The History of Yacht Rock
What is Yacht Rock? I’ve heard that question a lot over the last 10 years. Even some of the fans of the music don’t know the history behind the term. There is a great article from Rolling Stone that explains it:
“In the late 1970s and early 1980s, musical artists like Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, Toto, Hall and Oates, and dozens of others regularly popped up on each other’s records, creating a golden era of smooth-music collaboration. And on June 26th, 2005, an internet phenomenon was born. In 12 short but memorable episodes — first via the short-film series Channel 101 and then online — JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, Dave Lyons, Lane Farnham and their friends redefined an era and coined a term for the sultry croonings of McDonald, Fagen, et al.: “yacht rock.”
Check out the rest of the article here: What Is 'Yacht Rock'? - Rolling Stone
The webseries was a favorite of Jimmy Fallon, and his on-air admiration of the series and the music helped spread the love. Tribute bands started popping up around the country and one of them, Yacht Rock Revue (YRR) from Atlanta, filed a trademark for the music term. As their following grew, YRR invited the original artists to take the stage with them.
In 2011 Peter Beckett, composer, founder and lead singer of Player, best known for their #1 hit Baby Come Back, was contacted by Pete Olson of YRR asking if he was available to fly down to Atlanta and perform with them at a Yacht Rock festival. “What the hell is yacht rock?” was Peter’s first thought. When Peter took the stage, he was amazed at the sea of people, all ages, wearing captain hats and singing along to his song and all the great tunes of his era. “The music before the machines,” as he calls it. Peter has been touring with them and other #YachtRock artists like Ambrosia, Christopher Cross, Orleans, Stephen Bishop, Robbie Dupree, John Ford Coley, Firefall, Al Stewart and Little River Band (with whom he toured for 8 years as a featured performer) ever since.
Some of the yacht rock artists are not fond of the term, perhaps because they feel it was born out of a satirical webseries, or that it somehow diminishes their work. However, I’m willing to guess that they are all fond of the increase in their royalties.
Peter and I are big wine enthusiasts and with the help of our friend and vintner Michael Machat of Vampire Wines, we decided to launch Yacht Rock Wines. The idea is to produce wonderful wines celebrating these talented artists and their iconic songs.
Hopefully everyone will be a fan of Yacht Rock Wines. We look forward to bringing more Yacht Rock artists on board to help celebrate some of the best music ever written with some of the best wine available.
