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Then, with growing dismay I scanned through the author's choices. At that time I wasn't terribly well-versed with the Yachtski Scale, but I knew enough to know that something was wrong. I don't want to dwell too much on this, but the author of that piece, like so many others, had expanded the definition of YR much too far, egregiously so. Of the 25 songs listed, only 9 were designated as YR on the Yachtski Scale, and only 3 of those 9 were on the essentials list. Thirteen of the remaining were scored as Nyacht Rock, and three weren't even considered.
As a reminder: Here are the general parameters for a YR song:
- High or "clean" production values
- Jazz and R&B influences
- Use of electric piano
- An upbeat rhythm called the "Doobie Bounce"
- Use of specific studio musicians (members of Toto, Greg Phillinganes, Tom Scott, Richard Page) and writer/producers (Jay Graydon, David Foster, Michael Omartian, Rod Temperton)
- Soulful lead vocals
- Released between the years 1976 and 1983
I know that insisting on factual and data-based accuracy is not de rigueur, but I am okay in this case with being the guy shouting at clouds. As follows are the actual top 25 YR songs. These are taken directly from Yacht or Nyacht, with my only adjustment being that I followed the same rule as the Paste article and only allowed one song per artist.
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Before we get to the list, some history and context. The earliest official YR songs appeared in February 1974: Steely Dan's "Rikki, Don't Lose That Number" and "Any Major Dude Will Tell You." They were followed by Ace's "How Long," which was released in late 1974 and charted the following year. It should be noted, however, that all three songs are quite low on the Yachtski scale, as the YR sound was still in its formative stages.
The first YR Essential - Boz Scaggs's "Lowdown" wouldn't appear until February 1976. Three months later, Steely Dan released The Royal Scam, featuring the second Essential, "Kid Charlemagne." In 1977 Steely Dan would perfect the YR blueprint with their album Aja (featuring Michael McDonald on background vocals), and from there the YR floodgates opened.
It's very interesting to look at this in light of what else was going on in popular music in 1976 and 1977. The radio was all about soul, disco, and soft rock. In 1976 the Billboard charts were dominated by the likes of Wings, Gary Wright, Starland Vocal Band, and Barry Manilow. In 1977 it was artists such as Stevie Wonder, ABBA, Eagles, and KC and the Sunshine Band.
Meanwhile, album sales were still strong for rock and hard rock: Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Chicago, and Peter Frampton all had hit albums.
In the underground scene, the New York Dolls were about to break up, but they'd done their part in inspiring the birth of punk. The Ramones, whose first album was released the same month as "Lowdown," would finish the job. New wave (B-52s, Devo, Talking Heads, The Clash, Blondie) would follow quickly in 1977.
There was a decided cool/not cool dynamic in the air, and Yacht Rock wandered right into that, firmly on the side of the uncool. They took elements of all three of those chart-topping genres - soul, disco, and soft rock - threw in some elements of smooth jazz, and mixed them all into something that would raise the ire of freaks and punks, but get everyone else snapping their fingers.
Now, without further ado, here's the list. You can listen along on YouTube Music.
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25. Larsen-Feiten Band - "Who'll Be the Fool Tonight?" (1980)
Yachtski Score: 91
Eighteen different YR songs on the Yachtski scale feature the word "fool." This is enough to make it a trope of the genre, if not an indicator. Anyway, The Larsen-Feiten Band started in 1972 as a group called Full Moon, but this was their only album under this name. Member Lenny Castro would go on to appear as a session musician on many YR songs and albums.
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24. Pablo Cruise - "Love Will Find a Way" (1978)
Yachtski Shore: 91
If you were making a list of the top 20 YR groups (which I am!), Pablo Cruise would be #21. This San Francisco group leaned heavily into the disco and soul sides of YR, with "Love Will Find a Way" sounding almost like something from Motown.
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23. Patti Austin and James Ingram - "Baby, Come to Me" (1981)
Yachtski Score: 91
Patti Austin first made her name as a backing vocalist on records with Paul Simon, Billy Joel, and Frankie Valli. She did the same for Steely Dan and Michael Jackson. This smoldering duet features a wealth of YR luminaries. Produced by Quincy Jones and written by Rod Temperton, it also has Steve Lukather, Greg Phillinganes, David Foster, and Michael McDonald as players.
