who owns yacht rock radio

The Mystery Unveiled: What Happened to Yacht Rock Radio?

Yacht Rock Radio is a unique radio station that has survived in a world where musical styles change like the tides.

However, what became of this impression of sound waves effortlessly gliding? Is it sailing toward a promising new horizon, or have its sweet songs vanished into oblivion?

How about we investigate Yacht Rock Radio’s quiet waters inside and out and become familiar with reality?

Yacht Rock Radio

For fans of soft rock, music that was simple to listen to, and music with a touch of nostalgia, A Voyage Through Time Yacht Rock Radio was their go-to station.

It was frequently referred to as smooth music’s pinnacle. It was like boarding a musical yacht that was cruising the 1970s and 1980s with classics from Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, and Michael McDonald.

Yacht Rock Radio’s Legacy

Yacht Rock Radio made a splash when it first appeared on the scene, evoking memories of carefree summers and breezy coastal drives.

Its smooth playlist had a dedicated fan base, and its presence was cherished across the airwaves.

The Mysterious Silence

But, as time passed, avid listeners noticed a curious silence surrounding their beloved Yacht Rock Radio.

Tunes that once played incessantly seemed to have vanished into thin air. What happened? Did the yacht run aground?

Vanishing Frequencies

Reports surfaced about Yacht Rock Radio disappearing from SiriusXM and other platforms, leaving fans perplexed and yearning for their dose of mellow melodies. Some feared that this genre-defining station had sailed into obscurity.

Navigating the Digital Seas

However, hope was on the horizon. Yacht Rock Radio was setting a course toward the digital realm.

Online platforms and streaming services began to pick up the slack, offering dedicated playlists for those seeking the signature yacht rock experience.

What Happened to Yacht Rock Radio?

Yacht Rock Radio takes over Lincoln Amphitheatre. Just when you thought the smooth waves had calmed, Yacht Rock Radio showed signs of resurgence.

Events like the “Yacht Rock to Take Over Lincoln Amphitheatre” demonstrated that the genre still had a dedicated following and could bring enthusiasts together for live experiences.

Yacht Rock was prepared to take sail once more, according to the Dubois County Herald, promising a night of soothing music and nostalgic vibes at the Lincoln Amphitheatre. It served as evidence of the genre’s continued appeal.

The Future Is Here

What does Yacht Rock Radio’s future hold, then? Will it triumphantly return to the airwaves, or will it keep cruising the digital waves and delighting its faithful listeners? Only time will tell if this mysterious outpost will set sail for a brand-new golden age.

Time Yacht Rock Radio’s future may have been up in the air for a time, but its halcyon days are still ahead of it.

Yacht Rock’s charm and its timeless classics keep attracting admirers of all ages.

So, whether you’re just discovering the genre or have always been a devoted follower, know that Yacht Rock Radio’s journey is far from ending.

Yacht Rock Radio continues to be a source of comfort and nostalgia in the ever-evolving world of music, enabling listeners to set off on a musical journey through space and time. Stay tuned because Yacht Rock Radio’s musical journeys are far from done.

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Yacht Rock 311

Channel 311 Yacht Rock Radio celebrates the smooth-sailing soft rock from the late '70s and early '80s. You’ll hear artists like Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan and other titans of smooth music. It's the kind of rock that doesn’t rock the boat!

Channel 311

Yacht rock radio.

SiriusXM’s tribute to Yacht Rock celebrates the smooth-sailing soft rock from the late 70s and early 80s. You’ll hear artis … more

SiriusXM’s tribute to Yacht Rock celebrates the smooth-sailing soft rock from the late 70s and early 80s. You’ll hear artists like Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Hall & Oates and other titans of smooth music. It’s the kind of rock that doesn’t rock the boat!

I'm The Captain Now

Each week, we let a new celebrity takes the yacht for a spin around the marina and pick out their favorite Yacht Rock songs. … more

Each week, we let a new celebrity takes the yacht for a spin around the marina and pick out their favorite Yacht Rock songs. Because ... they're the captain now!

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Defining 'yacht rock' once and for all with the genre's creators

Jd ryznar and dave lyons coined the joke genre while making the mid-2000s comedic web-series of the same name.

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JD Ryznar and Dave Lyons are the co-creators of the mid-2000s comedic web-series Yacht Rock.  

While the joke genre they coined led to a legitimate smooth-music renaissance in pop culture, it has also led to a distorted definition of what yacht rock is all about.

The pair join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about setting the record straight with this week's launch of their podcast Yacht or Nyacht , where they'll adjudicate which songs belong to the yacht rock canon using a scientific scoring system.

WATCH | Yacht Rock Episode 1 :

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts .

Interview with JD Ryznar and Dave Lyons produced by Stuart Berman.

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If the Yacht Is a Rockin': Riding the Yacht Rock Nostalgia Wave

By maggie serota | jun 12, 2020.

It’s not often that an entire genre of music gets retconned into existence after being parodied by a web series, but that’s exactly what happened after writer, director, and producer J.D. Ryznar and producers David B. Lyons and Hunter D. Stair launched the Channel 101 web series Yacht Rock in 2005. Hosted by former AllMusic editor “Hollywood” Steve Huey, the series was a loving sendup of the late '70s/early '80s smooth jams to which many Millennials and late period Gen-Xers were likely conceived.

