Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist and Podcast
Yacht Rock Extravaganza
places listening: 4 way tie for second place - UK, Denmark, France & Australia - New places listening Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia and New Zealand
#1 US city - Glen’s Falls, NY home of hacksaw jim duggan
stayed away from jimmy buffet and the cocktail movie soundtrack (especially kokomo) - good work
i’ve had baby come back, by player in my head for 6 days
Yacht Rock is the concentric circle where disco, rock and pop music met in the late 70s and early 80s
Yacht Rick - fake rapper on the week
Dwayne fords album. Needless freaking. Oh lord that's a great name - Lovin’ & Losin’ you is the final song on this playlist BTW
Awards:
Most intentionally Yacht Rock song of all-time: I’m alright by Kenny Loggins — Caddy Shack theme song - Kenny Loggins’ music is so much more funk driven than i remembered “This is It” & “Heart to Heart”
Biggest pop-hit from a Yacht Rock artist: Need nominees -
I Keep Forgetting (Mainly because it spawns Nate Dogg and Warren G’s Regulators)
What A fool Believes - Doobies
Is she really going out with Him - Jackson Browne - also Somebody’s Baby
Kiss is on my list / You make my dreams come true - Hall & Oates
Still the one by Orleans
Lovely Day - Bill Withers (This song has such a sick bass line)
Let it Ride by BTO Bachman Turner Overdrive (this might be a top 5 song in the history of LIFE)
Prog rock band masquerading as Yacht Rock: Toto - Rosanna
Mr ubiquitous award goes to Michael MacDonald. He sings back up on like 6+ songs on this record - in addition to songs he's lead singer on
Brandy - literally about sailor’s drinking and trying to pick up a waitress at a seaside bar. And the sound is yacht rock personified - strong horns/ brass in most yacht rock songs as well as harmonization — this song has both in spades - great lead off song - props to “Looking Glass” for such a jam that really holds up 40 years later
Escape (Pina Colada song) - it’s quintessential — but played out. Rupert Holmes would’ve loved Tinder/ Bumble and online dating — the personals of the news paper sounds so sketchy 40 years later.
Sailing by Christopher Cross — I mean “yes” because it’s about Sailing — in my mind this song is a “Lady in Red” / “Cherish the love” slow jam — i’m not recommending this one - Christopher cross has a great voice though — Also “ride like the wind” by Chris Cross is a Disco Inspired Yacht rock anthem
Rock the Boat - by Hues Corporation works well - total jam and you snagged it from Carlito’s way soundtrack - Dave Clinefeld is one of my all time favorite Sean Penn roles ever - between Clinefeld and Jeff Spicolli, we should’ known Sean Penn has infinite range
Doobie Bros - Might be Yacht Rock - but they are also “Road trip rock” and “quasi-stoner” rock — tip of the cap fellas
Lowdown and Lido Shuffle by Boz Scaggs is 100% yacht rock royalty
News Flash — Despsite the fact that it belows on this list — I must confess: I hate SUMMER BREEZE by Seals & Crofts
Baby Come back by Player — is smooth as EFF, nothing anybody can say to change my mind
Sleeper of this list might nominees - Steal Away by Robbie Dupree // Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold (like a poor man’s Billy Joel) // The Nightly by Dan Fagen (super funky) // No Ordinary Lady by Orleans — Orleans is an unknown slice of AM Gold for me
Some notable omissions:
Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty (on the Yacht Rock 2.0 Play list) that one needs to sneak on- Plus I used to drink at Baker Street with is where they filmed Tom Cruise’s cocktail on 60th and 1st ave
If this is it - huey lewis & the news - Huey Lewis is the Adam Levine of the 80’s - LA Band - paid its dues for ever and finally broke through
Peg by Steely Dan - Lots of Steely Dan could be on this
Valerie by Steve Windwood also the Finer things by Winwood — pretty much any mid-80s winwood
Mandolin Rain by Bruce Hornsby
Easy Lover by Phil Collins and Philip Bailey
Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann
Evil Woman by Electric Light Orchestra