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22. Kerry Chater - "Ain't Nothin' For A Heartache" (1978)
Year: 1978
Yachtski Score: 91
A former member of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Kerry Chater would go on to a successful career as a songwriter, mostly for country artists in the '80s and '90s. Between those two things, he recorded two solo albums with key YR figure Michael Omartian.
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21. Brenda Russell - "I Want Love To Find Me" (1983)
Yachtski Score: 91.25
Brenda Russell started her professional music career at age 14 (!) opening for the Soul Searchers, and eventually worked her way toward a solo career. Her third album, Two Eyes, is YR central, with Michael McDonald, David Foster, Jeff Porcaro, James Ingram, Christopher Cross, and Al Jarreau all appearing. Not to mention this particular song was co-written with fellow Yacht Rocker Bill LaBounty (see #17 below).
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20. Nielsen/Pearson - "If You Should Sail" (1980)
Yachtski Score: 91.25
The duo of Reed Nielsen and Mark Pearson were solely a phenomenon of the YR era, releasing three albums between 1978 and 1983. "If You Should Sail" is a little piece of sunshine that gave them their only top 40 hit.
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19. Bill Champlin - "Runaway" (1981)
Yachtski Score: 91.25
Bill Champlin served as a key part of Chicago's 1980s commercial revival, but before that he released Runaway, a touchstone of the YR genre. The title track was cowritten with Toto's Steve Lukather and produced by David Foster (it also features Tom Kelly on background vocals) and you can definitely hear how it presaged the Chicago 16-19 sound.
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18. James Ingram - "Try Your Love Again" (1983)
Yachtski Score: 91.5
A horn-driven toe-tapper from Ingram's debut solo album, this tune was co-written by Glen Ballard, who would go on to co-write Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" and assist in the massive successes of Wilson Phillips and Alanis Morissette.
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17. Bill LaBounty - "Livin' It Up" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 92
"Livin' It Up" - a song whose narrator is trying to convince himself and others that he's doing great - was written by husband-and-wife songwriters Cynthia Weill and Barry Mann. The duo had been around since the 1960s Brill Building era, but were surprisingly active in the YR scene.
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16. Roby Duke - "Seasons of Change" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 92.5
Roby Duke is a fascinating case worth exploring more. He was a Christian Contemporary artist who looked like George R.R. Martin, sang like Bill Withers, and threw himself wholeheartedly and convincingly into the YR sound. "Seasons of Change" is one of those sneaky Christian songs that sounds like a randy come-on ("I long for your touch") but is really about Jesus.
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15. Tom Scott - "Sure Enough" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 92.5
Saxophonist Tom Scott was a founding member of the Blues Brothers (thought he left before the 1980 film). He went on to become a very important background figure in YR, working with the Big Four, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, and Al Jarreau (in addition to murderer's row of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees). "Sure Enough" features lead vocals by fellow YR MVP (and future Mr. Mister singer) Richard Page.
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14. Marc Jordan - "Margarita" (1983)
Yachtski Score: 93
Personally I would have given this one a higher score, as it sounds like an amalgam of the YR Big Four. It features regular YR players Mike Porcaro, Michael Landeau, and Richard Page. Plus, it has lyrics that evoke both heartbreak and a tropical vacation.
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13. Steely Dan - "FM (No Static At All)" (1978)
Yachski Score: 93.75
Steely Dan pretty much created the YR blueprint, and they made an exemplar with "FM," which first appeared on the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Over an undeniable backbeat, singer Donald Fagen coolly surveys the offerings on FM radio: "nothing but blues and Elvis, and somebody else's favorite song." The chorus features Eagles Don Henley, and Timothy B. Schmidt.
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12. Robbie Dupree - "Steal Away" (1980)
Yachtski Score: 94
The song does have more than a passing resemblance to "What a Fool Believes" even down to the Michael McDonald-esque backing vocals. But it didn't matter to listeners who pushed "Steal Away" to number 6 on the Billboard charts.