The yacht rock aesthetic was innovated by a core group of musicians and producers including, but not limited to, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Robbie Dupree, Kenny Loggins, Toto, David Foster, and hirsute soft rock titan Michael McDonald, along with scores of veteran session musicians from the Southern California studio scene.

The Yacht Rock web series was perfectly timed to coincide with a contemporary renaissance of smooth music from the late '70s, the kind that was previously considered a guilty pleasure because it fell out of fashion in the mid-'80s and was soon thereafter regarded as dated and square compared to other burgeoning genres, like punk rock and hip-hop.

Yacht Rock's Early Years

The yacht rock era began roughly around 1976, when yacht rock pillar Kenny Loggins split up with songwriting partner Jim Messina to strike out on his own. That same year, fellow yacht rock mainstay Michael McDonald joined The Doobie Brothers. The two titans of the genre joined forces when Loggins co-wrote the definitive yacht rock hit “What a Fool Believes” with McDonald for the Doobies. They collaborated several times during this era, which was par for the course with such an incestuous music scene that was largely comprised of buddies playing on each other’s albums.

"Look at who performed on the album and if they didn’t perform with any other yacht rock hit guys then chances are [it's] ‘nyacht’ rock,” Ryznar said on the  Beyond Yacht Rock podcast, referencing the pejorative term frequently used to describe soft rock songs that just miss the boat.

"The basic things to ask yourself if you want to know if a track is yacht rock are: Was it released from approximately 1976 to 1984? Did musicians on the track play with Steely Dan? Or Toto?," Ryznar said. "Is it a top 40 radio hit or is it on an album meant to feature hits?" And, of course, does the song celebrate a certain breezy, SoCal aesthetic?

Building the Boat

There are certain key ingredients necessary for a track to be considered yacht rock. For starters, it helps (though is not necessary) to have album art or lyrics that specifically reference boating, as with Christopher Cross's landmark 1980 hit “Sailing.” The music itself is usually slickly produced with clean vocals and a focus on melody over beat. But above all else, the sound has to be smooth . That’s what sets yacht rock apart from "nyacht" rock.

"Its base is R&B, yet it’s totally whitewashed," Ryznar explained on  Beyond Yacht Rock . "There [are] jazz elements. There can be complex, challenging melodies; the solos are all cutting-edge and really interesting. There’s always something interesting about a true yacht rock song. It goes left when you expect it to go right."

Yacht rock’s complex musicianship can be attributed, in part, to the session players on each track. Musicians like percussionist Steve Gadd, guitarist and Toto founding member Steve Lukather, and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro don’t have much in the way of name recognition among casual soft rock listeners, but they’re the nails that hold the boat together. Steely Dan, “the primordial ooze from which yacht rock emerged,” according to Ryznar, famously cycled through dozens of session musicians while recording their 1980 seminal yacht rock album Gaucho .

"These musicians were not only these slick, polished professionals, but they were highly trained and able to hop from style to style with ease,” Huey explained on  Beyond Yacht Rock . “Very versatile.”

In Greg Prato’s 2018 tome, The Yacht Rock Book : An Oral History of the Soft, Smooth Sounds of the 70s and 80s , Huey broke down “the three main defining elements of yacht rock,” explaining that it requires “Fusing softer rock with jazz and R&B, very polished production, and kind of being centered around the studio musician culture in southern California … It’s not just soft rock, it’s a specific subset of soft rock that ideally has those elements."

Soft rock untethered

Whereas the music of the late 1970s and early ‘80s is often associated with the anti-establishment music of punk pioneers like the Dead Kennedys and the socially conscious songs being written by early hip-hop innovators like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, yacht rock is the antithesis of the counterculture.

Yacht rock occupies a world that is completely apolitical and untethered to current events. Between the oil crisis, a global recession, and inflation—not to mention the fact that the U.S. was still licking its wounds from the loss of the Vietnam War and the disgrace of Watergate—the late '70s were a dark time for Americans. Yet yacht rock, at its heart, is a tequila sunrise for the soul, whisking the listener away to a world where they have the time, and the means, to idle away the hours sipping piña coladas at sea while decked out in flowy Hawaiian shirts and boat shoes.

Yacht rock was never edgy, nor did it ever feel dangerous. Yacht rock didn’t piss off anyone’s parents and no one ever threatened to send their kid to boot camp for getting caught listening to Kenny Loggins's “This Is It.” Yacht rock tracks are more of a siren song that invite your parents to join in on the chorus anytime they hear Toto’s "Rosanna."

Yacht rock songs are meant to set the soundtrack to a life where the days are always sunny, but as Ryznar pointed out on Beyond Yacht Rock , there’s “an underlying darkness”—just not the kind that’s going to derail a day of sailing to Catalina Island. No, yacht rock has elements of low-stakes heartbreak with sensitive male protagonists lamenting their own foolishness in trying to get back together with exes or hitting on women half their age.

