BYRT’s Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist

Shaggy feathered hair? Check. Mustache? Check. High-pitched male vocals? Check. Perfect for the sailboat? Check. Then it must be yacht rock. And here’s BYRT’s Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist (scroll to the bottom to hear the tracks)!

My first acknowledgment of the term “yacht rock” occurred in the short-lived Plymouth record store Mars Records, as there was a yacht rock category. Since then this genre of soft rock mainly from the mid to late 70s to early 80s has gained traction.

Typically heralded as just plain corny, artists such as Christopher Cross, Stephen Bishop, and Bernie Higgins have gone through a resurgence of late. During the summertime, there is even a seasonal yacht rock channel on Sirius satellite radio.

Yes, I purchased a Christopher Cross cd just for this post.

A Collaborative Effort

Often at work, my friends and I fall deep down rabbit holes. A recent such rabbit hole was compiling the ultimate yacht rock playlist. A big shout out to Mike Landolfi for all of his input on this essential piece (although he needs to grow his hair longer and feather it).

Instead of pairing yacht rock with a six-pack of beer, we’re heading for a canned cocktail, an easy sipper for those warm summer boating days. The Litchfielder, a bourbon-based cocktail with lemon juice by Litchfield Distillery, is a good choice for those fall yachting days. Let your mullet and mustache blow in the wind, crack open the canned cocktail, and listen to the following playlist on your favorite listening device, whether through a streaming service or 8 track.

Crack open a canned cocktail such as this from the Litchfield Distillery.

Let the ultimate yacht rock playlist begin!

Starting the playlist is the ultimate yacht rockstar–Christopher Cross, whose “Sailing” gives the genre an identity. Next follows Rupert Holmes with “Escape,” better known as the “Pina Colada Song,” which is my least favorite song, quite terrible, but certainly exemplifies this genre. Steely Dan is a tough inclusion since I really like them and musically they are far more intricate than most on the list. I chose “Deacon Blues” which is one of my favorite Steely Dan tracks. The theme from the Greatest American Hero is known more for this rendition. Ace’s “How Long” is another track that I genuinely enjoy but still fits the bill.

A few yacht rock essentials- including that jacket!

America walks that fine line between yacht rock and breezy folk-rock but ultimately belongs on this list. The Captain and Tennille feature elusive female vocals in this male-dominated genre. (and provides the antithesis to Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”). Next up is the crown prince of yacht rock, Michael McDonald. Before I knew they sang “Kiss You All Over,” I thought this band had to be a hair metal band by their name, Exile. Starship finishes out at number 10 with another one of my least favorite songs, “We Built This City.”

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with “American Dream” is also pretty bad, leaning toward the “Pina Colada Song” or Jimmy Buffet by way of light country music. Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks are truly forgettable on the track “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend.’” A great yacht rock one-hit-wonder, Player, with “Baby Come Back” is a perfect soundtrack to grocery shopping. Ambrosia, not only a dessert but “Biggest Part of Me” is another genre-defining track. “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight” is simply one of those songs you know, but don’t know who sings it. Well, guess what, it’s England Dan and John Ford Coley!

Just like the last track, Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away” I can promise you know, although I have never heard of the artist. Toto is a funny band, part mullet rock of “Hold the Line,” part pop of “Africa” and pure yacht rock with “Rosanna,” the tribute to a young Roseanne Barr. The Doobie Brothers start as a southern rock type group but head straight to the ocean with the addition of Michael McDonald, best exemplified by “What a Fool Believes.” Hall & Oates part blue-eyed soul, part yacht rock plays the part with “Kiss On My List.” Orleans’s “Still the One” is the theme song to every reelected candidate since the song came out and is still pretty terrible.

The sailing theme is in full swing with Bertie Higgins’s “Key Largo.” For those summer nights, “Reminiscing” by Little River Band does the trick. I only knew Stephen Bishop from the soundtrack of the truly essential “Care Bears Movie II.” The Atlanta Rhythm Section hits off with mundane soft rock, but Gerry Rafferty brings it back powerfully with “Baker Street” with the best sax riff this side of “Careless Whisper.”

Boz Scaggs keeps the party grooving with the truly wonderful “Lido Shuffle.” Jackson Browne, all though another borderline yacht rocker, plays true to the genre with “Somebody’s Baby.” The Grass Roots also straddle the line of yacht rock but let’s include them with “Sooner or Later.” We reprise Christopher Cross with “Arthur’s Theme.” “Peg” by Steely Dan is one of their truer yacht rock takes.

For the final seven, we start out with “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Crofts. This song fits in somewhere between yacht rock, folk rock, and breezy light hits but would sound just fine by the sea. The only yacht rock instrumental is George Benson’s “Breezin.” Feel the breeze through your feathered hair and mustache as the yacht smoothly glides over the water. Even yacht-rockers celebrate the holidays! Ray Parker Jr’s “Christmas Time is Here” is pretty boring but definitely fits the theme. Daft Punk checks off the yacht rock boxes with “Fragments of Time” from their masterpiece Random Access Memories. Michael McDonald spreads holiday cheer with “Every Time Christmas Comes Around.” Luther Vandross steps out of the bedroom and onto the yacht with the upbeat “Never Too Much.” Michael (we’re on a first-name basis) then closes the show with his superb guest vocals on Christopher Cross’s “Ride Like the Wind.”

These 37 yacht rock “classics” will make any outboard motor run. From the kayak to the cruise ship, crack open a canned cocktail, put on this playlist, and drift away on the open water. And after all was said and done, I keep coming back for more Yacht Rock as I am an official convert!