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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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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.

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The 20 greatest yacht rock songs ever, ranked

27 July 2022, 17:50

By Tom Eames

We can picture it now: lounging on a swish boat as it bobs along the water, sipping cocktails and improving our tan. Oh, and it's the 1980s.

There's only one style of music that goes with this image: Yacht rock.

What is Yacht Rock?

Also known as the West Coast Sound or adult-oriented rock, it's a style of soft rock from between the late 1970s and early 1980s that featured elements of smooth soul, smooth jazz, R&B, funk, rock and disco.

• The 40 greatest disco songs ever, ranked
• The 10 greatest and smoothest ever sax solos, ranked

Although its name has been used in a negative way, to us it's an amazing genre that makes us feel like we're in an episode of Miami Vice wearing shoulder pads and massive sunglasses.

Here are the very best songs that could be placed in this genre:

Player - 'Baby Come Back'

Player - Baby Come Back

Not the reggae classic of the same name, this 1977 track was Player's biggest hit.

After Player disbanded, singer Peter Beckett joined Australia's Little River Band, and he also wrote 'Twist of Fate' for Olivia Newton-John and 'After All This Time' for Kenny Rogers.

Steely Dan - 'FM'

It's tough just choosing one Steely Dan song for this list, but we've gone for this banger.

Used as the theme tune for the 1978 movie of the same name, the song is jazz-rock track, though its lyrics took a disapproving look at the genre as a whole, which was in total contrast to the film's celebration of it. Still, sounds great guys!

Bobby Goldsboro - 'Summer (The First Time)'

Bobby Goldsboro - Summer (The First Time)

A bit of a questionable subject matter, this ballad was about a 17-year-old boy’s first sexual experience with a 31-year-old woman at the beach.

But using a repeating piano riff, 12-string guitar, and an orchestral string arrangement, this song just screams yacht rock and all that is great about it.

Kenny Loggins - 'Heart to Heart'

Kenny Loggins - Heart To Heart (Official Music Video)

If Michael McDonald is the king of yacht rock, then Kenny Loggins is his trusted advisor and heir to the throne.

This track was co-written with Michael, and also features him on backing vocals. The song is about how most relationships do not stand the test of time, yet some are able to do so.

Airplay - 'Nothing You Can Do About It'

Nothin' You Can Do About It

You might not remember US band Airplay, but they did have their moment on the yacht.

Consisting of David Foster (who also co-wrote the Kenny Loggins song above), Jay Graydon and the brilliantly-named Tommy Funderburk, this tune was a cover of a Manhattan Transfer song, and was a minor hit in 1981.

Boz Scaggs - 'Lowdown'

Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (Official Audio)

We've moved slightly into smooth jazz territory with this track, which is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The song was co-written by David Paich, who would go on to form Toto along with the song's keyboardist David Paich, session bassist David Hungate, and drummer Jeff Porcaro.

Steve Winwood - 'Valerie'

Steve Winwood - Valerie (Official Video)

This song is probably as far as you can get into pop rock without totally leaving the yacht rock dock.

Legendary singer-songwriter Winwood recorded this gong about a man reminiscing about a lost love he hopes to find again someday.

Eric Prydz later sampled it in 2004 for the house number one track ‘Call on Me’, and presented it to Winwood, who was so impressed he re-recorded the vocals to better fit the track.

Toto - 'Rosanna'

Toto - Rosanna (Official HD Video)

We almost picked 'Africa' , but we reckon this tune just about pips it in the yacht rock game.

Written by David Paich, he has said that the song is based on numerous girls he had known.

As a joke, the band members initially played along with the common assumption that the song was based on actress Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time and coincidentally had the same name.

Chicago - 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry'

Chicago - Hard To Say I'm Sorry (Official Music Video)

Chicago began moving away from their horn-driven soft rock sound with their early 1980s output, including this synthesizer-filled power ballad.

• The 10 greatest Chicago songs, ranked

The album version segued into a more traditional Chicago upbeat track titled ‘Get Away’, but most radio stations at the time opted to fade out the song before it kicked in. Three members of Toto played on the track. Those guys are yacht rock kings!

Michael Jackson - 'Human Nature'

Michael Jackson - Human Nature (Audio)

A few non-rock artists almost made this list ( George Michael 's 'Careless Whisper' and Spandau Ballet 's 'True' are almost examples, but not quite), yet a big chunk of Thriller heavily relied on the yacht rock sound.

Michael Jackson proved just how popular the genre could get with several songs on the album, but 'Human Nature' is the finest example.

The Doobie Brothers - 'What a Fool Believes'

The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes (Official Music Video)

Possibly THE ultimate yacht rock song on the rock end of the spectrum, and it's that man Michael McDonald.

Written by McDonald and Kenny Loggins, this was one of the few non-disco hits in America in the first eight months of 1979.

The song tells the story of a man who is reunited with an old love interest and attempts to rekindle a romantic relationship with her before discovering that one never really existed.

Michael Jackson once claimed he contributed at least one backing track to the original recording, but was not credited for having done so. This was later denied by the band.

Christopher Cross - 'Sailing'

Christopher Cross - Sailing (Official Audio)

We're not putting this in here just because it's called 'Sailing', it's also one of the ultimate examples of the genre.

Christopher Cross reached number one in the US in 1980, and VH1 later named it the most "softsational soft rock" song of all time.

Don Henley - 'The Boys of Summer'

The Boys Of Summer DON HENLEY(1984) OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

Mike Campbell wrote the music to this track while working on Tom Petty’s Southern Accents album, but later gave it to Eagles singer Don Henley, who wrote the lyrics.

The song is about the passing of youth and entering middle age, and of a past relationship. It was covered twice in the early 2000s: as a trance track by DJ Sammy in 2002, and as a pop punk hit by The Ataris in 2003.

England Dan and John Cord Foley - 'I'd Really Love to See You Tonight'

England Dan & John Ford Coley - I'd Really Love To See You Tonight.avi

A big hit for this duo in 1976, it showcases the very best of the sock rock/AOR/yacht rock sound that the 1970s could offer.

Dan Seals is the younger brother of Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts fame. Which leads to...

Seals & Crofts - 'Summer Breeze'

Summer Breeze - Seals & Croft #1 Hit(1972)

Before The Isley Brothers recorded a slick cover, 'Summer Breeze' was an irresistible folk pop song by Seals & Crofts.

While mostly a folk song, its summer vibes and gorgeous melody make for a perfect yacht rock number.

Christopher Cross - 'Ride Like the Wind'

Ride Like The Wind Promo Video 1980 Christopher Cross

If Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins are in charge of the yacht rock ship, then Christopher Cross has to be captain, right? Cabin boy? Something anyway.

The singer was arguably the biggest success story of the relatively short-lived yacht rock era, and this one still sounds incredible.

Eagles - 'I Can't Tell You Why'

The eagles - I can't tell you why (AUDIO VINYL)

Many Eagles tunes could be classed as yacht rock, but we reckon their finest example comes from this track from their The Long Run album in 1979.

Don Henley described the song as "straight Al Green", and that Glenn Frey, an R&B fan, was responsible for the R&B feel of the song. Frey said to co-writer Timothy B Schmit: "You could sing like Smokey Robinson . Let’s not do a Richie Furay, Poco-sounding song. Let’s do an R&B song."

Gerry Rafferty - 'Baker Street'

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street (Official Video)

Gerry Rafferty probably didn't realise he was creating one of the greatest yacht rock songs of all time when he wrote this, but boy did he.

• The Story of... 'Baker Street'

With the right blend of rock and pop and the use of the iconic saxophone solo, you can't not call this yacht rock at its finest.

Michael McDonald - 'Sweet Freedom'

Michael McDonald - Sweet Freedom (1986)

If you wanted to name the king of yacht rock, you'd have to pick Michael McDonald . He could sing the phone book and it would sound silky smooth.

Possibly his greatest solo tune, it was used in the movie  Running Scared , and its music video featured actors Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines.

Hall & Oates - 'I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)'

Daryl Hall & John Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) (Official Video)

This duo knew how to make catchy hit after catchy hit. This R&B-tinged pop tune was co-written with Sara Allen (also the influence for their song 'Sara Smile').

• Hall and Oates' 10 best songs, ranked

John Oates has said that the song is actually about the music business. "That song is really about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively."

Not only was the song sampled in De La Soul's 'Say No Go' and Simply Red 's 'Home', but Michael Jackson also admitted that he lifted the bass line for 'Billie Jean'!

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The idea of yacht rock conjures up a particular lifestyle, but beneath the surface lies a treasure trove of sophisticated hits that continue to resonate.

Published on

Even some of those who signed up to the subgenre subtleties of what became known as yacht rock may consider it to be a time-locked phenomenon. Certainly, its chief protagonists first cast their subtle soft-rock sophistication in the 70s and 80s, but its melodic echoes can still be heard all these decades later.

Perhaps unusually, the phrase itself was coined as a kind of lighthearted castigation of the adult-oriented rock that seemed to exude privileged opulence: of days in expensive recording studios followed by hedonistic trips on private yachts, typically around southern California. The web TV series of the mid-00s that parodied the lifestyle was even named Yacht Rock ; one of the biggest hits of a chief exponent of the sound, Christopher Cross, was, of course, “Sailing.”

The recent resurgence in the long career of another staple, Michael McDonald, is testament to the durability of a style that was, after all, grounded in musicianship and melodicism of the highest order. Nearly 40 years after he and fellow yacht rock principle Kenny Loggins co-wrote and performed the Grammy-winning “This Is It,” the pair were afforded the high praise of a collaboration with acclaimed modern-day jazz-funk bassist Thundercat, on his track “Show You The Way.” Ahead of that, McDonald’s guest appearance with Thundercat at the 2017 Coachella Festival was a viral sensation.