The aspirational aspect of the genre dovetailed nicely with the overarching materialism defining the Reagan era. “Yacht rock was an escape from blunt truths, into the melodic, no-calorie lies of ‘buy now, pay never,’ in which any discord could be neutralized with a Moog beat,” Dan O’Sullivan wrote in Jacobin .

Some Like it Yacht

Although the cult comedy series Yacht Rock ceased production in 2010, the soft rock music revival it launched into the zeitgeist is still going strong. For the past few years, SiriusXM has been running a yacht rock station during prime boating season, or what those of us without bottomless checking accounts refer to as the spring and summer months. Yacht rock tribute acts like Yacht Rock Revue are profitable business endeavors as much as they are fun party bands. There’s also a glut of yacht rock-themed song compilations for sale and a proliferation of questionably curated genre playlists on Spotify.

Whether you believe yacht rock is an exalted art form or the insidious soundtrack to complacency, any music lover would probably agree that even a momentary escape from the blunt truths of life is something we could all use every now and then.

Yacht Rock Radio

Smooth Sailing

Musical tastes always ebb and flow in a never-ending shift of trends. Personally, I love it when older music makes a comeback. Take yacht rock, the name now commonly given to soft rock music from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. It’s all the rage these days, especially with boaters, which suits me fine, because I grew up listening to these songs. Maybe you did, too. The backstory to it all is fascinating, so put on your captain’s hat, grab a cold one, and I’ll tell you how it all came about.

Writers Create a Tongue-in-Cheek Video Series

The yacht rock story begins in Los Angeles in 2005 when a group of young music and TV comedy writers devised a short video series for the fledgling internet film network Channel 101. Remember that YouTube was just getting started back then, and film artists of all sorts were exploring how to tap into the promise and power of the Internet to showcase their work and reach new audiences.

They called their series “Yacht Rock.” It imagined funny backstories behind the making of soft rock classics by musicians such as Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, and Hall & Oates. One show, for example,pits musicians in a Los Angeles back alley sing off. Things take a turn for the worse and one of the bystanders accidently is impaled by a harpoon.

 According to J.D. Ryznar, the main force behind the series,the writers were poking fun of the music but at the same time wanted to re-introduce the tunes they liked to a new generation. Ryznar called it yacht rock, because it was the kind of smooth, mellow music a yuppie listened to on a yacht back in the 1980s.  The friends never expected the series to be a hit. Many of the musicians featured in the series, however, became fans. Viewers ate it up. And Yacht Rock became one of the channel’s top shows during its run from 2005 to 2010.

A Band Looks for a Spark

In the fall of 2007, the Atlanta-based pop band Y-O-U was looking for inspiration. After 10+ years, the band hadn’t caught a big break and its members were thinking about calling it quits. Drummer Mark Cobb had burned a CD of songs he referred to as “The Dentist Office Mix,” by old soft-rock artists such as Christopher Cross, America and Little River Band, and thought it might be kind of fun to play the songs at a show.  

According to Cobb, it was meant to be a one-time diversion.He had seen the Yacht Rock series on the internet, so in addition to performing soft rock music, the band dressed in ‘70s fashion: bell bottoms, white belts,vests, aviator sunglasses and wigs.

Turns out, this was just the spark the band needed. The crowd at Atlanta’s 10 High Club loved the show, and the one-night stand turned into a weekly gig. It took a while for these serious musicians to truly embrace the yacht rock vibe, but as they moved from playing in bars to amphitheaters in front of larger audiences, they began to appreciate it and realized they were onto something.

In 2008, they formed the Yacht Rock Revue, very likely the country’s first official yacht rock tribute band. They even trademarked the term “yacht rock.” By 2011, they were yacht-rocking full time and not just in Atlanta.

An Internet Radio Executive Sees the Potential

In 2015, Brooklyn resident Jessica Besack became director of music programming for SiriusXM in charge of conceiving, developing and managing unique new programming ideas for the nation’s largest satellite and onlineradio company. She’d seen the original Yacht Rock series on the web and liked the polished music rooted in jazz and R&B. Under her tutelage, Yacht Rock radio station premiered that summer.

The program was supposed to run only through Labor Day, but fan interest persuaded Besack to extend it a couple more weeks that first year and renew it seasonally going forward. It was so popular that there’s even a rumor around about one Yacht Rock super fan urging President Obama to issue an executive order to make Yacht Rock a year-round thing.

Yacht Rock Today

Whether you’re a fan or “nyacht,” yacht rock has some serious staying power. Though President Obama did not issue a yacht rock executive order, SiriusXM now features the music 365 days a year on its Yacht Rock Channel 311. You can also find yacht rock on Spotify, Pandora, Apple music,Amazon music and just about anywhere else you go for your jams.

Yacht rock tribute bands have proliferated like crazy, too.Bands with witty names like Yachty by Nature, Thurston Howell Band, Three Sheets to the Wind, and The Docksiders pay tribute to the likes of Toto, Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan, often in nautical or ‘70s attire. To better understand the phenomenon, I paid a visit to a yacht rock concert by Philadelphia BoatHouse Row band at the Rams Head On Stage in Annapolis, MD.

I wasn’t quite prepared for the scene I walked into — it was jam packed with people of all ages. About a third of the crowd were in yachting caps. The younger guys wore them backwards or at a jaunty angle. I particularly appreciated one older gentleman sporting a sequined royal blue blazer and a nascot!

