The DOCK you didn't know you needed… 'Music: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary'
This new documentary details the smooth West Coast music of the 70s and 80s
In the latest documentary from The Ringer Films and Bill Simmons, Music Box: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary, one of everyone’s favorite guilty pleasures got a great facelift and is celebrated. “Yacht rock” was the music you joked about but knew you secretly loved.
After watching the new documentary, I did a deep dive into this genre. I realized that all things soft rock are six degrees of separation from Michael McDonald, one of the best voices of the late 70s and 80s. Additionally, bands like Toto and Steely Dan (although Steely Dan’s frontman Donald Fagen apparently hates the moniker of “yacht rock” and told the director to “go fuck himself” when asked about appearing in the movie) have influenced so much music outside of this genre.
Apparently, the term was coined when some comedians made a low-budget web series that simultaneously poked fun at and celebrated the music of the late 70s and early 80s, before MTV seemingly killed the genre.
Even singer-songwriter Christoper Cross’s “Sailing” paid homage to this genre title alone before it knew it. The song personifies the mature sound and relaxing feel that is lovingly known today as yacht rock.
I recently had Myles Kennedy on my show, and he named Aja by Steely Dan as one of the best records ever. While I agree, I had never really studied the connectivity between McDonald and the rest of these bands.
Not to mention, the Toto crew, consisting of Steve Lukather and Jeff and Steve Pocaro, seemed to play on every record from the scene during this time. Even Michael Jackson's “Thriller!” Who would've known that Toto was the backing band on so many hit albums?
I also would have never imagined that such a soft rock one-or-three-hit wonder like Cross started his career selling songs and wrote “Ride like the Wind” while on acid — which is all extremely good information to recollect at any random dinner party. Sidenote, Cross is the most unlikely looking rockstar of all time — I’m sure you'll agree after watching the documentary.
McDonald was the most in-demand singer during this time, having appeared on so many different tracks. Even comedian and artist Rick Moranis got in the action with this hilarious take on McDonald’s inescapable presence years ago with his skit on SCTV.
Everyone was working on each other’s records then, and not unlike the Laurel Canyon scene in the mid-70s, there was this incredible cross-pollination between so many artists and their music. I wouldn’t have known about this if not for this documentary having shed light on it.
“The Doobie Bounce” and the sound of McDonald’s solo track “Keep Forgetting” was replicated on so many tracks by so many copycat artists that it is astounding.
The yacht rock era made it OK for the sensitive man to be prevalent and not put on a macho front anymore like in rock ‘n’ roll.
MTV ushered in a new era of visuals, and unfortunately, a lot of these artists didn't look the part of this new hot music video trend. Toto, The Doobie Brothers, Cross, and many others would quickly be forgotten when Duran Duran and Michael Jackson permeated the visual airwaves for the years to come.
Go watch this documentary, put on Aja or “Keep Forgetting” by McDonald, or hell, even a Kenny Loggins record, and tell me it doesn't take you back and make you smile.
Check out Questlove’s Yacht Rock playlist for an introduction to the genre.
Let us know what you think.
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