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Setting sail

Like other subgenres that grew from an existing style, just as Americana did from country, the starting point of yacht rock is a matter of endless debate. Some hear it in the early 70s soft rock of Bread and hits such as “Guitar Man,” or in Seals & Crofts, the duo of the same period whose 1973 US Top 10 hit “Diamond Girl” and its follow-up, “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” are pure, classy, elegantly played and harmonised yacht rock.

As the 70s progressed and album rock radio became an ever more powerful medium in the US music business, studio production grew along with the budgets to fund it. High-fidelity citadels such as Sunset Sound and Ocean Way were the industry epitome of the Los Angeles hedonism of the day, and played host to many of the artists we celebrate here. Perhaps it was the combination of financial independence and the sun-kissed surroundings that gave rise to the phenomenon, but this was music that not only sounded opulent – it made you feel somehow more urbane just by listening to it.

California singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop was another of the artists who would retrospectively become part of what we might call the yachting club. Indeed, it’s important to point out that “yacht rock” was not a term that existed at the time the music was being made. Bishop’s acclaimed 1976 debut album, Careless , was a masterclass in well-crafted pop music for those no longer hanging on the words of every chart pin-up. Its tender opening ballad, “On And On,” which peaked just outside the mainstream US Top 10 and reached No.2 on the Easy Listening chart, is a prime example.

Making waves

McDonald, for his part, might be afforded the questionable honor of the Yacht Rock theme tune with his solo hit “Sweet Freedom,” but had earlier been a key part of the unconscious movement as a member of the Doobie Brothers. The double Grammy-winning landmark “What A Fool Believes,” again written by McDonald with Loggins, stands tall in this hall of fame. Similarly, Toto, another band of master studio craftsmen whose critical and commercial stock has risen again in recent times, stood for all the principles of yacht rock with tracks such as “99” and the undying “Africa.”

That 1982 soft-rock calling card came from the Toto IV album, which was, indeed, recorded in part at Sunset Sound and Ocean Way. But Steely Dan , one of the bands to prove that yacht rock could come from other parts of the US where the attendant lifestyle was less practical, made perhaps their biggest contribution to the subgenre after Walter Becker and Donald Fagen moved back to their native East Coast.

After their initial incarnation as a live band, Steely Dan were well established in their peerless cocoon of pristine studio production when they moved back east. That was after recording 1977’s superb Aja , the album that announced their ever-greater exploration of jazz influences. Fans and critics of the band both used the same word about them, perfectionism: some as a compliment, others as an accusation. But 1980’s equally impressive Gaucho was their yacht rock masterpiece.

Ripple effect

In such a subjective phrase, other artists seen by some as yacht rock representatives, such as Daryl Hall & John Oates, Journey, the Eagles, or even Canada’s Gordon Lightfoot, are thought by others to be creatively or geographically inappropriate, or just too mainstream to break out of the overreaching AOR terminology.

But a significant number of other artists, whose names are less quoted today, had their finest hours during the pop landscape of the late 70s and early 80s that we’ve been visiting here. Amy Holland won a Best New Artist Grammy nomination in 1981 helped by “How Do I Survive,” written by McDonald, whose wife she became soon afterwards. Robbie Dupree, a Brooklyn boy by birth, also epitomized the style with his 1980 US hit “Steal Away.” Then, in 1982, America, the band known for their definitive harmonic rock of a decade earlier, mounted a chart return with the suitably melodic “You Can Do Magic.”

The final word goes to Michael McDonald, the unwitting co-founder of the yacht rock sound. When the aforementioned mockumentary series was at the height of its popularity, he was asked if he had ever owned a yacht, and replied (perhaps disappointingly) in the negative. But, he added, “I thought Yacht Rock was hilarious. And uncannily, you know, those things always have a little bit of truth to them.

“It’s kind of like when you get a letter from a stalker who’s never met you. They somehow hit on something, and you have to admit they’re pretty intuitive.”

Listen to the Soft Rock Forever playlist for more yacht rock classics .

October 28, 2019 at 8:42 pm

if you dig this sound, you gotta check out Yachty by Nature the best yacht rock band on the West Coast. They play it all live without the backing tracks (yuck) that some bands do. They just got voted #1 Best Live Cover Band in Orange County and spreading yacht rock all over the country. Dive in!!! #yachtrock https://yachtybynature.com

October 28, 2019 at 8:44 pm

BTW, great article!!!!! Well written and thoughtfully addressed the idea of Nyacht Rock artists to the purists following the genre!

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The All-American Glory of Yacht Rock

T hey say jazz is America’s musical signature: As Ken Burns wrote, “the genius of America is improvisation, our unique experiment a profound intersection of freedom and creativity. . . . Nowhere is this more apparent than in jazz — the only art form created by Americans, an enduring and indelible expression of our genius and promise.”

Stirring words. Jazz is inventive, vibrant, and complex. Everything about it is great, except the way it sounds. Listening to jazz is like trying to chase down a housefly. There’s a reason why only French tourists pretend to like it. To quote a more honest writer, John O’Farrell: “Music is a journey. Jazz is getting lost.”

America’s truly sublime musical innovation is Yacht Rock. Savor the wit of that oxymoron: How hard can you rock if you’re on a yacht? The boat itself rocks like a baby, not like Led Zeppelin. So Yacht Rock is gentle, but it can’t be sad. There is no moping on a yacht. If you want to be glum and wear black, get off the boat and go find a jazz club. Not that anyone would ever invite you on their yacht in the first place.

The essence of a Yacht Rock song ( my Spotify playlist is here ) is that you can picture it being blasted on the deck of a yar and saucy watercraft circa 1981. Girls in cut-off shorts and bikini tops toss their arms in the air and say, “Whoo!” while the owner and host — a guy named Brad or Chad or Gary, who struck it rich with, say, a string of Camaro dealerships and is himself a sort of Camaro in human form — high-fives the guests, bites his lower lip, and moves a little off the beat, occasionally interjecting, “Awesome, man!” Brad or Chad or Gary drinks only the classy beers such as Lowenbrau or Michelob and has a cooler stocked with colorful wine coolers for the girls. Only his one very special lady will be present later when he opens up a perfectly chilled bottle of Aste Spumante. His captain’s chair is made of rich Corinthian leather.

Yacht Rock isn’t what you’d call “real” rock, angry rock, rock with a point or an attitude or a message or even a smirk, because Brad or Chad or Gary is just here to have a good time (and here is “on earth”). There is no edge to Yacht Rock any more than there is an edge to the round, rolling sea. However, Yacht Rock is not Loser Rock or Wimp Rock. It may be smooth, but it isn’t limp. When the Yacht Rock is blasting out of the JVC boom box, the sun is shining, the girls are swaying, the waves are rolling, and all is well. Any song about lost love or thwarted longing or the girl that got away is inadmissible unless it reminds Brad or Chad or Gary about that time he almost met Cheryl Tiegs in Puerto Vallarta, and he’ll tell you about this incident at length.

The line between Yacht Rock and Wimp Rock is, alas, being eroded daily by the programmers of Sirius XM, whose Yacht Rock station is Channel 105 at the moment, and also available on the app if you happen not to be driving much these days. Sirius’s Yacht Rock station is a sort of National Archives of Yacht Rock, one of America’s greatest innovations since the development of the backyard bug zapper. But thanks to some programmer’s inability to grasp that no one wants to listen to ow-my-broken-heart songs on a yacht, Channel 105 Rock is programmatically almost indistinguishable from Channel 17, the Wimp Rock station dubbed “the Bridge.” Bridge over whiny waters, that is. The Bridge is nothing but moany-groany lovey-dovey songs by the likes of Air Supply and Bread and America, and I love it inordinately. But I’m not playing anything as embarrassingly low-T as “Baby I’m-a Want You” on a yacht, unless I want to invite mutiny.

Yacht Rock has to have a pulse; it’s got to make you feel like you’re scything through the waves while you’re enjoying a classy snack like cottage cheese on melba toast. It’s got soul, but not real soul, just the blue-eyed kind. You can’t play Marvin Gaye on a yacht because Marvin Gaye was a genius. The Eagles are not Yacht Rock: They’re too great. Same for The Police and The Rolling Stones. (Most Europeans are automatically disqualified anyway; a European on a yacht conjures up an image of a 200-foot monster docking in Nice and skippered by a man named Baron von Ruprecht of Wienerwald. Who can party down in a white dinner jacket while holding a snifter of brandy?)

Yacht Rock is the unchallenging, mood-brightening background music of the ordinary Chad who struck it rich enough to get a starter yacht, albeit not rich enough to compete with Baron von Ruprecht, who had a 200-year head start. America is the land where anyone might get rich enough to own a yacht, and so Yacht Rock is a celebration of America. It makes you lift your foam beer-can insulator to the cerulean skies and bawl out, “Meet you all the way” or “Yah mo B there.”

Yacht rock has its own Lennon and McCartney, except they are named Loggins and McDonald. I know what you’re going to say, but I’ve done the research and it turns out that Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald are not the same guy. McDonald offered a foretaste of the smooth-it-down Eighties on the Doobie Brothers’ “Takin’ It to the Streets” (1976). This was the first hit single ever sung by McDonald, and was there ever a more adorable track about urban unrest? If you blasted that over loudspeakers in the midst of an actual riot, the looting and smashing would stop immediately, and everyone would beg you to stop ruining the mood. As McDonald’s profile was rising, Loggins came by like the guy in the Mr. Microphone commercial: “Hey good lookin’, I’ll be back to pick you up later!” Soon the pair were collaborating on “What a Fool Believes,” (1979), which despite being about a loser is just bouncy enough to qualify as Yacht Rock rather than loser rock. Loggins and McDonald combined again for “This Is It” (1979), a spectacularly non-specific paean to get-er-done Americanism on the cover of which Loggins is depicted holding what appears to be a magical glowing orb — obviously the mystical power cell of Yacht Rock. With “I’m Alright,” the following year, Loggins crafted a tune that was not only the perfect Yacht-Rock track, complete with misspelled title, but inspired the perfect Yacht-Rock conversation: “Did anyone see Caddyshack ?”