It was a festive audience; one I’d wager knew the words to just about every song the band played. I know I did, transported as I was back n time to a summer night in 1979 when I had a 32” waist, shaggy blonde hair,and my biggest worry was whether I’d be carded for buying beer.

Boat House Row was excellent, focusing on songs with incredible vocal ranges, multi-part harmonies and strong sax solos. People sang and danced. The drinks flowed. Everyone was feeling the Yacht Rock magic.

One of the sexagenarians at my table hopped onto a chair after the final song and flicked on her Bic cigarette lighter to encourage an encore. A few young ‘uns gasped, but the seasoned yacht rockers just smiled and nodded approvingly at this old-school tradition that felt so right for the night.

And that, my friends, is Yacht Rock’s secret sauce —nostalgia, memorable music and a momentary tongue-in-cheek escape from the blunt truths of life. I don’t know about you, but I certainly could do with fewer hassles and more smooth sailing these days.

Looking for a Yacht Rock Playlist?

Here’s a yacht rock sampler from Philadelphia Boat House Row guaranteed to float your boat.

“Baker Street” – Gerry Rafferty “Southern Cross” – Crosby, Stills & Nash “Baby Come Back” – Player “Reminiscing” – Little River Band “How Long” – Ace “Rich Girl” – Hall & Oates “Heart to Heart” – Kenny Loggins “Reelin’ in the Years” – Steely Dan “Brandy” – Looking Glass “What a Fool Believes” – Doobie Brothers “Still the One” – Orleans “Africa” – Toto “Turn Your Love Around” – George Benson “Ride Like the Wind” – Christopher Cross “Lovely Day” – Bill Withers

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The idea of yacht rock conjures up a particular lifestyle, but beneath the surface lies a treasure trove of sophisticated hits that continue to resonate.

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Even some of those who signed up to the subgenre subtleties of what became known as yacht rock may consider it to be a time-locked phenomenon. Certainly, its chief protagonists first cast their subtle soft-rock sophistication in the 70s and 80s, but its melodic echoes can still be heard all these decades later.

Perhaps unusually, the phrase itself was coined as a kind of lighthearted castigation of the adult-oriented rock that seemed to exude privileged opulence: of days in expensive recording studios followed by hedonistic trips on private yachts, typically around southern California. The web TV series of the mid-00s that parodied the lifestyle was even named Yacht Rock ; one of the biggest hits of a chief exponent of the sound, Christopher Cross, was, of course, “Sailing.”

The recent resurgence in the long career of another staple, Michael McDonald, is testament to the durability of a style that was, after all, grounded in musicianship and melodicism of the highest order. Nearly 40 years after he and fellow yacht rock principle Kenny Loggins co-wrote and performed the Grammy-winning “This Is It,” the pair were afforded the high praise of a collaboration with acclaimed modern-day jazz-funk bassist Thundercat, on his track “Show You The Way.” Ahead of that, McDonald’s guest appearance with Thundercat at the 2017 Coachella Festival was a viral sensation.

Setting sail

Like other subgenres that grew from an existing style, just as Americana did from country, the starting point of yacht rock is a matter of endless debate. Some hear it in the early 70s soft rock of Bread and hits such as “Guitar Man,” or in Seals & Crofts, the duo of the same period whose 1973 US Top 10 hit “Diamond Girl” and its follow-up, “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” are pure, classy, elegantly played and harmonised yacht rock.

As the 70s progressed and album rock radio became an ever more powerful medium in the US music business, studio production grew along with the budgets to fund it. High-fidelity citadels such as Sunset Sound and Ocean Way were the industry epitome of the Los Angeles hedonism of the day, and played host to many of the artists we celebrate here. Perhaps it was the combination of financial independence and the sun-kissed surroundings that gave rise to the phenomenon, but this was music that not only sounded opulent – it made you feel somehow more urbane just by listening to it.

California singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop was another of the artists who would retrospectively become part of what we might call the yachting club. Indeed, it’s important to point out that “yacht rock” was not a term that existed at the time the music was being made. Bishop’s acclaimed 1976 debut album, Careless , was a masterclass in well-crafted pop music for those no longer hanging on the words of every chart pin-up. Its tender opening ballad, “On And On,” which peaked just outside the mainstream US Top 10 and reached No.2 on the Easy Listening chart, is a prime example.

Making waves

McDonald, for his part, might be afforded the questionable honor of the Yacht Rock theme tune with his solo hit “Sweet Freedom,” but had earlier been a key part of the unconscious movement as a member of the Doobie Brothers. The double Grammy-winning landmark “What A Fool Believes,” again written by McDonald with Loggins, stands tall in this hall of fame. Similarly, Toto, another band of master studio craftsmen whose critical and commercial stock has risen again in recent times, stood for all the principles of yacht rock with tracks such as “99” and the undying “Africa.”

That 1982 soft-rock calling card came from the Toto IV album, which was, indeed, recorded in part at Sunset Sound and Ocean Way. But Steely Dan , one of the bands to prove that yacht rock could come from other parts of the US where the attendant lifestyle was less practical, made perhaps their biggest contribution to the subgenre after Walter Becker and Donald Fagen moved back to their native East Coast.

