‘Yacht Rock’, A Documentary About the New Popularity of Soft Rock From the 1970s and 1980s

Yacht Rock, A DOCKumentary is a fascinating film by Bill Simmons for his Music Box series that explores the amazingly connected world of musicians who originated a certain genre of breezy soft rock in the 1970s and 1980s that has since been retroactively recategorized as “Yacht Rock”, gaining new popularity. The term was coined in a 2005 web series by JD Ryznar and Steve Huey.

The term “yacht rock” emerged from comedy show….All of a sudden, this new genre we made up started to get embraced by the world. Yacht rock!

The film focuses on classic music by artists such as Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, and Toto, noting how they had all played together with different bands as session musicians.

Retroactively dubbed “Yacht Rock” in 2005 by a parody website series, the easy listening, relaxing sounds of the late 1970s and early 1980s, which were beloved by many, came to be gently mocked and even dismissed by rock lovers and critics, but have since reclaimed their legitimate place in music history and are celebrated in this groove-infused film from the Music Box anthology series.

The effect of this genre on later generations was profound, as indicated by several musicians interviewed for the film.

Featured participants include Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald (Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers), Steve Porcaro (Toto), Steve Lukather (Toto), David Paich (Toto), Prince Paul (De La Soul), Brian Robert Jones (Vampire Weekend), Thundercat, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (The Roots), Mac DeMarco, Yacht Rock web series creator J.D. Ryznar and host Steve Huey, and comedian Fred Armisen.