The summer of Caddyshack — 1980 — was Yacht Rock’s annus mirabilis . Along came a third natural master of styrofoam wave-coasting: Christopher Cross. Released at the tail end of 1979, his eponymous rookie album became the lodestar of Yacht Rock, containing both of the quintessential examples of the form. Not only did Cross come up with “Ride Like the Wind,” which actually sounds like the internal soundtrack playing in Brad/Chad/Gary’s mind as he rips across the water (and features McDonald’s epic backup vocal), but at the same time gave us “Sailing,” a song without which no one ever would have thought up the term Yacht Rock. Sadly, Cross would later become a casualty of Wimp Rock with “Arthur’s Theme (The Best That You Can Do”) and “Think of Laura.”

Yacht Rock’s subtle distinctions sometimes elude even dedicated students of the form. For instance, Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Lovin’ Fun” (Fun! Lovin!’) is Yacht Rock. Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” (cutting, bitter) is not. “Rock’n Me” (Steve Miller Band) is Yacht Rock. “Rock the Casbah” (The Clash) is not; it’s too good.

References to actually being on a boat definitely add Yacht-Rock cachet, because no one will ever accuse you of being too obvious on a boat; if anything, use of irony on the water will earn you nasty looks and maybe an order to clean out the bottom of the cooler. But “Rock the Boat” (Hues Corporation) is not Yacht Rock, it’s disco. It’s a dance song. On a yacht, you don’t dance , you dance around . Big difference. Dancing requires skill, or at least rhythm. Dancing around you can manage even if you’re a Camaro in human form. “Cool Change,” with its serene lyrics about “sailing on the cool and bright clear water,” is Yacht-Rock splendor despite being an import, from Australia’s Little River Band. Australia, though, is the most American of all overseas countries — big, confident, friendly, and party-minded. Australia is America’s honorary little brother. “Love Will Find A Way” is pure yachty bliss, not only because of the gentle, undemanding optimism of the song, not only because of the not-too-fast-buddy tempo, but because the band that performed it was Pablo Cruise. Pablo Cruise! They might as well have called themselves Boaty McBoatface.

Yacht Rock lyrics are not allowed to be profound, equivocal, or thoughtful. Paul Simon and Carole King are not Yacht Rock. Acceptable Yacht-Rock sentiments include:

“While you see a chance, take it.” “Ride into the danger zone.” “We’re still havin’ fun, and you’re still the one.” “Believe it or not, I’m walkin’ on air!” “You make-a-my dreams come true.”

And if your yacht hasn’t come in yet? Not to worry; all of these songs make the ideal soundtrack for backyard barbecuing, which is basically yacht-rocking on land. The ideal accessories are a badminton set, a Weber grill, a Coleman cooler. Get out the Bluetooth speaker, bring it into the yard, and revel in America’s glorious Yacht-Rock inheritance.

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A beginner’s guide to yacht rock in five essential albums

Yacht rock, soft rock – call it what you will. Here are five brilliant albums that define the genre in all its bearded, Hawaiian shirted glory

Was there really ever a genre called yacht rock ? Prior to the 2005 online comedy series of the same name, what we now know of as yacht rock was simply soft rock, largely of the 1970s variety, but occasionally dipping into the 80s as well. It was music that was smooth, slick and did little to challenge the listener in the way that heavy metal or punk rock would. Yet  sold in the multi-millions, made superstars of its creators, and was beloved by industry professionals for the stellar musicianship and high production values. And above all, it was detested by the critics.

Today, yacht rock is the ultimate guilty pleasure genre. Its patron saints - almost exclusively men, generally bearded – never appeared on posters that graced adolescents’ walls. Yet bands and artists such as The Doobie Brothers , Loggins & Messina and Christopher Cross made sweet, soulful music featuring some of the finest musicians of the era and sounding so, so perfect in the process.

Unlike prog, hair metal or krautrock, the boundaries of what constitutes yacht rock are blurred. There’s little to link the jazzy noodlings of Steely Dan , Boz Scaggs’ smooth pop and the later, 80s pop-rock of Hall & Oates beyond the fact that the various members of Toto appeared on many of these albums, making them kind of a yacht rock mafia.

Yacht rock, soft rock, call it what you will: the men who made it are laughing all the way to the bank in their Hawaiian shirts and well-sculpted facial hair while the rest of us celebrate their music in all its frictionless glory. Critics be damned, these are the five essential yacht rock albums for those who want to plunge into the genre.

Loggins & Messina - Full Sail (1973)

Kenny Loggins was a boyish-looking yet handsomely bearded fellow with a penchant for country-esque ballads. Jim Messina had been in Buffalo Springfield and country rockers Poco . The pair teamed up to record some of Loggins’ material and ended up becoming an unlikely success story, notching up hits with  1971 single The House At Pooh Corner and the following year’s Your Mama Don’t Dance , later covered by hair metallers Poison.

But 1973’s Full Sail was their apex. Featuring the ultimate yacht rock album cover (two men, one yacht), the album itself contains everything from the calypso frivolity of Lahaina , and the smooth jazz of Travellin’ Blues to the joyously upbeat My Music and hit ballad Watching The River Run . This is yacht rock’s ground zero. Boys, what did you unleash?

Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees (1976)

An early member of the Steve Miller Band , guitarist and vocalist Boz Scaggs’ solo career had begun 1969. But nothing had clicked with the record buying public until he hooked up with David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate, all of whom were on the verge of forming Toto , and recorded his seventh solo album, Silk Degrees . A masterful mix of smooth pop and slick ballads, it spawned hits in the shape of It’s Over , Lowdown , We’re All Alone (made famous by Rita Coolidge) and the pulsating Lido Shuffle , a bona fide dancefloor filler.

Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

Arguments rage as to whether these protagonists of achingly cool and clever jazz rock belong in the yacht rock genre, but hey, if the people who made the Yacht Rock online series say the are, who are we to argue?

Their sixth album, Aja , saw Walter Becker and Donald Fagan stretching out into longer form pieces of music that were funkier and jazzier than they’d ever been before, capping it off with one of the most pristine production jobs ever – such were their levels of perfectionism that six crack session guitarists tried and failed to lay down the guitar solo on Peg to their satisfaction (it was the seventh, Jay Graydon, who nailed it). Bonus yacht rock points: auxiliary Dan backing vocalist/keyboard player Michael McDonald was also a member of The Doobie Brothers.

The Doobie Brothers – Minute By Minute (1978)

In 1974, Steely Dan guitarist Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter moved across to hugely successful blues rockers The Doobie Brothers on a free transfer. The following year, he suggested recruiting Dan backing singer/pianist Michael McDonald as a replacement for the Doobies’ ailing guitarist/vocalist Tom Johnstone.

With his blue-eyed soul croon and knack for writing uptempo R&B-infused songs, McDonald helped nudge the band towards smoother waters. By 1978’s Minute By Minute , they had fully transformed from moustachioed chooglers into yacht rock kingpins. The album’s blend of soft rock and R&B reached its apotheosis on the majestic What A Fool Believes – co-written with Kenny Loggins, naturally – which ultimately helped turn McDonald into a bigger star than the band. For the record, the singer’s 1986 Sweet Freedom compilation is also yacht rock gold.

Christopher Cross - Christopher Cross (1979)

When Christopher Cross released his self-titled debut album in December 1979, no-one knew who he was. A year later, he’d racked up four Top 20 hits and swept the boards at the Grammy Awards.

It’s not hard to see why: Cross’ spectacular voice was matched by the brilliance of his songs. Everyone knows Ride Like The Wind , featuring that Michael McDonald fella on backing vocals, but it was the mellower Sailing that hit the No. 1 spot ( Ride… only managed No. 2). A year later Cross’ theme to the movie Arthur won him and co-writer Burt Bacharach an Oscar.

Cross was no slouch as a musician either: Steely Dan had asked him to play on their albums and he even filled in for a sick Ritchie Blackmore at a Deep Purple US show back in 1970.

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Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.

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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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That '70s Week: Yacht Rock

Talia Schlanger

Donald Fagen (left) and Walter Becker of Steely Dan. Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Donald Fagen (left) and Walter Becker of Steely Dan.

• The Doobie Brothers, "What A Fool Believes"
• Christopher Cross, "Sailing"
• Sade, "Smooth Operator"
• Nielsen/Pearson, "If You Should Sail"
• Ned Doheny, "Get It Up For Love"
• Iron & Wine, "Desert Babbler"
• Young Gun Silver Fox, "You Can Feel It"

What's the best way to become the unchallenged expert on a particular genre of music? Invent it. Enter JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, David B. Lyons and Steve Huey: coiners of the description "yacht rock," creators of a hilarious web series of the same name and now de facto captains of the genre. Broadly speaking, yacht rock is an ocean of smooth, soft-listening music made in the late '70s and early '80s by artists like Toto, Hall & Oates and Kenny Loggins — music you can sail to. But as David and Talia learn in this conversation with the arbiters of Yacht Rock , the waters are much murkier than that.

For example, according to Ryznar, "There's also a common misconception that just because it's about a boat, or the ocean, or sailing, that it's yacht rock. That is most definitely nyacht true." Thankfully, on their Beyond Yacht Rock podcast, our guests have developed a sound system of logical criteria to define what is "Yacht" and what is "Nyacht." They employ their patented "Yachtzee scale" to examine a song's "Yachtness" based on a number of factors, including its personnel (is there a Doobie Brother in there?), amount of jazz and R&B influence, geographic origin (Southern California is a plus) and lyrical obtuseness.

Listen as Ryznar and Lyons steer us towards the musical marina with a buoyant "Yacht or Nyacht" debate that includes Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Sade and the most serious discussion you can have about the proper soundtrack for standing shirtless on a deck wearing boat shoes and a sailor cap. Dive on in --the water's great.

