

Florida Georgia Line ft. Nelly- Cruise

Zac Brown Band ft. Jimmy Buffett- Knee Deep

Little Big Town- Pontoon

Sugar Ray- Highest Tree (from the Little Yachty homage to yacht rock album)

Zac Brown Band- Where The Boat Leaves From

Bedouin Soundclash- When The Night Feels My Song

Pharrell Williams- Happy

Nickelback- This Afternoon

As you can clearly see, country music has discovered its fondness for docktails and sandals. Honourable mentions go to Sublime, Weezer, Bob Marley’s entire catalogue, and everything Sugar Ray has released since their 1997 hit ‘Fly’ (which should be considered boat rock’s version of Margaritaville). The list could be endless with songs pulled from pop, reggae, indie, R&B, rock, and country. But as a starting point, the above track list should generate smiles while the kids are leaping off the swim platform and the smell of BBQ is wafting across the deck.

Going forward, the question to ask when deciding whether a song should enter the new boat rock pantheon is this: if I were enjoying a sunset over the water, would this song improve my vibe? If the answer is yes, it’s boat rock. The next time you're tied up at your local marina, or you’re anchored in a quiet bay watching the sun slip beneath the waves, try using the above playlist and let the good times roll. Whether it’s from the old era or the new, the key to any great adventure is a smoooooth soundtrack.

Honourable Mentions (Yacht Rock Era)

- Christopher Cross- Sailing

- Michael McDonald- I Keep Forgetting

- Ambrosia- Biggest Part of Me

- The Alan Parsons Project- Eye In The Sky

- Kenny Loggins- Heart To Heart

- Jackson Browne- Somebody’s Baby

- Toto- Hold The Line

- Hall & Oates- Rich Girl

- Steely Dan- Reelin’ In The Years

- Billy Ocean- Caribbean Queen

- Boz Scaggs- Lido

- Fleetwood Mac- Dreams

- Eddie Money- Two Tickets To Paradise

- The Eagles- Hotel California

- Peter Cetera (Chicago)- Glory Of Love

Honourable Mentions (Boat Rock Era)

- Sublime- Santeria

- Weezer- Island In The Sun

- Black Eyed Peas- I Gotta Feeling

- Sheryl Crow- Soak Up The Sun

- Kenny Chesney- No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem

- Garth Brooks- Friends In Low Places

- Zac Brown Band- Toes

- Daft Punk ft. Pharrell- Get Lucky

- Florida Georgia Line ft. Luke Bryan- This Is How We Roll

- Robin Thicke ft. Pharrell & TI- Blurred Lines

- Bruno Mars- That’s What I Like

- The Black Keys- Gold On The Ceiling

- The Weeknd- I Feel It Coming

- Magic!- Rude

#culture #news #music #yachtrock

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Column: Your endless summer is brought to you by yacht rock and Yachtley Crew

Yachtley Crew plays a sold-out show at the Music Box on Sept. 10

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If you believe in calendars, summer is almost over. But if you believe in yacht rock, summer is never over.

“It’s kind of a made-up genre. But even if you don’t know what it is, if you hear it, you already get it,” said vocalist Philly Ocean (real name, Phillip Daniel) of the Los Angeles-based yacht-rock band Yachtley Crëw , which is playing a sold-out show at the Music Box in Little Italy on Sept. 10.

“It’s all of these easy-listening, feel-good tunes that go well with a piña colada on the deck of a yacht with the horizon off in the distance. Summer vibes are encapsulated in these songs.”

It will never be recognized by the Grammys, but yacht rock has become a pop-culturally accepted category for the semi-fizzy, sorta-jazzy soft-pop songs that ruled the charts in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Songs like Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind,” the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes,” and every track on Steely Dan’s “Aja” album.

But before it became a streaming-radio format, a brunch inspiration and the genesis of tribute bands with names like Yachty by Nature and Monsters of Yacht, yacht rock was a web series.

Created in 2005 by actors J.D. Ryznar and Hunter Stair, “Yacht Rock” was a deliberately cheesy, yet totally appreciative “mockumentary” series following the fictional lives and careers of such future yacht-rock heroes as Hall & Oates, Kenny Loggins and the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers.

Once the series made its way to YouTube, it tickled the fancies of industry types who realized that re-branding soft rock as yacht rock could give these oldies new, hipster-approved life. Satellite- and streaming-radio stations began adding yacht-rock channels, and by 2016, these smooth tunes had made their way to the musicians who formed Yachtley Crëw.

According to Yachtley lore, the two veteran Los Angeles musicians who would go by the names of Sailor Hawkins (drums) and Baba Buoy (bass) were hanging out in a hot tub with their wives (“Probably drinking,” Ocean surmised), when they heard a satellite-radio yacht-rock station and had an epiphany.

One year later, they had a band.

“They thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have a band and play just this music?,’” Ocean said. “When we would go around pitching to venues, club owners would look at us sideways like, ‘You play Christopher Cross? Who is going to listen to that on a Friday night?’ We would always say, ‘Just give us a shot.’”

Four years and many Christopher Cross tunes later, Yachtley Crëw is playing sold-out shows in venues all over California and beyond; Ocean is singing to passionate crowds who know every word to Boz Scaggs’ “Lido Shuffle” and Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby”; and the genre started out as a goof has turned out to be a real happy thing.

And that is no joke.

“I think these songs have lasted because they are of the highest quality. The musicianship, the melodies, the lyrics, that is what has given them a long life and caused them to come back around,” Ocean said. “There is a zest for life that you can experience in every single one of these songs. They just make you feel good.”

Yachtley Crëw’s Sept. 10 show at the Music Box is sold out, but there are plenty of other ways to get your yacht-rock fix. Fire up the blender, crank up the tunes, and it will be smooth summer sailing all year long.

Streaming and satellite radio: Whether it’s Spotify’s 11-hour playlist or the stations curated by SiriusXM satellite radio and the LiveXLive streaming service, yacht rock’s non-stop happy hour is just a click away. Because they have a lot of digital space to fill, programmers have expanded the yacht universe to include such genre-questionable crew members as Van Morrison, Tommy Tutone and Eddie Money, but after a few umbrella drinks and a nap, it’s all good, matey.

Slate’s “Hit Parade” podcast: On his two-part “What a Fool Believes” episode, chart analyst and “Hit Parade” host Chris Molanphy gives the yacht-rock genre the thorough, musically astute analysis it deserves. We hear how its shiny roots stretch back to the legendary group of L.A. studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew; how the sessions for Boz Scaggs’ “Silk Degrees” album are responsible for the existence of Toto; how Toto shaped Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (It’s true!); and why the aforementioned “Aja” album set the itinerary for the stylish radio adventures that followed. Enlightenment, ahoy!

“Classic Albums: Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’”: Without this landmark 1977 album, there might be no yacht rock today. And without this 1999 episode of VH1’s essential “Classic Albums” series , we wouldn’t know the control-freaky lengths Steely Dan masterminds Walter Becker and Donald Fagen went to in their effort to achieve such glossy, effortless perfection. We also wouldn’t get to see guitarist Jay Graydon unfurl that classically casual “Peg” solo or watch Michael McDonald nailing those sweet, sweet layer-cake harmonies. You can stream it on IMDb TV with irritating, randomly placed commercials, or you can purchase the DVD and immerse yourself as yacht-rock nature intended. Don’t forget your snorkel.

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