To paraphrase crooner Michael McDonald, one of the signature players of the music style, Yacht Rock has a place in our lives.
The smooth-sounding music from the West Coast, a mix of pop/rock with jazz and R&B melodies, popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s (think Christopher Cross, Toto, Kenny Loggins among others), is explored in Music Box’s Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary, available Friday, November 29 on Max. “Quoting someone in the documentary, ‘Almost all Yacht Rock is soft rock, but not all soft rock is Yacht Rock,’” director Garret Price (Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage) says of the genre. “It’s smooth and polished music, while also having a ton of heart.”
And there’s also a ton of misconceptions about Yacht Rock. The worst one? “A lot of people assume something is Yacht Rock if the song has any nautical themes or lyrics,” notes Price. “In fact, there’s very few Yacht Rock songs that actually deal with boats.”
Yes, the genre’s name is definitely silly. But that’s because it came from a low-budget comedy web series released in June 2005, responsible for reigniting a passion for the style. “I thought it was so unique that you have this ‘genre’ invented 25 years after this music was dominating the pop charts,” says Price. “I wanted to speak to the musicians themselves and let them finally define the music they made during this time.”
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The film features interviews with McDonald, Cross, Loggins, members of Toto, Fred Armisen, rock critics, and more. “It was the contemporary artists that surprised me the most,” notes Price of the contributors. “Artists like Questlove, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, and Prince Paul were so eager to talk about how much this music meant to them and how it influenced their own work.”
After all, it’s a legitimate genre with impressive vocalists and a style that is uniquely its own. Price adds: “And while the name originated from comedy, the music itself was anything but a joke.”
A joke? That’s what a fool believes.
See below for Price’s dream Yacht Rock mixtape:
“What A Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers (Written by McDonald and Loggins, it is “the gold standard for all Yacht Rock songs,” according to Price.)“Ride Like The Wind” by Christopher Cross“Peg” by Steely Dan“Georgy Porgy” by Toto“Heart to Heart” by Kenny Loggins
Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary, Documentary Premiere, Friday, November 29, HBO, Max
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