Listen: JD Ryznar's Yacht Rock Primer

Episode playlist.

• Michael McDonald
• Hall & Oates

Backyard Road Trips

BYRT’s Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist

Shaggy feathered hair? Check. Mustache? Check. High-pitched male vocals? Check. Perfect for the sailboat? Check. Then it must be yacht rock. And here’s BYRT’s Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist (scroll to the bottom to hear the tracks)!

My first acknowledgment of the term “yacht rock” occurred in the short-lived Plymouth record store Mars Records, as there was a yacht rock category. Since then this genre of soft rock mainly from the mid to late 70s to early 80s has gained traction. 

Typically heralded as just plain corny, artists such as Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, and Bernie Higgins have gone through a resurgence of late. During the summertime, there is even a seasonal yacht rock channel on Sirius satellite radio. 

A Collaborative Effort

Often at work, my friends and I fall deep down rabbit holes. A recent such rabbit hole was compiling the ultimate yacht rock playlist. A big shout out to Mike Landolfi for all of his input on this essential piece (although he needs to grow his hair longer and feather it). 

Instead of pairing yacht rock with a six-pack of beer, we’re heading for a canned cocktail, an easy sipper for those warm summer boating days. The Litchfielder, a bourbon-based cocktail with lemon juice by Litchfield Distillery, is a good choice for those fall yachting days. Let your mullet and mustache blow in the wind, crack open the canned cocktail, and listen to the following playlist on your favorite listening device, whether through a streaming service or 8 track. 

Let the ultimate yacht rock playlist begin!

Starting the playlist is the ultimate yacht rockstar–Christopher Cross, whose “Sailing” gives the genre an identity. Next follows Rupert Holmes with “Escape,” better known as the “Pina Colada Song,” which is my least favorite song, quite terrible, but certainly exemplifies this genre. Steely Dan is a tough inclusion since I really like them and musically they are far more intricate than most on the list. I chose “Deacon Blues” which is one of my favorite Steely Dan tracks. The theme from the Greatest American Hero is known more for this rendition . Ace’s “How Long” is another track that I genuinely enjoy but still fits the bill. 

America walks that fine line between yacht rock and breezy folk-rock but ultimately belongs on this list. The Captain and Tennille feature elusive female vocals in this male-dominated genre. (and provides the antithesis to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”). Next up is the crown prince of yacht rock, Michael McDonald. Before I knew they sang “Kiss You All Over,” I thought this band had to be a hair metal band by their name, Exile. Starship finishes out at number 10 with another one of my least favorite songs, “We Built This City.” 

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with “American Dream” is also pretty bad, leaning toward the “Pina Colada Song” or Jimmy Buffet by way of light country music. Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks are truly forgettable on the track “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend.’” A great yacht rock one-hit-wonder, Player, with “Baby Come Back” is a perfect soundtrack to grocery shopping. Ambrosia, not only a dessert but “Biggest Part of Me” is another genre-defining track. “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” is simply one of those songs you know, but don’t know who sings it. Well, guess what, it’s England Dan and John Ford Coley! 

Just like the last track, Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away” I can promise you know, although I have never heard of the artist. Toto is a funny band, part mullet rock of “Hold the Line,” part pop of “Africa” and pure yacht rock with “Rosanna,” the tribute to a young Roseanne Barr . The Doobie Brothers start as a southern rock type group but head straight to the ocean with the addition of Michael McDonald, best exemplified by “What a Fool Believes.” Hall & Oates part blue-eyed soul, part yacht rock plays the part with “Kiss On My List.” Orleans’s “Still the One” is the theme song to every reelected candidate since the song came out and is still pretty terrible. 

The sailing theme is in full swing with Bertie Higgins’s “Key Largo.” For those summer nights, “Reminiscing” by Little River Band does the trick. I only knew Stephen Bishop from the soundtrack of the truly essential “ Care Bears Movie II .” The Atlanta Rhythm Section hits off with mundane soft rock, but Gerry Rafferty brings it back powerfully with “Baker Street” with the best sax riff this side of “Careless Whisper.” 

Boz Scaggs keeps the party grooving with the truly wonderful “Lido Shuffle.” Jackson Browne, all though another borderline yacht rocker, plays true to the genre with “Somebody’s Baby.” The Grass Roots also straddle the line of yacht rock but let’s include them with “Sooner or Later.” We reprise Christopher Cross with “Arthur’s Theme.” “Peg” by Steely Dan is one of their truer yacht rock takes. 

For the final seven, we start out with “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Crofts. This song fits in somewhere between yacht rock, folk rock, and breezy light hits but would sound just fine by the sea. The only yacht rock instrumental is George Benson’s “Breezin.” Feel the breeze through your feathered hair and mustache as the yacht smoothly glides over the water. Even yacht-rockers celebrate the holidays! Ray Parker Jr’s “Christmas Time is Here” is pretty boring but definitely fits the theme. Daft Punk checks off the yacht rock boxes with “Fragments of Time” from their masterpiece Random Access Memories. Michael McDonald spreads holiday cheer with “Every Time Christmas Comes Around.” Luther Vandross steps out of the bedroom and onto the yacht with the upbeat “Never Too Much.” Michael (we’re on a first-name basis) then closes the show with his superb guest vocals on Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind.” 

These 37 yacht rock “classics” will make any outboard motor run. From the kayak to the cruise ship, crack open a canned cocktail, put on this playlist, and drift away on the open water. And after all was said and done, I keep coming back for more Yacht Rock as I am an official convert!

Backyard Road Trips’ Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist

• Christopher Cross – Sailing
• Rupert Holmes – Escape (The Pina Colada Song) 
• Steely Dan – Deacon Blues
• Joey Scarbury – Theme from the “Greatest American Hero”
• Ace – How Long  
• America – Sister Golden Hair
• Captain and Tenille – Love Will Keep Us Together 
• Michael McDonald – I Keep Forgetting
• Exile – Kiss You All Over
• Starship – We Built This City
• Nitty Gritty Dirt Band –  American Dream
• Kenny Loggins with Stevie Nicks – Whenever I Call You “Friend”  
• Player – Baby Come Back
• Ambrosia – Biggest Part of Me
• England Dan and John Ford Coley – I’d Love to See You Tonight
• Robbie Dupree – Steal Away
• Toto – Rosanna
• The Doobie Brothers  – What a Fool Believes
• Hall & Oates – Kiss On My List
• Orleans – Still the One
• Bertie Higgins – Key Largo
• Little River Band – Reminiscing  
• Stephen Bishop – On and On
• Atlanta Rhythm Section – So Into You
• Gerry Rafferty – Baker Street
• Boz Scaggs – Lido Shuffle
• Jackson Browne – Somebody’s Baby
• The Grass Roots – Sooner or Later
• Christopher Cross – Arthur’s Theme
• Steely Dan – Peg
• Seals and Crofts – Summer Breeze
• George Benson – Breezin’
• Ray Parker Jr – Christmas Time is Here
• Daft Punk – Fragments of Time
• Michael McDonald – Every Time Christmas Comes Around
• Luther Vandross – Never Too Much
• Christopher Cross with Michael McDonald – Ride Like the Wind

For further reading, check out BYRT’s Ultimate Hip Hop Playlist !

2 thoughts on “BYRT’s Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist”

Take that wretched “Escape” song off there, add some more Steely Dan and I’d listen to this playlist!

Ha! Yeah that’s pretty bad but is defining of the genre.

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AMERICA’S FAVORITE YACHT ROCK BAND!™

Winner – 2023 best of las vegas – tribute act – las vegas review journal, 2023 best tribute act – vegas411, 2021 wami – best tribute artist 2019 wami – new artist of the year.

Imagine that it’s 1981 and you’re cruising the Atlantic shores of the Hamptons with your friends. Bikinis are fluorescent, polo collars are popped, and boat shoes are rocked sockless. In the background, your booming sound system is playing the soft-rock sounds of Olivia Newton-John, Toto, Kenny Loggins, The Carpenters, Michael McDonald, Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, and Air Supply.

The Docksiders are made up of music industry veterans – led by 3-time Grammy™ nominee, Kevin Sucher. Their unique tribute act of your favorite “soft rock” songs of the 70s and 80s – now defined as Yacht Rock – have been entertaining thousands of people for years and the revival of this genre and audiences are only getting bigger.

The Docksiders just completed a 50+ show run at The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas… and now Headline at Notoriety Live on Fremont St.

Show stopping hit song after hit song, costume changes, and production, is only topped by their world-class performance.

Take some time to discover our many videos on our  YouTube Channel  and stop by our  Facebook page  for additional entertaining content!

Keep it SMOOTH friends – Thanks for stopping by our website!

“GET ON THE BOAT!!!! The Docksiders show defines Yacht Rock!! They are the total experience of this genre of music! So yes, get on the boat, have a beer, have some pizza, and party with the the greatest Yacht Rock Band in the country …The Docksiders!” – Tony Orlando – Legend

“in a short amount of time, this dazzling couple has made a meteor-sized impact on las vegas entertainment. they’re everywhere, doing everything, and winning hearts wherever they go. erin and kevin sucher truly are gifts to our city. please support their efforts, along with the amazing colleagues, band members, friends, and collaborators who join them in making our city a brighter and happier place.” – sam novak – vegas411, “i just wanted to drop a note to tell you how much i loved the show last night. i seriously wish i could book this band, like, every other week. you are so fun to listen to, and you sounded fantastic. really on point with vocals and musicianship. thanks so much for coming to omaha, i hope to get you back here at some point down the road” – erika hansen, booking manager – omaha performing arts center.

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Cruise control: how yacht rock sailed back into fashion

Smooth, well-produced, meticulously written: soft rock had a bad reputation in the DIY 80s and 90s. But today it has renewed relevance. An aficionado explains

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s I worked in the music industry, doing marketing for record labels including Sony, Universal and Interscope Geffen A&M. My love for all things smooth, granted as a birthright to all born within the Santa Cruz county lines, never waned. I was often teased for being an aficionado of the soft-rock genre by colleagues at the office and bands I toured with. It was completely uncool to admit to being a fan of glossily produced songs in the era of indie rock, grunge and riot grrrls .

