The Yacht Rock Book

In this vivid oral history, author Greg Prato and a host of recording artists explain the smooth musical style that is best listened to while admiring a sunset, sipping a Pina Colada.

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`It s amazing that this style came to be. Can you imagine being a struggling musician back then? It must take an incredible amount of restraint to play that gently. Actor/comedian Fred Armisen, from his foreword to this book. Just what is `yacht rock, you ask? Perhaps the easiest description is: music that would not sound out of place being played while carousing aboard a yacht back in the good old days. But these songs were also some of the top pop gems of the 70s and 80s. And while some associate yacht rock s biggest songs with one-hit wonder artists, several of rock s most renowned artists fall under this category, too including Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Hall and Oates, The Doobie Brothers, Toto, and more. By the early twenty-first century, yacht rock seemed to have become extinct until a comedic video series, simply titled Yacht Rock, went viral and introduced captain s hats and blazers to a whole new generation as well as the emergence of a popular cover band, the Yacht Rock Revue, and of course, Jimmy Fallon s on-air admiration of all things yacht rock. Now, yacht rock is one of the most celebrated `yesteryear styles of pop music, and has resonated with a new generation of musicians (including the Fred Armisen/Bill Hader led Blue Jean Committee and soul/funk/electronica crossover act Thundercat). But despite all the hoopla, there has never been a book that told the entire story of the genre. Until now. Featuring interviews with many of the heavy hitters of the genre, including John Oates, Kenny Loggins, and Don Felder, The Yacht Rock Book leaves no sail unturned. This is the definitive story of the yacht rock s creation, rise, chart-smashing success, fall, and stunning rebirth.