After their initial incarnation as a live band, Steely Dan were well established in their peerless cocoon of pristine studio production when they moved back east. That was after recording 1977’s superb Aja , the album that announced their ever-greater exploration of jazz influences. Fans and critics of the band both used the same word about them, perfectionism: some as a compliment, others as an accusation. But 1980’s equally impressive Gaucho was their yacht rock masterpiece.

Ripple effect

In such a subjective phrase, other artists seen by some as yacht rock representatives, such as Daryl Hall & John Oates, Journey, the Eagles, or even Canada’s Gordon Lightfoot, are thought by others to be creatively or geographically inappropriate, or just too mainstream to break out of the overreaching AOR terminology.

But a significant number of other artists, whose names are less quoted today, had their finest hours during the pop landscape of the late 70s and early 80s that we’ve been visiting here. Amy Holland won a Best New Artist Grammy nomination in 1981 helped by “How Do I Survive,” written by McDonald, whose wife she became soon afterwards. Robbie Dupree, a Brooklyn boy by birth, also epitomized the style with his 1980 US hit “Steal Away.” Then, in 1982, America, the band known for their definitive harmonic rock of a decade earlier, mounted a chart return with the suitably melodic “You Can Do Magic.”

The final word goes to Michael McDonald, the unwitting co-founder of the yacht rock sound. When the aforementioned mockumentary series was at the height of its popularity, he was asked if he had ever owned a yacht, and replied (perhaps disappointingly) in the negative. But, he added, “I thought Yacht Rock was hilarious. And uncannily, you know, those things always have a little bit of truth to them.

“It’s kind of like when you get a letter from a stalker who’s never met you. They somehow hit on something, and you have to admit they’re pretty intuitive.”

Listen to the Soft Rock Forever playlist for more yacht rock classics .

October 28, 2019 at 8:42 pm

if you dig this sound, you gotta check out Yachty by Nature the best yacht rock band on the West Coast. They play it all live without the backing tracks (yuck) that some bands do. They just got voted #1 Best Live Cover Band in Orange County and spreading yacht rock all over the country. Dive in!!! #yachtrock https://yachtybynature.com

October 28, 2019 at 8:44 pm

BTW, great article!!!!! Well written and thoughtfully addressed the idea of Nyacht Rock artists to the purists following the genre!

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Yacht Rock Radio is captained by Adam Ritz. Adam is a 25 year veteran of radio and tv, and a 40 year fan of what we know now as Yacht Rock! The first song he ever played on Yacht Rock Radio was Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty. These songs, “take me back to a nostalgia that makes me smile remembering the easy life from 1976 to 1983.’ Adam also hosts The Adam Ritz Show, a nationally syndicated Public Affairs radio show, with recent episodes at  AdamRitzShow.com .

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Cast Away Your Worries with Smooth-Sailing Rock

Drop your anchor and relax with our yacht rock channel.

At SiriusXM, it’s yacht rock season all year long as we bring you your favorite smooth-sailing hits from the 1970s and ’80s.  Yacht Rock 311 (Ch. 311) will remain available on the SiriusXM satellite platform and streaming platform on Channel 311.

Wherever you are, head to the SXM App by clicking above to start listening to the soothing sounds of artists like Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Boz Scaggs, Ambrosia, and many more.

Plus, look back at SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock the Boat with Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross featuring Loggins and Cross performing their smoothest hits for fans as they sailed around New York City on the Horizon’s Edge yacht.

For more information about Yacht Rock Radio, click here .

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Siriusxm sets sail with yacht rock performances from kenny loggins and christopher cross.

Invite-only concert on a yacht on New York’s Hudson River on June 13 

NEW YORK – May 31, 2022 – SiriusXM announced today that yacht rock vanguards Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross will celebrate the summer season with a special invitation-only concert cruise for SiriusXM listeners on Monday, June 13.

SiriusXM Presents Yacht Rock the Boat with Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross will feature Loggins and Cross performing their smoothest hits for Yacht Rock Radio listeners and fans as they set sail around New York City on the Horizon’s Edge yacht. The performances will also be heard on SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock Radio on Friday, June 17 at 8:00 pm ET. 

“At the time we were creating this new kind of music that was happening organically – we had no idea it would turn into what is now known as Yacht Rock. I’m excited to bring it all full circle and perform some of those same songs on a yacht for the first time in my career,” said Kenny Loggins.

SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock Radio features smooth-sailing soft rock from the late 70s and early 80s from artists like Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, Toto, America, Ambrosia and more. It’s the kind of rock that doesn’t rock the boat. Yacht Rock Radio will be available all summer long from Wednesday, June 1 through Monday, September 5 on SiriusXM radios (ch. 14) and on the SXM App. The channel is also available year-round on SiriusXM channel 311.

For information on how to attend SiriusXM Presents Yacht Rock the Boat with Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross, please visit: www.siriusxm.com/YachtRockNewYork

SiriusXM’s Yacht Rock Radio is available to subscribers nationwide on SiriusXM radios, the SXM App, and with Amazon Alexa, the Google Assistant or however they stream at home. Streaming access is included with all of SiriusXM’s trials and most popular plans.