These “yacht rockers” that scored my early years seemed to clash with the artists I came of age with in my teens and 20s and were consigned to kitsch silliness along with fondue sets and Jello moulds quivering with mysterious canned fruit. The indie scenes of the late 1980s and early 90s were often based on DIY, grit and limiting your personal adornment to some semi-clean Converse trainers and second-hand clothes. Bands celebrated a punk ethos where the consumer/record-buyer could also be the producer/artist, and authenticity reigned supreme. Such artists provided a glaring contrast to wondering if a possible soulmate wants to Escape (I Like Pina Coladas) (as suggested by Rupert Holmes in his single of the same name). The whole idea of “selling out” – forgetting or shucking off your humble beginnings for the glamour and glitter of big rock star money, or even enjoying success – was often publicly frowned upon (though behind the scenes, many an artist enjoyed the very lifestyles that the yachters condoned).

Undaunted by the perceived repulsion of others, I began a one-woman journey to create a comprehensive yacht collection. For work, I often traveled through the US on tours with bands. We would stop at various record stores, giving me ample opportunity to pick up discounted Andrew Gold , Robbie Dupree and Looking Glass vinyl and badges. I once got into a passionate argument with a member of Limp Bizkit who claimed to not like Hall and Oates’ Private Eyes – a masterpiece on a par with the Mona Lisa in my eyes. Maybe it came from the audio cues of those songs, taking me back to the halcyon days of my Californian youth, growing up near the sea, when the world seemed full of possibility; or perhaps it was because my contemporaries thought these groups were so horrendous – but could never really articulate why – my devotion to yacht grew over time.

The mystery of my lasting infatuation was finally solved several years ago, when I was helping a friend’s band sell merchandise at a show in the main venue in my hometown, The Catalyst. I had spent my formative years as a music fan there, eating burnt pizza and sipping flat Coke while watching gigs. There, subway sized in crisp black and white, was an autographed, framed poster of Michael McDonald – the former Doobie Brother himself – carefully backlit so as not to ruin or fade the image. Of all the countless bands and legendary artists who had played the venue – from Nirvana to Snoop Dogg – the image was the sole adornment on the walls of the cavernous club.

And that was when it hit me – why be ashamed of appreciating a carefully crafted, meticulously produced song, which, technically speaking, most tracks in the yacht category are? Expense was of no consequence, with countless dollars and hours dedicated to brass and string sections, recording and engineers. Urban legend even claims that while making their seven-song 1980 album Gaucho , Steely Dan, known for their attention to every tiny detail during the recording process, employed no less than 42 session musicians and 11 engineers. There was no Auto-Tune to bring sub-par vocals up to a listenable standard, or lip-syncing at a live performance in yacht – it was real, meticulous, and yes, often sported a fashion faux pas (too many to enumerate here). There existed an earnestness in such obsession, of wanting to get everything just right. As an artist, as a craftsmen, you wanted each track to be as perfect as it was possible to make it.

Recently, I and my fellow yacht aficionados are having the last laugh, however, as the music, bands and even facial hair of the AOR era are getting the love, adoration, respect and reverence that other genres have experienced in retrospect (see: punk, disco). The very care and attention to detail that had gone out of style is now being embraced and appreciated. A decade after Spin magazine touted the cover headline “Why Hall and Oates are the New Velvet Underground,” its presence is still strong. In 2015, Fleetwood Mac played to sold-out crowds across the globe. Pop and rock acts as divergent as Mac DeMarco , Haim , Brandon Flowers , Lana Del Rey , Stepkids and White Denim (not to mention much of the chillwave scene) all give mad props to the smooth production and timeless quality of yacht. Take that Fred Durst!

It’s not only yacht rock’s pristine sonics that remain relevant in 2016. This month marks the 37th anniversary of Supertramp’s The Logical Song, their chart-topping single. It was the lead track from Breakfast In America, their 1979 career-defining album that led the group to global success. I recently revisited the lyrics of The Logical Song and was surprised to find, after all my years of obsessive listening to the track, I had never heard it. Embedded in the jazzy sax solos and Roger Hodgson’s smoothness, there is a message of being true to yourself, your values and morals – and staying tuned in to the world around you. It is for these reasons that the song is as relevant today as it was when it first hit the airwaves. It makes the point that logic can restrict passion and creativity, turning an innocent child into a fearful, jaded adult. Hodgson contrasts the earnest naivety of youth, a place where “ … life was so wonderful / A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical” – with the adult world in which you have to “… watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical / Liberal, fanatical, criminal.”

If taken in its original context of newly minted civil and women’s rights movements, fresh memories of Vietnam as well as the Stonewall riots, Hodgson’s lyrics are cold critique and reflection, possibly damnation, as the injustices of segregation, war and inequality that could only happen “… when all the world’s asleep,” in a society that places value on the “logical, responsible, practical … Clinical, intellectual, cynical.” Supertramp’s masterpiece highlights the seriousness of not engaging seriously with critical analysis: “Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned?” As I look across the Atlantic to my native land, with a presidential race on the horizon, The Logical Song seems more important, more narrative, more harrowing than ever before.

Yacht somehow became pigeonholed as an embarrassing relic of the overkill 80s, the silly, sad relative we want to ignore when we see them in public. The tatty, trying-to-get-by aesthetic of the American and UK music economies in the late 20th century was a reflection of what many people in the audience were experiencing on a daily basis. It was hard to relate to Sailing away, Christopher Cross-style, on a gleaming boat, when you and your peers were drowning in student loans, recession and limited employment prospects. The frustrated lyrics of Pulp’s Common People and the raw urgency of any Tracy Chapman track spoke much more to the climate and to those reaching adulthood during the Clinton administration. Guess what the president’s theme song was? Yep, a cornerstone of yacht rock – Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop . But it’s obvious why Clinton chose this particular jam as his signature tune. With few exceptions, yacht rock consists of uplifting, feel good party tunes, often including a seriously smooth saxophone solo.

No wonder my parents’ generation loved it so much – they were raising kids during the Carter administration, a time filled with recession, an energy crisis and the nightly news counting down how many days the Iran hostage crisis had been going on (without the internet, mobile phones or a microwave – it is a miracle they survived at all). In the UK there were similar issues, with record unemployment, strikes and slashes in education spending. Kenny Loggins asking his audience to carpe the diem in This Is It probably offered a reprieve, and had a soothing property to my parents. Yacht was the ying to the scary world’s yang. Perhaps today , we need the respite of yacht now more than ever.

The best yacht songs have endured for decades and still sound amazing – even topical – in an uncertain world. The fact that The Catalyst – who host all kinds of hipster, metal, reggae and hip-hop acts – had one solitary picture on display, in an almost reverential manner, said it all: it’s OK, and perhaps important, to recognise and celebrate quality. These songs stick with you, like fine-tooled leather shoes, over and through time, perhaps because they were obsessed over in their inception. Like an upmarket wine, or a pricier cheese, these records just get better, more appreciated, more valuable, with time. Now let’s hope our politicians take note of yacht’s message and the voters do it Doobie Brothers style when it comes to election day: let’s Take It to the Streets – er, polls!

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Playlist of the Week: Top 100 Songs of Yacht Rock

Each week we’re featuring a playlist to get your mind going and help you assemble your favorites. This week we take a deep dive into the soft rock hits of the late ’70s and early ’80s, which have come to be known in some circles as Yacht Rock. The term Yacht Rock generally refers to music in the era where yuppies enjoyed sipping champaign on their yachts — a concept explored in the original web series Yacht Rock, which debuted in 2005 and has developed a cult following. Artists most commonly thought of in the Yacht Rock era include Michael McDonald, Ambrosia, 10cc, Toto, Kenny Loggins, Boz Scaggs, and Christopher Cross. Yacht Rock has become the muse of a great number of tribute bands, and is the current subject of a short-run channel on Sirius XM.

Here is a stab at the Top 100 Songs of Yacht Rock — not necessarily in rank order, with a few more added for honorable mention. We welcome your comments. What songs are ranked too high? What songs are ranked too low? What songs are missing? Make your case. Also, please let us know concepts for playlists you’d like to see — or share a favorite list of your own.

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Yacht Rock: Album Guide

By David Browne

David Browne

Summer’s here and time is right for dancing … on the deck of a large nautical vessel. During the late Seventies and early Eighties, the radio was dominated by silver-tongued white-dude crooners with names like Rupert and Gerry, emoting over balmy R&B beats, swaying saxes, and dishwasher-clean arrangements. Though it didn’t have a name, the genre — soft rock you could dance to — was dismissed by serious rock fans as fluffy and lame. But thanks to a web series in the mid-2000s, the style — belatedly named “ yacht rock ” — has since spawned a satellite-radio channel, tribute bands, and a Weezer cover of Toto’s “Africa.” Is the modern love of the music ironic or sincere? Hard to say, yet there’s no denying yacht rock is a legit sound with a vibe all its own that produced a surprising amount of enduring music perfectly at home in summer. (John Mayer even tips his own sailor’s hat to the genre on his new “Last Train Home” single, and even the aqua-blue cover of his upcoming Sob Rock album.) The resumption of the Doobie Brothers’ 50th anniversary tour, postponed last year due to COVID-19 but scheduled to restart in August, is the cherry atop the Pina colada.

Boz Scaggs, Silk Degrees (1976)

Before yacht rock was an identifiable genre, Scaggs (no fan of the term, as he told Rolling Stone in 2018) set the standard for what was to come: sharp-dressed white soul, burnished ballads that evoked wine with a quiet dinner, and splashes of Me Decade decadence (the narrator of the pumped “Lido Shuffle” is setting up one more score before leaving the country). Add in the Philly Soul homage “What Can I Say,” the burbling life-on-the-streets homage “Lowdown,” and the lush sway of “Georgia,” and Silk Degrees , internationally or not, set a new high bar for Seventies smoothness.

