What Is Yacht Rock?

Yacht Rock is a style of smooth and sophisticated music originating in Los Angeles in the late-70s and thriving up until the mid-80s. It's often thrown into the "soft rock" bucket, but yacht rock draws more from rnb and jazz influences than it does from folk, country or ballads.

It is distinct from the Laurel Canyon sounds and the other softer rock that was coming from bands like Eagles and America at the time. The instrumentation leans more towards the Fender Rhodes as opposed to the acoustic guitar. The arrangements are complex, and the chord changes informed by jazz. Yacht Rock is not a “singer/songwriter” genre.

A lot of the music was recorded by the hottest session players in LA at the time, almost like the next generation Wrecking Crew – Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Greg Philingaines, Ray Parker Jnr to name only a few. Part of the fun in taking the Yacht Rock journey is recognising the same names turn up across the albums and the years.