About SiriusXM

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the leading audio entertainment company in North America, and the premier programmer and platform for subscription and digital advertising-supported audio products. SiriusXM’s platforms collectively reach approximately 150 million listeners, the largest digital audio audience across paid and free tiers in North America, and deliver music, sports, talk, news, comedy, entertainment and podcasts. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S. SiriusXM's subsidiaries Stitcher, Simplecast and AdsWizz make it a leader in podcast hosting, production, distribution, analytics and monetization. The Company’s advertising sales arm, SXM Media, leverages its scale, cross-platform sales organization, and ad tech capabilities to deliver results for audio creators and advertisers. SiriusXM, through Sirius XM Canada Holdings, Inc., also offers satellite radio and audio entertainment in Canada. In addition to its audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers connected vehicle services to automakers. For more about SiriusXM, please go to: www.siriusxm.com .

Source: SiriusXM

Media contacts for SiriusXM:

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Released May 31, 2022

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YES! Yacht Rock Radio is BACK on XM!

By redEL34 May 31, 2019 in Sound, Stage, and Studio

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I was trying to find a Youtube recording of the guy that does the bumpers in the exaggerated "Thurston Howell III" voice but could only find this old promo. Just hilarious comments that must have been a blast to write, like somehow oblivious to the fact that not everyone in the world owns a yacht etc., or "ooooo that tune is sooo yachtty", "...a bunch of tunes by dudes with mustaches and feathered hair".":lol: I`ve heard "Peg" at least twice in the last 24 hourssmiley-veryhappy.

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Vito Corleone

I'm fluffing up my chest hairs and polishing up my gold necklaces as we speak!

I'm glad for you.

Cool! Another entire group of people and musicians to look down on! Awesome!

Part of being a Yacht Rock fan (which I proudly am) is having the ability to embrace the term. Keep it fun. It's just music, people.

I simply must tell Biff and Chip the grand news!

Phil O'Keefe

For those who aren't in the know and don't know if a song is Yacht or nyacht, you can always check this website...

https://www.yachtornyacht.com/

  How is listening to a channel dedicated to the music "looking down upon them"?   Part of being a Yacht Rock fan (which I proudly am) is having the ability to embrace the term. Keep it fun. It's just music, people.

You're for yacht rock and you're against Ozzy. What does that tell us?

For those who aren't in the know and don't know if a song is Yacht or nyacht, you can always check this website...     https://www.yachtornyacht.com/  

Hey, I don't need no silly website to tell me what's Yacht or Nyacht. I know for myself!

Part of the fun of Yacht Rock is deciding what is Yacht or Nyacht and why. Setting your own definitions. A friend and I listened to this station on a long drive last summer deciding whether each song or artist was truly Yacht and to what degree.

I'll bet this one doesn't even make that website's list! But what good is a trip on your yacht without a smoooooth instrumental after sailing back to port?

And the album cover seals the deal!

[video=youtube;J7ji_PRL8_U]

Hey, Bill Champlin's on the list. I like me some Sons.

Champlin is the guy mixing the drinks on the yacht bar. He's there for every trip!

Let's see... You're for yacht rock and you're against Ozzy. What does that tell us? Hmmm...  

I never heard of "Yacht Rock", so I looked it up. It seems to have occurred during a period of time when I had developed an intense disdain for popular culture. I still harbor those feelings. That is not intended to be a slam toward anyone's tastes, just my choice.

Even though it is not from that era, it seems that "Sloop John B" should be on the list. I like that song.

I never heard of "Yacht Rock", so I looked it up. It seems to have occurred during a period of time when I had developed an intense disdain for popular culture. I still harbor those feelings. That is not intended to be a slam toward anyone's tastes, just my choice.   Even though it is not from that era, it seems that "Sloop John B" should be on the list. I like that song.

Not every song about a boat qualifies as 'yacht rock', my friend. And most of what the Beach Boys did was not yacht.

But the one of theirs that probably comes the closest is this:

[video=youtube;89x9W9drH0Y]

  Hey, I don't need no silly website to tell me what's Yacht or Nyacht. I know for myself!   Part of the fun of Yacht Rock is deciding what is Yacht or Nyacht and why. Setting your own definitions. A friend and I listened to this station on a long drive last summer deciding whether each song or artist was truly Yacht and to what degree.   I'll bet this one doesn't even make that website's list! But what good is a trip on your yacht without a smoooooth instrumental after sailing back to port?   And the album cover seals the deal!   [video=youtube;J7ji_PRL8_U]  

Boz Scaggs was another one.

West coast anyway.

  Not every song about a boat qualifies as 'yacht rock', my friend. And most of what the Beach Boys did was not yacht.   But the one of theirs that probably comes the closest is this:   [video=youtube;89x9W9drH0Y]

There was a great BB documentary on AXSTV lately, FYI.

I never heard of "Yacht Rock"' date=' so I looked it up. [b']It seems to have occurred during a period of time when I had developed an intense disdain for popular culture. I still harbor those feelings[/b]. That is not intended to be a slam toward anyone's tastes, just my choice.   Even though it is not from that era, it seems that "Sloop John B" should be on the list. I like that song.

