# Yacht Rock: what is it and what's its origin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [December 24, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120 "2024-12-24T15:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/121 "2024-12-27T02:01:39Z")
Oh, much of it is beautiful music, there’s no denying that, nor the sophistication and mastery that created it. What the butthurt Boomers are missing is that it was, intentionally or not, the theme music playing in the background while Generation Jones and GenX were being told “Hey, we got ours. What’s your problem? We’re working on our portfolios and divorces now, and Regan is really getting things back on track now, even if he did piss us off back when we were at Berkley and UCLA. And that loud, chaotic music we made? That was great, but you doing it now is just quaint and derivative. You’ll never be anything besides derivative of us. You can’t be upset about Kent State forever, can you?” Of course, Devo did remain upset about Kent State, and made music that protested the dehumanizing industrial state; and their playing style parodied how rock was no more than a creatively-bankrupt corporate sedative that could be made by machines. But today you can buy a captain’s hat and go to a yacht rock party, or a red plastic art-techno lampshade hat and go to a Devo party. So it all evens out to the LCD, except for those who have honestly equipped themselves for appreciation. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/122 "2024-12-27T03:16:08Z")
Sometimes Beato gets too worked up. I respect his knowledge of music theory. But, ranting about a label isn’t productive. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/123 "2024-12-27T04:06:12Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > …Not the sort of music I like to listen to while drinking a margherita on my boat while watching the sunset. Wow. My advice to you is to [cook it longer.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_Margherita) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/124 "2024-12-27T04:58:49Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Oh, much of it is beautiful music, there’s no denying that, nor the sophistication and mastery that created it. No, no, no, beautiful music is a whole other can of worms. > **[Beautiful music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beautiful_music)** > > Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator music, light music, mood music, and Muzak are other terms that overlap with this format and the style of music that it featured. Beautiful music can also be regarded as a subset of the middle of the road radio format. > Beautiful music initially offered soft ... ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/125 "2024-12-27T05:09:42Z")
We called that “candelabra music,” of course including, though not limited to Liberace. Also in the background in service to Renzo Cesana as _The Continental_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6PHVitFbLWA/hqdefault.jpg "Renzo Cesana as The Continental – Songs For My Beloved, Side A") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PHVitFbLWA) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/126 "2024-12-27T05:56:20Z")
I’d just like to note for the record that as someone who is not American - yet considers himself well-versed in American culture - I’ve never encountered the term “Yacht Rock” outside the SDMB. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any of those bands on the radio here, either. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/127 "2024-12-27T10:42:10Z")
Also not American, but I had heard of it, and also regularly heard some of the music, here - only select tracks, though, the oldies stations here only seem to know one or two tracks by each of the YR pantheon. Definitely no deep cuts. Perhaps it matters how into music you are? Do you read music mags, etc? ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/128 "2024-12-27T13:50:21Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > it was, in fact, meant to be at least somewhat derogatory: the kind of music that a stereotypical 1980s yuppie would have enjoyed while hanging out on their boat. I don’t know why but I thought Yacht Rock got it’s name from the location where current fans of the music listen to it, not where they were when they first heard it. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/129 "2024-12-28T03:19:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > > [@msmith537](#): > > > > …Not the sort of music I like to listen to while drinking a margherita on my boat while watching the sunset. > > Wow. My advice to you is to [cook it longer.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_Margherita) [Margh-er-iti!](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=c8f39132a967e6fa&rlz=1C1ONGR_enUS1034US1034&sxsrf=ADLYWIL1II85SAefDF64H4D5mvhK-SCiWA:1735355747134&q=inglourious+basterds+margheriti&udm=7&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWwAFG7ranuZ26H8lR7pf_8JVvecp-LzvobrsWeGPHXQ9gKB1p303IqjihhRWlij0eJgLLo4lLf6nrDCbQ0vFzvAhQcuSgTIexVxj1KngkrfYNh58iLs2ZcKLL-dbVe3MIFaG5jA-eO3NJE3UAoHfN71eQYKOrnfQ-UM-38p0FqTR9-Gof1_SDu5_M6CnStxAbt6FvbA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7jPf2v8mKAxV4g4kEHXUtAxQQtKgLegQIGBAB&biw=2048&bih=1018&dpr=1.25#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:64005565,vid:kRinCyay1kI,st:0) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/130 "2024-12-28T09:09:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Perhaps it matters how into music you are? Do you read music mags, etc? Not since my parents cancelled their subscription to Rolling Stone 20 years ago, no. It’s not like I don’t read about music - I can go down deep rabbit holes reading about a band I like and a song I’m curious about. But no, I’ve pretty much abandoned broader music journalism, albeit not intentionally. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/131 "2024-12-28T13:40:09Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > it was, in fact, meant to be at least somewhat derogatory: the kind of music that a stereotypical 1980s yuppie would have enjoyed while hanging out on their boat. > > I don’t know why but I thought Yacht Rock got it’s name from the location where current fans of the music listen to it, not where they were when they first heard it. According to Wikipedia, the term “Yacht Rock” is relatively recent and wasn’t actually used during the period when the music was created. Back in the 70s it was just “soft rock” or “adult contemporary” or maybe “West Coast sound”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/132 "2024-12-28T14:51:16Z")