Steely Dan, Aja (1977)

The sophisticated high-water mark of yacht, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s masterpiece is the midway point between jazz and pop, with tricky tempo shifts, interlocking horn and keyboard parts, and pristine solos. Not settling for easygoing period clichés, these love songs, so to speak, are populated by a sleazy movie director (the gorgeous rush of “Peg”), a loser who still hopes to be a jazzman even if the odds are against him (the heart-tugging “Deacon Blues”), and a guy whose nodding-out girlfriend is probably a junkie (“Black Cow”). The most subversive cruise you’ll ever take.

The Doobie Brothers, Minute by Minute (1978)

The Doobies got their start as a biker-y boogie band, but they smoothed things out for Minute by Minute . Highlighted by “What a Fool Believes,” the unstoppable Michael McDonald-Kenny Loggins co-write, the LP piles on romantic turmoil, falsetto harmonies, and plenty of spongy electric piano. But it also proves how much personality and muscle the Doobies could bring to what could be a generic sound. McDonald’s husky, sensitive-guy delivery shrouds the unexpectedly bitter title song (“You will stay just to watch me, darlin’/Wilt away on lies from you”)  and honoring their biker roots, “Don’t Stop to Watch the Wheels” is about taking a lady friend for a ride on your hog.

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Further Listening

Seals & crofts, get closer (1976).

The Dylan-goes-electric moment of yacht, “Get Closer” validated the idea that folkie singer-songwriters could put aside their guitars (and mandolin), tap into their R&B side and cross over in ways they never imagined. In addition to the surprising seductiveness of the title hit, Get Closer has plenty of yacht-rock pleasures. In “Goodbye Old Buddies,” the narrator informs his pals that he can’t hang out anymore now that he’s met “a certain young lady,” but in the next song, “Baby Blue,” another woman is told, “There’s an old friend in me/Tellin’ me I gotta be free.” A good captain follows the tide where it takes him.

Christopher Cross, Christopher Cross  (1979)

Cross’ debut swept the 1981 Grammys for a reason: It’s that rare yacht-rock album that’s graceful, earnest, and utterly lacking in smarm. Songs like the politely seductive “Say You’ll Be Mine” and the forlorn “Never Be the Same” have an elegant pop classicism, and the yacht anthem “Sailing” could be called a powered-down ballad. Fueled by a McDonald cameo expertly parodied on SCTV , the propulsive “Ride Like the Wind” sneaks raw outlaw lyrics (“Lived nine lives/Gunned down ten”) into its breezy groove, perfecting the short-lived gangster-yacht subgenre.

Rupert Holmes, Partners in Crime (1979)

The album that made Holmes a soft-rock star is known for “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” which sports a made-for-karaoke chorus and a plot twist worthy of a wide-collar O. Henry. But what distinguishes the album is the Steely Dan-level musicianship and Holmes’ ambitious story songs, each sung with Manilow-esque exuberance. The title track equates a hooker and her john to co-workers at a department store, “Lunch Hour” ventures into afternoon-delight territory, and “Answering Machine” finds a conflicted couple trading messages but continually being cut off by those old-school devices.

Steely Dan, Gaucho (1980)

The Dan’s last studio album before a lengthy hiatus doesn’t have the consistency of Aja, but Gaucho cleverly matches their most vacuum-sealed music with their most sordid and pathetic cast of characters. A seedy older guy tries to pick up younger women in “Hey Nineteen,” another loser goes in search of a ménage à trois in “Babylon Sisters,” a coke dealer delivers to a basketball star in “Glamour Profession,” and the narrator of “Time Out of Mind” just wants another heroin high. It’s the dark side of the yacht.

Going Deeper

Michael mcdonald, if that’s what it takes  (1982).

Imagine a Doobie Brothers album entirely comprised of McDonald songs and shorn of pesky guitar solos or Patrick Simmons rockers, and you have a sense of McDonald’s first and best post-Doobs album. If That’s What it Takes builds on the approach he nailed on “What a Fool Believes” but amps up the sullen-R&B side of Mac’s music. His brooding remake of Lieber and Stoller’s “I Keep Forgettin’” is peak McDonald and the title track approaches the propulsion of Christopher Cross’ “Ride Like the Wind.” With his sad-sack intensity, McDonald sounds like guy at a seaside resort chewing over his mistakes and regrets – with, naturally, the aid of an electric piano.

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Kenny Loggins, Keep the Fire (1979)

Loggins’ journey from granola folk rocker to pleasure-boat captain embodies the way rock grew more polished as the Seventies wore on. Anchored by the percolating-coffeemaker rhythms and modestly aggro delivery of “This Is It,” another McDonald collaboration, Keep the Fire sets Loggins’ feathery voice to smooth-jazz saxes and R&B beats, and Michael Jackson harmonies beef up the soul quotient in “Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong.” The secret highlight is “Will It Last,” one of the sneakiest yacht tracks ever, fading to a finish after four minutes, then revving back up with some sweet George Harrison-style slide guitar.

Dr. Hook, Sometimes You Win  (1979)

Earlier in the Seventies, these jokesters established themselves with novelty hits like “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone,’’ but they soon paddled over to unabashed disco-yacht. Sometimes You Win features three of their oiliest ear worms: “Sexy Eyes,” “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman” and “Better Love Next Time,” all oozing suburban pickup bars and the somewhat desperate dudes who hang out there. The album, alas, does not include “Sharing the Night Together,” recently reborn by way of its sardonic use in last year’s Breaking Bad spinoff El Camino .

Carly Simon, Boys in the Trees  (1978)

As a trailblazing female singer-songwriter, Simon was already a star by the time yacht launched. Boys in the Trees features her beguiling contribution to the genre, “You Belong to Me,” a collaboration with the ubiquitous Michael McDonald. The Doobies cut it first, but Simon’s version adds an air of yearning and hushed desperation that makes it definitive. The album also packs in a yacht-soul cover of James Taylor’s “One Man Woman” and a “lullaby for a wide-eyed guy” called “Tranquillo (Melt My Heart),” all proving that men didn’t have a stranglehold on this style.

Anchors Aweigh

More smooth hits for your next high-seas adventure.

“BREEZIN’”

George Benson, 1976

The guitarist and Jehovah’s Witness made the leap from midlevel jazz act to crossover pop star with a windswept instrumental that conveys the yacht spirit as much as any vocal performance.

“WHATCHA GONNA DO?”

Pablo Cruise, 1976

Carefree bounce from a San Francisco band with the best name ever for a soft-rock act — named, fittingly, after a chill Colorado buddy.

“BAKER STREET”

Gerry Rafferty, 1978

Rafferty brought a deep sense of lonely-walk-by-the-bay melancholy to this epic retelling of a night on the town, in which Raphael Ravenscroft’s immortal sax awakens Rafferty from his morning-after hangover.

“REMINISCING”

Little River Band, 1978

The Aussie soft rockers delivered a slurpy valentine sung in the voice of an old man looking back on his “lifetime plan” with his wife. Innovative twist: flugelhorn solo instead of sax.

“WHENEVER I CALL YOU ‘FRIEND’ ”

Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks, 1978

After its ethereal intro, this rare genre duet grows friskier with each verse, with both Loggins and Nicks getting more audibly caught up in the groove — and the idea of “sweet love showing us a heavenly light.”

“LOTTA LOVE”

Nicolette Larson, 1978

Neil Young’s sad-boy shuffle is transformed into a luscious slice of lounge pop by the late Larson. Adding an extra layer of poignancy, she was in a relationship with Young around that time.

“STEAL AWAY”

Robbie Dupree, 1980

Is it real, or is it McDonald? Actually, it’s the best Doobies knockoff — a rinky-dink (but ingratiating) distant cousin to “What a Fool Believes” that almost inspired McDonald to take legal action.

“TAKE IT EASY”

Archie James Cavanaugh, 1980

Cult rarity by the late Alaskan singer-songwriter that crams in everything you’d want in a yacht song: disco-leaning bass, smooth-jazz guitar, sax, and a lyric that lives up to its title even more than the same-titled Eagles song.

“BIGGEST PART OF ME”

Ambrosia, 1980

Ditching the prog-classical leanings of earlier albums, this trio headed straight for the middle of the waterway with this Doobies-lite smash. Bonus points for lyrics that reference a “lazy river.”

“I CAN’T GO FOR THAT (NO CAN DO)”

Daryl Hall and John Oates, 1981

The once unstoppable blue-eyed soul duo were never pure yacht, but the easy-rolling beats and shiny sax in this Number One hit got close. Hall adds sexual tension by never specifying exactly what he can’t go for.

“COOL NIGHT”

Paul Davis, 1981

The Mississippi crooner-songwriter gives a master class on how to heat up a stalled romance: Pick a brisk evening, invite a female acquaintance over, and suggest . . . lighting a fire.

“KEY LARGO”

Bertie Higgins, 1981

Yacht’s very own novelty hit is corny but deserves props for quoting from not one but two Humphrey Bogart films ( Key Largo and Casablanca ).

“AFRICA”

The same year that members of Toto did session work on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, they released the Mount Kilimanjaro of late-yacht hits.

“SOUTHERN CROSS”

Crosby, Stills, and Nash, 1982

The combustible trio’s gusty contribution to the genre has choppy-water rhythms and enough nautical terminology for a sailing manual.

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20 of the Most Yacht Rock Cars to Have Rocked America

Nautical themes were advertising magic, and some cars really lived the lifestyle.

Christopher Cross probably did not know what fuse he lit back in 1979 with his mellow hit “Sailing.” Christopher Cross didn't even buy a yacht—he bought an orange BMW M1 , and we've seen it.

