What Is Yacht Rock?
Yacht Rock vs Soft Rock: What’s the Difference?
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 or country.
It is distinct from the Laurel Canyon and the other soft rock sounds that were coming from bands like Eagles and America at the time. The instrumentation leans more towards the Fender Rhodes electric piano 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.
Much of the music was recorded by the hottest session players in LA at the time, carrying on the legacy set by legends like the Wrecking Crew - Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, Jerry Hey, Greg Philingaines, Nathan East, to name only a few. Half the joy of this Yacht Rock journey is seeing and recognising the same names turning up across the albums and the years. Like a musical join-the-dots.
Tenets of Yacht Rock
✅ Smooth, not soft.
✅ Electric piano, not acoustic guitar.
✅ Mu major, not major triad.
✅ Polished, not rough-hewn.
✅ Session guns, not groups (mostly).
✅ This Is It, not The Pina Collada Song.
✅ Loggins, not Holmes.
✅ Smooth Sailing Radio, not Sirius XM.
Essential Listening (normies)
Extended Listening (explorers)
Extended Listening (explorers)
Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes
Kenny Loggins - Heart to Heart
Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgetting
Al Jarreau - Girls Know How
Steely Dan - Peg
Boz Scaggs - Lowdown
Toto - Make Believe
Extended Listening (explorers)
Extended Listening (explorers)
Extended Listening (explorers)
Jeffery Osbourne - Eenie Meenie
Deniece Williams - Turnaround
Average White Band - Isn't It Strange
Bobby Caldwell - It's Over
Michael Jackson - Carousel
Lionel Richie - Love Will Find A Way
George Benson - Turn Your Love Around
Obsessive Listening (hopeless)
Extended Listening (explorers)
Obsessive Listening (hopeless)
Byrne & Barnes - Keep On Running
Pages - Tell Me
Bill LaBounty - Livin' It Up
Greg Guidry - (That's) How Long
Brenda Russell - I Want Love To Find Me
Ned Doheny - Love's A Heartache
Martie Echito - Cryin' In The Night