To my uneducated and under-informed eye, the term “yacht rock” was coined to connote the financially comfy lazy hedonistic 60-somethings who wanted to listen to the most unchallenging of Top 40s fare from their youth. IOW, labeling it now as the schmaltzy background Muzak it wasn’t really back then but has since become. IMO the name didn’t / doesn’t get any deeper than that. Clearly it struck home with the general public as the term is now well-embedded into popular use. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/133 "2024-12-28T16:29:57Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Some people still fight against it, but the battle was lost long ago. This is a lazy attitude. Throwing in the towel isn’t always the best thing. Yes, maybe the jokesters will win. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth standing up against for the people that care about music. Yacht Rock is bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/134 "2024-12-28T16:40:37Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IOW, labeling it now as the schmaltzy background Muzak it wasn’t really back then but has since become. I agree that the term wasn’t in use back then, but the music that is lumped into this group were always the type of music that was going to be muzak. The terms “soft rock” and “adult contemporary” were already in use by 1980, and even Steely Dan’s music was headed to the airport bathroom immediately upon release. My early teen-aged self lumped most of those bands into “parent rock” at the time. My parents didn’t listen to them - they were of the generation that thought The Beatles ruined rock & roll. But my friend’s parents sure did listen to it. I remember one of my friends praising his parent’s copies of _Desperado_ and _The Long Run_ one afternoon and thinking “This kid’s got to get out more often, my sister’s record collection rocks harder” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/135 "2024-12-28T18:06:18Z")
How exactly do we fight SiriusXM? Or the cable systems that have a yacht rock music channel? Not listen? That only deprives us. Most of us here enjoy having yacht rock channels, because they play a lot of good music that we like. And that music getting played means that the writers of that music get paid more. Boycotts would hurt them more than it hurt anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/136 "2024-12-29T02:57:11Z")
Coincidently, I just came back from dinner at my cousin in law’s house (he’s a successful attorney in his early 60s). He must have been streaming the Yacht Rock channel on Spotify or SiriusXM or whatever service he uses because it was basically every song mentioned in this thread. That includes [Peg by Steely Dan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI7NDDQLvbo), which is basically as YR as they come. Honestly it’s not bad music. Certainly not any worse than Justin Bieber or Dua Lipa or other modern pop music. ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/137 "2025-01-03T08:27:55Z")
Well, I normally wouldn’t appeal to authority, but Rick Beato decisively dismantled this ignorant creation of a “genre” in a comparatively brief rant at https:// [www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEYUw2kiRfc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEYUw2kiRfc). I’ll summarize what I see as the best and most irrefutable point of Beato’s take: “Yacht Rock” or “Soft Rock” is only meaningful if one excludes any evaluation or even audition of any or many of the musicians involved. Steve Gadd? Chuck Rainey? Bernard Purdie? Larry Carlton? Skunk Baxter? Victor Feldman? Wayne Shorter? Those kinds of musicians show up to _play_. First call musicians who could have done any project they wanted to, and did. No fucking way they’re thinking of some douche wearing a captain’s hat while performing in the studio or live. Might be they were thinking of a fat roll of cash, granted, since they are professionals, and maybe a writing credit, but people like that didn’t phone it in, ever. It’s not the fault of the musicians if some tin-eared rube cannot discern playing of the highest caliber on nearly every instrument on a given tune. So, some youtube nerds came up with the term “Yacht Rock” and displayed an astonishing lack of discernment and taste. Is what I gather. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/138 "2025-01-03T08:58:58Z")
FTR, does this one-hit wonder below qualify as “Yacht Rock”? > **[Moonlight Feels Right (2023 Remaster)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ZrKfrshP4%2F)** > > Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesMoonlight Feels Right (2023 Remaster) · Starbuck · Bruce BlackmanMoonlight Feels Right℗ 1976 © Private Stock Re... ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/139 "2025-01-03T09:03:26Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > FTR, does this one-hit wonder below qualify as “Yacht Rock”? I’d say so - it’s the sort of thing those stations tend to play. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120/140 "2025-01-03T10:45:14Z")
Did anyone here claim that Yacht Rock was not competently performed music? The issue here was _what_ they were playing, not how they were playing it. If you gave a crap song to the best musician in the world, they’ll still record a crap song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yacht-rock-what-is-it-and-whats-its-origin/1012120.md?page=8)