But yacht rock was also an aesthetic, one that required a certain wardrobe and a certain kind of car. Automakers' ad agencies were the first to pounce on the sailing phenomenon and sought to get shoppers into cars by selling them the yachting lifestyle. Sometimes the effort was subtle, with faint marine themes, and other times it involved hitting the audience with a folding chair to get the point across: Buy this boat-sized sedan and you too can join the carefree, oceangoing elites!

Here are 20 of the most yacht rock cars ever to have sailed the interstates.

1992 Lincoln Continental

The Continental pulled no punches in this ad from the early 1990s, pandering to prospective buyers' vanity. "Its computer-controlled dual-damping air suspension knows you're too important to be bumped around," the ad copy promised. "People will stare. But you get used to that when you're high profile. Right?"

Yacht Rock Rating: 4/10. This is just a big sedan, so the sail boats here are doing a lot of the selling work. Aside from size, however, the Continental made no effort by itself to appear nautical in some way.

1993 Chevrolet Caprice Classic LS

The Caprice of this generation was very much a boat, one aimed at an older (or police-employed) demographic, so the older-coupe-on a-yacht-backdrop was perfect. By this time big Chevy sedans were not exactly in vogue, and this was basically one of the last big sedans for Chevy, appropriately code-named B-body. It saw decent sales, even though police fleet sales were a big part of it.

Yacht Rock Rating: 4/10. It's a big and not particularly luxurious police car. It made for a weird private ownership experience even when new—if you were a middle-aged male with a mustache driving one, people just assumed it was an unmarked cruiser.

1974 Oldsmobile Toronado

The Toronado was one of the larger coupes you could buy in the 1970s, and even the boat in the background of this picture somehow seems small by comparison. The sailor in the yellow sweater could be standing on the hood of the car here, and it would basically be the same photo. The man on the left is handling an old-timey diving helmet, so it looks like they're going to use the car to pull something big and heavy out of the water.

Yacht Rock Rating: 6/10. The Toronado isn't finished in any particularly nautical color, but after all this is the 1970s we're talking about, so different shades of brown were mandated by federal law. Olds didn't really have too many options here, but it's certainly yacht-sized.

1995 Lincoln Town Car Spinnaker Edition

The Town Car was very much a yacht, and Lincoln had been into sailing sponsorships for years by this time. The Spinnaker Edition, naturally, sprinkled itself with as much of that sweet, sweet yachting lifestyle imagery as it could. In fact, there are five whole boats in this picture not counting the car itself, which sports a two-tone look here that's vaguely nautical, with a navy blue main color.

Yacht Rock Rating: 7/10 . The navy blue color really sells the image, but it's not a convertible at all, so it loses some points. The car's demographic is also a little on the older side to fit into the classic aesthetic of the yacht rock lifestyle— yuppies did not buy these, especially in the 1990s.

1994 Lincoln Town Car Regatta Edition

Yes, Lincoln (the car company, not the former US president) was into sailing big time, offering a new special edition with a sailing theme just about every year, it seemed. For 1994 the boaty Town Car received the Regatta treatment, which meant prominent pinstripes and a navy blue paint color as one of the options. The art here is pretty spectacular and once again features an older guy at the steering wheel—not too subtle considering the car's target audience.

Yacht Rock Rating: 7/10. The sailing connection here is a bit thin even though the Regatta name is marketing gold. Perhaps the only thing that kept Lincoln from naming one of its models Regatta was the fact that Buick offered a Reatta during this time.

1987 Lincoln Town Car Stars and Stripes Edition

Lincoln had the sailing theme going for some time, and for 1987 the Town Car was available in a light bluish gray color, either to simulate sea spray or to match buyers' hair colors. These came with a vinyl roof in a navy blue color, of course, and also featured unique badging.

Yacht Rock Rating: 7/10 . These were big, decadent galleons at the peak of the 1980s, so it was hard to go wrong by offering a nautical theme. The amount of chrome alone could blind pedestrians, but the buyer demographic here was also likely a little too old to be a good fit with the musical genre. Sailing-obsessed yuppies did not really buy big American sedans.

1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham coupe

First of all, bonus points for the long model name. Second, the Olds Cutlass and all of its variants amounted to a completely ridiculous share of all GM car sales during this time, so these incredibly fancy names were just stacked on top of each other in a word salad that buyers apparently clamored for. A cutlass is a short, curved sword that was favored by sailors in centuries past, so Oldsmobile felt it could capitalize on some sailing themes in its marketing, even though the boat seen here is the motorized kind.

Yacht Rock Rating: 7/10 . Is this the car you'd take to the dock to have the skipper toss you a knapsack full of lobsters? Olds bet that the answer would be yes and was rewarded with great sales numbers.

1989 Chrysler Le Baron GTC convertible

The Le Baron convertible, despite being a K-car underneath, somehow managed to represent affordable leisure in the 1980s—the luxury cruiser without the luxury price. Nautical themes were communicated with more subtlety, with the Le Baron making a play here for the East Coast lifestyle, capturing its essence without being overt about it.

Yacht Rock Rating: 8/10. The Le Baron convertible appealed to yuppies, and it was just the right size for the time, which cannot be said for other galleons aimed at older audiences. It was for yacht rockers without an actual million-dollar yacht.

1993 Buick Roadmaster

The Roadmaster was more a Roadblaster , featuring a barrel-shaped body and the dynamics of a boat, in addition to wooden sides, so it was virtually guaranteed that Buick would use a nautical theme to promote this new galleon. It's on the pier here, and the ad agency made sure that a mast was prominently visible amid some modern New England-style architecture in the background

Yacht Rock Rating: 8/10. The Roadmaster was already a ship among cars, so the sailing themes come very naturally. Somehow, Buick missed out on creating some kind of special edition with a sailing theme, but these were selling even without it.

1967 Lincoln Continental convertible

The Continentals of the 1960s are classic designs, regal enough by themselves without using sailing to sell people into them. The light blue color of this example works well with a nautical theme, but just about any color would on this model.

Yacht Rock Rating: 8/10. It's a convertible, it's elegant, it's light blue and it has the footprint of a yacht. The only thing it lacks is a garish color scheme associated with the sailing lifestyle of the 1970s and 1980s—this thing is a decade too early to fit into the hairy-chested booze cruise era of sailing.

1982 DMC DeLorean

Before the DeLorean became synonymous with Back to the Future and made circus clowns out of the owners who modded their cars after movie version, it was a futuristic coupe with a PRV V6 that made an effort to court the yuppie audience. The result is quite evident in this photo, which sports a mellow harbor landscape. You can practically hear a Chris Cross song in this photo.

Yacht Rock Rating: 8/10. The DeLorean was not a big seller back when it was actually new, so not too many of the yuppie sailing demo actually got behind the wheel. But the effort in this brochure is very narrowly targeted.

1976 Saab 99

Before the Saab 900 captured the wallets of yuppie sailors, the 99 laid the groundwork for the yacht rock lifestyle. The smallish 99 sedan was urbane, European, and somehow a common sight in boat yards around New England. The same was only vaguely true for the other major Swedish sedan of the time—the Volvo 240. The Saab 99 wasn't cheap, and its peculiar styling communicated an appreciation of rare items and taste.

Yacht Rock Rating: 9/10. Somehow, Saabs became very popular yuppie-mobiles in record time, without trying too hard to win over this audience.

1976 Saab 99 GL

Though Saab became the official car of the leisure sailing crowd without making an overt effort to court that audience, this advert is one of the rare exceptions, featuring a vessel, a nautical paint color and a young couple.

Yacht Rock Rating: 9/10. Somehow, Saabs and sailing just go well together, and the later 900 models solidified their grip on this audience. We're only giving this model a 9/10 because the later 900 convertible hits more themes by virtue of being a convertible.

1984 Cadillac Seville

It wouldn't be a list of yacht rock cars without the "droopy" Seville. Yes, one of the more regrettable Cadillacs of the 1980s made a play for the crowd that eats dinner on a parked boat. At least we're hoping dinner is in fact what's going on inside—but who knows?

Yacht Rock Rating: 9/10. The Seville did some short-term damage to Cadillac with its truncated trunk, while seeking to appeal to buyers who regularly dropped by a boat to sip some wine and listen to smooth synth rhythms.

1982 Porsche 928S

Few other brands were embraced by yuppies in the 1980s as much as Porsche , and this 928S ad throws a bone to the sailing demographic that was very much in the market for any Porsche, but perhaps not the most expensive or demanding ones.

Yacht Rock Rating: 10/10. Porsche's ad agency clearly knew what it was doing here and what Porsche buyers were into. This is a portrait of an era, really.

1983 Jeep Wagoneer Limited

This is the only SUV on this list, but it scores all the points being the official SUV of sailing in the 1980s. The Wagoneer was by no means a new model, as it had long ago staked a claim to the wealthy leisure audience that was, of course, into sailing. The wood siding helps the Wagoneer here, as does the ample space in the back for sailing gear and expensive pieces of luggage. The pitch to the yacht crowd is very overt here, as Jeep was keen enough to get involved in the America's Cup.

Yacht Rock Rating: 10/10 , even without the America's Cup advertising presence.

1987 Saab 900 Turbo convertible

Despite the fact that nautical themes are only hinted at here, with blue hues and a sprayed-down surface, the Saab 900 is very much a yacht rock car, having attracted the attention of coastal yuppies in the 1980s. Still a fixture in New England boat yards four decades later, the 900 managed to grab this audience without ever really trying—and without resorting to various nautical special editions.

Yacht Rock Rating: 10/10 , simply because the 900 has somehow managed to become the official car of leisure sailing in the 1980s.

1968 Buick Sport Wagon

The marketing imagery for the "Sporto" always had a whiff of nautical themes, and Buick seemed eager to exploit them to their full potential. The Sport Wagon of 1968 really sells the yachting lifestyle, even though sailing had yet to hit its peak. But combined with a spacious interior and a generous exterior, complete with woodgrain siding, the Sport Wagon seemed destined to capitalize on sailing themes.