  I like people who can sing in tune?

When I was in high school that was a go-to band for impressing the girls. Boz Scaggs was another one. West coast anyway.  

How else are you going to lure them to your yacht? Duh....

Gawd, I used to hate that song. Pretty much the only BB song I didn't like...that I heard.   There was a great BB documentary on AXSTV lately, FYI.  

So jazz-rock fusion is yacht rock, as is the entire Toto and Doobie Brothers catalog. Yacht Rock seems to be a shorthand way of saying stuff from the eighties that I did not like.

  So jazz-rock fusion is yacht rock, as is the entire Toto and Doobie Brothers catalog . Yacht Rock seems to be a shorthand way of saying stuff from the eighties that I did not like.

No, just the Michael McDonald era stuff. But Toto? Oh hell yeah. In fact, anything with a Porcaro brother anywhere near the recording is pretty much an automatic shoe-in.

Jazz rock fusion is almost always acceptable to play on the yacht. Anything that sounds like it took a LOT of money to record will usually qualify.

But the best yacht rock songs (IMO) are those with a bit of ironic sadness to them. Those that you'd play while busting out the lines of coke to impress that girl who is probably way too young for you but since you're now spending so much more time on your boat now that the wife has left you and has taken the house and the kids.....

it aint a yacht without an elevator !! )

I was mad when they took it off last time and put something stupid in its place:mad:. Then a couple days ago I was listening to another channel when “Yacht Rock Guy” came on between songs with the hilarious accent and beckoned me to change the channel to 70(that’s seven-zero:whisper:). Now I can get my groove back on in my land yacht..soo yachtty.

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The 20 greatest yacht rock songs ever, ranked

27 July 2022, 17:50

By Tom Eames

We can picture it now: lounging on a swish boat as it bobs along the water, sipping cocktails and improving our tan. Oh, and it's the 1980s.

There's only one style of music that goes with this image: Yacht rock.

What is Yacht Rock?

Also known as the West Coast Sound or adult-oriented rock, it's a style of soft rock from between the late 1970s and early 1980s that featured elements of smooth soul, smooth jazz, R&B, funk, rock and disco.

• The 40 greatest disco songs ever, ranked
• The 10 greatest and smoothest ever sax solos, ranked

Although its name has been used in a negative way, to us it's an amazing genre that makes us feel like we're in an episode of Miami Vice wearing shoulder pads and massive sunglasses.

Here are the very best songs that could be placed in this genre:

Player - 'Baby Come Back'

Player - Baby Come Back

Not the reggae classic of the same name, this 1977 track was Player's biggest hit.

After Player disbanded, singer Peter Beckett joined Australia's Little River Band, and he also wrote 'Twist of Fate' for Olivia Newton-John and 'After All This Time' for Kenny Rogers.

Steely Dan - 'FM'

It's tough just choosing one Steely Dan song for this list, but we've gone for this banger.

Used as the theme tune for the 1978 movie of the same name, the song is jazz-rock track, though its lyrics took a disapproving look at the genre as a whole, which was in total contrast to the film's celebration of it. Still, sounds great guys!

Bobby Goldsboro - 'Summer (The First Time)'

Bobby Goldsboro - Summer (The First Time)

A bit of a questionable subject matter, this ballad was about a 17-year-old boy’s first sexual experience with a 31-year-old woman at the beach.

But using a repeating piano riff, 12-string guitar, and an orchestral string arrangement, this song just screams yacht rock and all that is great about it.

Kenny Loggins - 'Heart to Heart'

Kenny Loggins - Heart To Heart (Official Music Video)

If Michael McDonald is the king of yacht rock, then Kenny Loggins is his trusted advisor and heir to the throne.

This track was co-written with Michael, and also features him on backing vocals. The song is about how most relationships do not stand the test of time, yet some are able to do so.

Airplay - 'Nothing You Can Do About It'

Nothin' You Can Do About It

You might not remember US band Airplay, but they did have their moment on the yacht.

Consisting of David Foster (who also co-wrote the Kenny Loggins song above), Jay Graydon and the brilliantly-named Tommy Funderburk, this tune was a cover of a Manhattan Transfer song, and was a minor hit in 1981.

Boz Scaggs - 'Lowdown'

Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (Official Audio)

We've moved slightly into smooth jazz territory with this track, which is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The song was co-written by David Paich, who would go on to form Toto along with the song's keyboardist David Paich, session bassist David Hungate, and drummer Jeff Porcaro.

Steve Winwood - 'Valerie'

Steve Winwood - Valerie (Official Video)

This song is probably as far as you can get into pop rock without totally leaving the yacht rock dock.

Legendary singer-songwriter Winwood recorded this gong about a man reminiscing about a lost love he hopes to find again someday.

Eric Prydz later sampled it in 2004 for the house number one track ‘Call on Me’, and presented it to Winwood, who was so impressed he re-recorded the vocals to better fit the track.

Toto - 'Rosanna'

Toto - Rosanna (Official HD Video)

We almost picked 'Africa' , but we reckon this tune just about pips it in the yacht rock game.

Written by David Paich, he has said that the song is based on numerous girls he had known.

