All Things Yacht Rock and Nacht!

February 12, 2025

Hey 80s Cruisers! Lori Majewski here!

Only three weeks until Anchors Away! Since Christopher Cross will be “Sailing” with us on the 2025 cruise, and, fittingly, there’s a Yacht Rock theme night, here’s the Cliff’s Notes on all things Yacht (and Nacht!):

Remember that “Calgon, take me away!” commercial in the 1970s and 80s? It showed stressed-out moms losing themselves and their worries behind closed bathroom doors, in the warm waters of a relaxing bubble bath. (It was also one of our 80s Cruise best-costume winners a couple of years back, but I digress.) Think of Yacht Rock as the aural equivalent of an Ahhhh-inducing soak. This is why, on most Friday nights from Memorial Day to Labor Day, my husband and I sit outside on our open-air deck, transporting ourselves to “Margaritaville,” while listening to the light, breezy sounds of the 1970s and 80s on Yacht Rock Radio. Welcome to the weekend!

The term Yacht Rock is about 20 years old, way younger than the music it encompasses, which, back in the day was labeled Smooth Jazz, Adult-Oriented Rock (AOR) and Soft Rock. (This is why there was never a K-Tel Presents: The Yacht Rock Collection.) Generally comprised of music released between 1976 and 1984, Yacht Rock is a sound that was developed in laid-back Southern California — see: America’s “Ventura Highway” — but has since expanded to include the easy-listening likes of Steely Dan, James Taylor, Gerry Rafferty. Ambrosia. Aside from the ladies in Fleetwood Mac, there aren’t a lot of women artists in Yacht Rock. While Olivia Newton-John may seem quite Yacht-y, upon closer examination, only “Magic” makes the cut. Oh, and Joni Mitchell’s”The Hissing of Summer Lawns” has been labeled “accidental yacht rock.” Released a year too early, in ’75, maybe we should call it proto-Yacht?

Christopher Cross is considered the King of Yacht Rock, thanks to a number of his songs that evoke romantic nights aboard a luxury craft, champagne flute in hand, deck shoes on your feet, breezes rifling through your feathered hair: “Ride Like The Wind,” “Never Be the Same,” “Think of Laura,” and, of course, “Sailing.” And don’t forget “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do”), which I once watched Cross perform aboard a SiriusXM Yacht Rock cruise that took us past the State of Liberty; the lines “When you get caught between the Moon and New York City” were the perfect, cozy blanket on that chilly night.

A cozy blanket — that’s Yacht Rock! No loud guitar solo (a big reason Newton-John’s “Physical” is not Yacht). No singer’s screams, screeches, or yelps. Not too loud, not too soft, Yacht Rock lulls like a boat adrift on tranquil seas. The music is well-produced, polished. While, for some, it may cause nausea, Yacht Rock — once considered a pejorative — today is mostly embraced without irony. On the upcoming 80s Cruise, Yacht Rock Night will be another evening of nostalgic music we simply love, not love to hate.

Obviously, nautical stripes and maritime jackets are welcomed. But for those who want to dive a little deeper, we’ve got some suggestions:

• Think: Captain & Tennille. He in a classic shipmaster’s hat and white “CAPTAIN” turtleneck, she in blonde Farrah Fawcett wings, from back when love kept them together, they had their own TV variety hour, and they made squeaky “Muskrat Love.” (Never mind that they divorced in 2014 after nearly 40 years of marriage!)
• Another dynamic duo: one of you come as magnet, the other as steel. (Thanks, Walter Egan!)
• Dress as the personal ad from “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)”: If you like: Pina Coladas (CHECK!), getting caught in the rain (CHECK), if you’re not into yoga, if you have half a brain (CHECK), if you like making love at midnight in the dunes on the cape (CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!).
• If you’re part of a group, go as the Love Boat cast (double points since you’ll be on a boat!).
• If you’re a crafty cruiser (and so many of you are!) maybe consider coming as a bottle of Old Spice — or Cutty Sark?!

Not all easy-listening tunes fall under the Yacht Rock umbrella. Here are a few examples of Naught Rock:

• Men At Work are Australian new wave, not Yacht Rock. (Don’t believe me? Head Worker Colin Hay is also on the ’25 80s Cruise — ask him!)
• “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell is a novelty song — too schtick-y to be Yacht.
• Maybe it’s the Patrick Bateman association, but Huey Lewis is not Yacht.
• Hall & Oates from Big Bam Boom onward (even though that album dropped two months before the end-of-84 Yacht Rock deadline)? Nope! Pre-1982 H2O, though? Yacht!
• And while it may be argued that Kenny Loggins’ face belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Yacht, there is simply no world in which “Highway to the Danger Zone” makes it on to a proper Yacht Rock playlist. “Footloose” neither! Sorry! Non-soundtrack Loggins only! (PS “Loggins and Messina” tracks are absolutely, without a doubt, Yacht.)

As Yacht Rock becomes bigger and bigger, with more Yacht Rock radio stations popping up — radio stations that are constantly looking to expand their playlists — tracks from Jackson’s record-breaking album are climbing aboard the ship. But do they actually BELONG there? Well, the album came out in 1983; the music is highly and slickly produced; there’s a fair amount of smooth R&B; and the lyrics tend to be romantic. My two cents? “Human Nature,” “The Girl is Mine,” “Baby Be Mine,” and “The Lady in my Life” are bonafide Yacht Rock. I could be convinced that a few others may be Yacht-adjacent, but “Thriller”? “Beat It”? Not Yacht.

Christopher Cross: “Sailing” (DUH!)
Michael McDonald: “I Keep Forgettin'”
John Waite: “Miss You”
Seals and Crofts: “Summer Breeze”
Crosby, Stills & Nash: “Southern Cross”
Looking Glass: “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl”)
The Doobie Brothers: “What a Fool Believes”:
Steely Dan: Peg
Toto: ‘Joanna”
Earth, Wind & Fire: “September”
Foreigner: “Waiting for a Girl Like You”
Lionel Richie: “All Night Long”
Hall & Oates: “Sara Smile”
England Dan and John Ford Coley: “I’d Really Like to See You Again”
Jimmy Buffett: “Margaritaville”
America: “Horse With No Name”
Boz Skaggs: “Lowdown”

There are only a few cabins remaining on The 80s Cruise, and they’re selling fast! Don’t miss out on this epic voyage packed with over 50 concerts and live performances from your favorite 80s bands, theme nights, and non-stop 80s action! Book now before cabins sell out!