Yacht Rock Rating: 10/10. This wagon gets bonus points for openly likening the wood sides of a yacht with the wood sides of the wagon, and also for parading some sailing-appropriate clothing and gear.

1986 Jaguar XJ-SC

It won't surprise anyone that the Jaguar XJ-SC would make this list, and it's obvious why: This was a very popular car for those who were into sailing in this particular era, and it was also decadent and quite extroverted when it came to styling. If you were going to show up at the dock with your squeeze, there were really no better cars to kick off a weekend out at sea.

Yacht Rock Rating: 10/10. This was a popular yuppie-mobile, and it fit into the sailing lifestyle remarkably well.

1976 Cadillac Eldorado

This list wouldn't be complete without an Eldo, and here the pitch to the leisure yachting demographic is very overt. It helped that the car itself was one of the larger vessels on the road, and it succeeded in reaching a very wide demographic in the late 1970s.

Yacht Rock Rating: 10/10. All the major themes of yacht rock are off the charts here: decadence, kitsch, luxury, individualism, romance, sailing, and vanity.

Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013. 

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AllMusic Loves Yacht Rock

By AllMusic Staff

Jun. 25, 2014

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Alone on the Ocean, With 400,000 Friends

As Cole Brauer speeds to the finish of a solo race around the world, she is using Instagram to blow up sailing’s elitist image.

Before she could begin the Global Solo Challenge, a nonstop solo race around the world, Cole Brauer had to sail First Light, a 40-foot yacht, from Rhode Island to Spain. Credit... Samuel Hodges

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By Chris Museler

• Published Feb. 29, 2024 Updated March 1, 2024

Video dinner parties, spa days, stuffed animals, favorite hoodies and cozy, colorful fleece blankets. Cole Brauer’s Instagram feed hardly feels like the work of someone racing a 40-foot sailboat around the world in the Global Solo Challenge. But Ms. Brauer, 29, is not an average ocean racer.

In 2022, Ms. Brauer had tried out for another competition, the Ocean Race, which is considered the pinnacle of professional ocean racing. Sailors in that race are highly trained, wear matching foul weather gear and have corporate sponsors. And most of them are men. Ms. Brauer, who had sailed thousands of miles on high performance ocean racing boats, felt she was ready to join their ranks.

But after competing in trials in France, Ms. Brauer was told she was “too short for the Southern Ocean” and was sent on her way.

In spite of her small stature — she stands 5 feet 1 inch — Ms. Brauer rounded Cape Horn, Chile, on Jan. 26, the last of the three great capes of her journey to finish the Global Solo Challenge. It is a feat most of the Ocean Race sailors picked instead of her have never even attempted. And despite being the youngest competitor in the race, she is ranked second overall, just days away from reaching the finish line in A Coruña, Spain.

Along the way, her tearful reports of breakages and failures, awe-struck moments during fiery sunrises, dance parties and “shakas” signs at the end of each video have garnered her a following that has eclipsed any sailor’s or sailing event’s online, even the Ocean Race and the America’s Cup, a prestigious race that is more well known by mainstream audiences.

“I’m so happy to have rounded the Horn,” Ms. Brauer said in a video call from her boat, First Light, after a morning spent sponging out endless condensation and mildew from its bilges. “It feels like Day 1. I feel reborn knowing I’ll be in warmer weather. The depression you feel that no one in the world can fix that. Your house is trying to sink and you can’t stop it.”

Shifting gears, she added, “It’s all getting better.”

Ms. Brauer’s rise in popularity — she has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram — has come as a surprise to her, but her achievements, combined with her bright personality, have struck a chord. And she has set a goal of using her platform to change the image of professional ocean sailing.

“Cole wants to prove you can go around the world and watch Netflix every once in a while and wear your pajamas,” said Lydia Mullan, Ms. Brauer’s media manager. “As for her mental health, she’s really creating a space in her routine for herself, to create that joy she hasn’t seen in other sailors.”

Four months after she began the Global Solo Challenge, a solo, nonstop race around the world featuring sailboats of different sizes, Ms. Brauer is holding strong. Sixteen sailors began the journey and only eight remain on the ocean, with the Frenchman Philippe Delamare having finished first on Feb. 24 after 147 days at sea.

Ms. Brauer, who was more than a week ahead of her next closest competitor as of Thursday morning, is on track to set a speed record for her boat class, and to be the first American woman to complete a solo, nonstop sailing race around the world.

Her Authentic Self

Ms. Brauer has been happy to turn the image of a professional sailor on its head. Competitors in the Ocean Race and the America’s Cup tend to pose for static social media posts with their arms crossed high on their chests, throwing stern glares. Ms. Brauer would rather be more comfortable.

She brought objects like fleece blankets on her journey, despite the additional weight, and said solo sailing has helped give her the freedom to be herself.

“Without those things I would be homesick and miserable,” she said of her supply list. “We need comfort to be human. Doing my nails. Flossing. It’s hard for the general public to reach pro sailors. People stop watching. If you treat people below you, people stop watching.”

Other female sailors have noticed the same disconnect. “The year I did the Vendée Globe, Michel Desjoyeaux didn’t mention that anything went wrong,” Dee Caffari, a mentor of Ms. Brauer’s who has sailed around the world six times, said of that race’s winner. “Then we saw his jobs list after the finish and we realized he was human.”

Ms. Brauer, as her social media followers can attest, is decidedly human.

They have gotten used to her “hangout” clothes and rock-out sessions. Her team produces “Tracker Tuesdays,” where a weather forecaster explains the routes Ms. Brauer chooses and why she uses different sails, and “Shore Team Sunday,” where team members are introduced.

“In the beginning I looked at what she was doing, posting about washing her knickers in bucket and I was like, ‘No! What are you doing?’” Ms. Caffari said. “I’ve been so professional and corporate in my career. She’s been so authentic and taken everyone around the world with her. Cole is that next generation of sailor. They tell their story in a different way and it’s working.”

Finding a Purpose

Ms. Brauer was introduced to sailing at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Those days of casual racing on the turquoise waters of Kaneohe Bay informed her vision of an inclusive sailing community. That image was shattered when she came to the mainland to try her hand at professional sailing.

“When I came to the East Coast it was so closed off,” she said of those early experiences. “I couldn’t get a job in the industry. Pro sailors were jaded. They didn’t want anyone to take their job. It’s a gig-based economy. Competition, we’re pinned against each other, especially women in high-performance sailing since there are fewer of us.”

“This whole process of being a pro sailor over the past five years, I feel mentally punched in the face and my legs kicked out from under me,” she added. “I screamed and I cried. Without those experiences I wouldn’t be as mentally tough. It made me callused.”

A big break happened when she landed a gig as boat captain for Michael Hennessy’s successful Class40 Dragon. The boat was a perfect platform to hone her ocean sailing skills as she ripped up and down the East Coast delivering it to races, often alone, pushing Dragon to its limits. Her Instagram posts of those adventures drew attention, and she was invited to tryout for the Ocean Race, a fully crewed race around the world in powerful 65-footers.

“I was crushed,” Ms. Brauer said of being rejected after the trials.

Ms. Brauer, though, found a new purpose. After months of living in her van and working on Dragon, she found a benefactor in F.K. Day, the president of World Bicycle Relief and the executive vice president of SRAM Corporation, who, along with his brother Lincoln, agreed to buy a boat and fund a massive refit for the Global Solo Challenge, which was only three months away.

Conducting the hurricane of activity last summer in Newport, R.I., Ms. Brauer knew this was her moment to shine. But representatives for her new sponsors had reservations about her bold social media experiment.

“I got a massive pushback: ‘How can you be so vain. This isn’t important. We don’t want to pay for this,’” she said. “I said none of this is going to matter if the world can’t see it.”

Her boat was covered with cameras her shore team could monitor, with technology allowing for constant recording that could be used to capture unexpected twists. Ms. Brauer got some immediate traction, but nothing prepared her for the numbers she would hit once the race began.

“We were taking bets in Spain,” said Ms. Brauer, who had to sail First Light nearly 3,000 miles from Newport to Spain as a qualifier for the race. “There was a photo of me excited we hit 10,000 followers. Ten thousand for a little race? That’s massive.”

A few months later she has 40 times that count.

A Dangerous Journey

Only a handful of solo ocean racers have been American, all of whom being male. Now Ms. Brauer has a larger following than any of them, pushing far beyond the typical reach of her sport.

“This is a really good case study,” says Marcus Hutchinson, a project manager for ocean racing teams. For me she’s an influencer. She’s a Kardashian. People will be looking for her to promote a product. She doesn’t need to worry about what the American sailors think. That’s parochial. She has to split with the American environment.”

Unlike her peers, Ms. Brauer is happy to do some extracurricular work along the way toward goals like competing in the prestigious Vendée Globe. “I’m part of the social media generation,” she said. “It’s not a burden to me.”

The playful videos and colorful backdrop, though, can make it easy for her followers to forget that she is in the middle of a dangerous race. Half her competitors in the Global Solo Challenge have pulled out, and ocean races still claim lives, particularly in the violent, frigid storms of the Southern Ocean.

“She was apprehensive,” Ms. Caffari said of Ms. Brauer’s rounding Cape Horn. “I told her: ‘You were devastated that you didn’t get on the Ocean Race. Now look at you. Those sailors didn’t even get to go to the Southern Ocean.’”

The question now is how Ms. Brauer will retain her followers’ desire for content after the race is over.

“She will be unaware of the transition she went through,” Mr. Hutchinson said. “She’s become a celebrity and hasn’t really realized it.”

Ms. Brauer, however, said she received as much from her followers as she gave them.

“They are so loving,” she said. “I send a photo of a sunset, and they paint watercolors of the scene to sell and raise money for the campaign. When I start to feel down, they let me stand on their shoulders.”

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