As a joke, the band members initially played along with the common assumption that the song was based on actress Rosanna Arquette, who was dating Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro at the time and coincidentally had the same name.

Chicago - 'Hard to Say I'm Sorry'

Chicago - Hard To Say I'm Sorry (Official Music Video)

Chicago began moving away from their horn-driven soft rock sound with their early 1980s output, including this synthesizer-filled power ballad.

• The 10 greatest Chicago songs, ranked

The album version segued into a more traditional Chicago upbeat track titled ‘Get Away’, but most radio stations at the time opted to fade out the song before it kicked in. Three members of Toto played on the track. Those guys are yacht rock kings!

Michael Jackson - 'Human Nature'

Michael Jackson - Human Nature (Audio)

A few non-rock artists almost made this list ( George Michael 's 'Careless Whisper' and Spandau Ballet 's 'True' are almost examples, but not quite), yet a big chunk of Thriller heavily relied on the yacht rock sound.

Michael Jackson proved just how popular the genre could get with several songs on the album, but 'Human Nature' is the finest example.

The Doobie Brothers - 'What a Fool Believes'

The Doobie Brothers - What A Fool Believes (Official Music Video)

Possibly THE ultimate yacht rock song on the rock end of the spectrum, and it's that man Michael McDonald.

Written by McDonald and Kenny Loggins, this was one of the few non-disco hits in America in the first eight months of 1979.

The song tells the story of a man who is reunited with an old love interest and attempts to rekindle a romantic relationship with her before discovering that one never really existed.

Michael Jackson once claimed he contributed at least one backing track to the original recording, but was not credited for having done so. This was later denied by the band.

Christopher Cross - 'Sailing'

Christopher Cross - Sailing (Official Audio)

We're not putting this in here just because it's called 'Sailing', it's also one of the ultimate examples of the genre.

Christopher Cross reached number one in the US in 1980, and VH1 later named it the most "softsational soft rock" song of all time.

Don Henley - 'The Boys of Summer'

The Boys Of Summer DON HENLEY(1984) OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

Mike Campbell wrote the music to this track while working on Tom Petty’s Southern Accents album, but later gave it to Eagles singer Don Henley, who wrote the lyrics.

The song is about the passing of youth and entering middle age, and of a past relationship. It was covered twice in the early 2000s: as a trance track by DJ Sammy in 2002, and as a pop punk hit by The Ataris in 2003.

England Dan and John Cord Foley - 'I'd Really Love to See You Tonight'

England Dan & John Ford Coley - I'd Really Love To See You Tonight.avi

A big hit for this duo in 1976, it showcases the very best of the sock rock/AOR/yacht rock sound that the 1970s could offer.

Dan Seals is the younger brother of Jim Seals of Seals and Crofts fame. Which leads to...

Seals & Crofts - 'Summer Breeze'

Summer Breeze - Seals & Croft #1 Hit(1972)

Before The Isley Brothers recorded a slick cover, 'Summer Breeze' was an irresistible folk pop song by Seals & Crofts.

While mostly a folk song, its summer vibes and gorgeous melody make for a perfect yacht rock number.

Christopher Cross - 'Ride Like the Wind'

Ride Like The Wind Promo Video 1980 Christopher Cross

If Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins are in charge of the yacht rock ship, then Christopher Cross has to be captain, right? Cabin boy? Something anyway.

The singer was arguably the biggest success story of the relatively short-lived yacht rock era, and this one still sounds incredible.

Eagles - 'I Can't Tell You Why'

The eagles - I can't tell you why (AUDIO VINYL)

Many Eagles tunes could be classed as yacht rock, but we reckon their finest example comes from this track from their The Long Run album in 1979.

Don Henley described the song as "straight Al Green", and that Glenn Frey, an R&B fan, was responsible for the R&B feel of the song. Frey said to co-writer Timothy B Schmit: "You could sing like Smokey Robinson . Let’s not do a Richie Furay, Poco-sounding song. Let’s do an R&B song."

Gerry Rafferty - 'Baker Street'

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street (Official Video)

Gerry Rafferty probably didn't realise he was creating one of the greatest yacht rock songs of all time when he wrote this, but boy did he.

• The Story of... 'Baker Street'

With the right blend of rock and pop and the use of the iconic saxophone solo, you can't not call this yacht rock at its finest.

Michael McDonald - 'Sweet Freedom'

Michael McDonald - Sweet Freedom (1986)

If you wanted to name the king of yacht rock, you'd have to pick Michael McDonald . He could sing the phone book and it would sound silky smooth.

Possibly his greatest solo tune, it was used in the movie  Running Scared , and its music video featured actors Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines.

Hall & Oates - 'I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)'

Daryl Hall & John Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) (Official Video)

This duo knew how to make catchy hit after catchy hit. This R&B-tinged pop tune was co-written with Sara Allen (also the influence for their song 'Sara Smile').

• Hall and Oates' 10 best songs, ranked

John Oates has said that the song is actually about the music business. "That song is really about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively."

Not only was the song sampled in De La Soul's 'Say No Go' and Simply Red 's 'Home', but Michael Jackson also admitted that he lifted the bass line for 'Billie Jean'!

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