Definitely "Eye in the Sky."

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it would get played on my yacht

Love me some George Benson!

I think there's a fine line between soft jazz and yacht rock...but I wouldn't mind calling this the latter.

RED:

in order:

no
no
yes
...maybe?

add a little more percussion and I think you might have some bossa nova!

Gotta have the bookend to George on the list then

This is one of my all time favorite songs and the fits the category imo as does Eye in the Sky.

That would be my vote on those, although I'd probably come down on "no" for ONJ.

love this thread! one of my good friends bought a 42ft yacht last month and intends to spend this summer posting up right off Oak St. Beach in Chicago

not sure if Already Gone is a yacht rock song, but it's probably the number one song I want to blast on a yacht. Great call on Rafferty - right down the line IS a yacht rock song.

obligatory:




not sure if it's yacht rock but it's definitely yacht:

I often find myself saying I need a drink and a quick decision. Few people get it.

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wtf is yacht music

it's YACHT ROCK you heathen, and i was in the same position as you when i stumbled across this thread

honestly i'm just trying to run with it and see where it goes.

thinking we need some gifs to vote on the nominations

for a good nomination:


or


for a bad nomination:


or

Geez, guys, it's not all that difficult. Just listen to Ambrosia. I can't get it out of my head.

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My List Includes:

Chuck Mangione – Feels So Good
Herb Alpert - Rise
Orleans – Dance With Me
Bread - Make it With You
Toto - Africa
Marvin Gaye - Got to Give it Up
George Benson - Give Me The night
Frankie Valli - Swearin to God
Ambrosia – How Much I feel

Chuck Mangione – Feels So Good



Herb Alpert - Rise



Orleans – Dance With Me



Bread - Make it With You



Toto - Africa



Marvin Gaye - Got to Give it Up



George Benson - Give Me The night



Frankie Valli - Swearin to God



Ambrosia – How Much I feel

Dom hates Pablo Cruise. No other logical explanation for leaving them off his list.

See! It's not that difficult.

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No need to osk, hes a smooth operatahhhh

Noteworthy that wasn't added to my top 10 -

Andy Gibb - I Just Want to Be Your Everything
Gerry Rafterty - Baker Street
Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Gino Vanelli - I Just Want to Stop

This thread has promoted me to throw on some vintage Jacqueline Bisset and watch The Deep tonight. tyvm

Nah, this is disco, not yacht rock.

Get that Pina Colada **** out of my thread! How dare you.

I have a possible thread ender of a list:

Simply Jessie by Rex Smith

Oh Lori by Alessi Brothers

Sad to Belong by England Dan and John Ford Coley

That's the Way of Friends by Parrish

Sexy Eyes by Dr Hook

Fair Share by Seals and Croft

Dream Come True by Earl Klugh


Of All the Things by Dennis Lambert

I've been ruminating on a definition....a true understanding of just what is Yacht Rock.

As I've said before, it's a crisp, clean, and sparkling..it has a production sheen that mere soft rock just doesn't have. There's also something innate to it that a lot of music just doesn't have - a strong IQ.

There is an intelligence about Yacht Rock. Steely Dan, Toto, Ambrosia...there's something more to the songs by these groups that a Starland Vocal Band or Alessi Brothers just don't have. A self-awareness, a conscious calculation.

Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, all of Fleetwood Mac, Gerry Rafferty, Steve Lukather, the Porcaro Bros, Seals & Croft, Kenny Loggins....all of these artists are consummate musicians and can - and do - create a wide range of music - not just Yacht Rock.

There is also never anything overtly political about it. Sure, Steely Dan has some social commentary in their songs, but they are mostly buried by sleek production values and cynical lyrics.

And an artist/act is not always Yacht Rock or always not Yacht Rock. So, For What It's Worth is not Yacht Rock. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young are NEVER Yacht Rock. But CSN sometimes is. Ohio - no. Southern Cross - yes.

Mirage and Tango in the Night-era Fleetwood Mac is; Rumors almost is, Tusk, is not.

70s/80s era Steely Dan is; solo Donald Fagen is not.

Michael McDonald-led Doobie Bros. is; McDonald-as-backup-singer-Doobie Bros., is not.

Loggins & Messina, 80s-era Loggins is not. 70s-era Loggins is.

So this Kenny Loggins is definitely Yacht Rock:

Dominic:

Which of these qualify?

Styx

Cat Stevens

Stephen Bishop

Carole King

Poco

James Taylor

Dust in the Wind (Kansas)

Bread

Don McLean

Which of these qualify?

Styx - rarely. Dennis DeYoung sometimes merges Styx into Yacht Rock, but Tommy Shaw kept them pretty much in the arena-rock genre for most of their career. Babe might be Yacht Rock.

Cat Stevens - nope. He's a singer/songwriter/folk guy.

Stephen Bishop - hmmmm....I can see why some might think so, but he's really an old-fashioned-type of songwriter. His true calling was Broadway. There's rarely any musical complexity in his songs beyond being a nice tune. Although, listening to On and On, I have a hard time saying that's not Yacht Rock.

Carole King - definitely not. Brilliant singer/songwriter, but not Yacht Rock. Her albums are about the songs, not about the production value. In the same vein - Joni Mitchell - no.
Carly Simon is interesting, though...I think there are some songs on No Secrets that might be early Yacht Rock. Embrace Me Your Child is close - but this was the first album that Simon gave equal weight to the production - Legendary producer Richard Perry was at least equally responsible for making songs like You're So Vain so damn memorable.

Poco - early Poco - no; Crazy Love-era Poco - I think so.

James Taylor - not really. More a singer/songwriter - the songs are out front, not the sound, you know? I thought there might be a song or two of his that I would say was Yacht Rock, but I can't find one.

Dust in the Wind (Kansas) - hell no. Classic 70s rock ballad. Definitely not Yacht Rock.

Bread - I posted Everything I Own in my original post, but the more I think about it, the more I'm going to say no. I think they have some great songs, but they are all wearing their emotions on their sleeves...they are LOVE songs with a capital L. But the production value just isn't there. I think Lost Without Your Love might come closest.

Don McLean - definitely not. Singer/songwriter/troubadour type guy.