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11. George Benson - "Turn Your Love Around" (1981)
Yachtski Scale: 94.25
The irresistible "Turn Your Love Around," which was written and recorded quickly to fill out a George Benson greatest hits package, is another tune with an insane YR pedigree. It was cowritten by Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin, and Steve Lukather. On top of that, it features Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, AND David Foster as players.
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8. Maxus - "Nobody's Business" (1981)
Yachtski Score: 94.5
Maxus and producer Michael Omartian definitely found the Doobie Bounce on the chorus of this one. Do yourself a favor and don't seek out the music video, though. It interprets the lyrics in a predatory way that I'm pretty sure songwriters Jay Gruska and Lisa Dal Bello didn't intend. At least I hope...
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9. Boz Scaggs - "Lowdown" (1976)
Yachtski Score: 94.5
Co-written with David Paich, and featuring Jeff Porcaro and David Hungate, the three of whom would form Toto the next year, "Lowdown" is a swinging piece of smoothness with soulful vocal from Scaggs and cooing background vocals. Here's where you can see R & B, disco, and jazz coming together to form something that was not quite any of the three. "Lowdown" was also a number 1 hit on Billboard, which opened the doors for the YR songs and artists that followed.
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8. Christopher Cross - "Sailing" (1979)
Yachtski Score: 94.5
In terms of cultural impact and influence, "Sailing" is probably the apex of Yacht Rock. What's interesting is that it doesn't have many of the typical elements outside of soft rock. There's no bounce, and little-to-no disco, jazz, or R & B elements. What it does have in spades, like "Africa" and "Human Nature" is a vibe that are instantly transporting. One might even say it takes you away.
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7. Al Jarreau - "Girls Know How" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 95
This tune, from the soundtrack of the 1982 Michael Keaton / Henry Winkler / Shelley Long flick Night Shift, was written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, and Burt Bachrach. It's bouncy and up-tempo, driven by a sprightly bassline and Foster's signature horn arrangements.
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6. Michael Jackson - "Human Nature" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 95.5
Another ballad, like "Sailing" that doesn't really fit the strict criteria of YR, but just has a feel to it that can't be easily described or replicated. Written by Steve Porcaro, with lyrics by John Bettis (look him up!), the song features basically all of Toto as players.
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5. Toto - "Rosanna" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 95.75
Both "Rosanna" and "Africa" are top 25 YR songs, but the guys at Yacht or Naycht gave the former a higher score (by over two points). I suppose that's because the chorus has the Doobie Bounce. The drums also have what's known as the "Rosanna Shuffle," and both Steves (Porcaro and Lukather) consider it the "ultimate" Toto track.
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4. Airplay - "Nothin' You Can Do About It" (1980)
Yachtski Score: 96.75
Airplay came about when a couple of YR background guys decided to make their own record. The principal members were David Foster and Jay Graydon (who sang lead on this song), and they called in fellow YR players Tommy Funderburk, Bill Champlin, Tom Kelly, and most of Toto.
Fun fact: Richard Marx released a decidedly not-YR song by the same name in 1989 with Steve Lukather, Bill Champlin, Michael Omartian, and Bobby Kimball (Toto) as players.
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3. Michael McDonald - "I Keep Forgettin'" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 98.5
Another song where the recording captured an ineffable vibe. The players responsible are two members of Toto, Greg Phillinganes, and one of the Brothers Johnson. Together they put down so many groovy instrumental and vocal hooks that the song feels like an embarrassment of riches. Fun fact: The song's chorus shares some musical DNA with the Leiber and Stoller composition "I Keep Forgetting" so they share writing credit with McDonald.
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2. Kenny Loggins - "Heart to Heart" (1982)
Yachtski Score: 99.625
A collaboration between Loggins, David Foster (him again!), and Michael McDonald (him again), this soaring plea for romantic detente, features a the Doobie Bounce, great background vocals, a saxophone solo from David Sanborn, and an all time lead vocal performance by Loggins.
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1. Doobie Brothers - "What A Fool Believes" (1978)
Yachtski Score: 100
Yes, "What a Fool Believes" at number one means that Michael McDonald had a hand in the top three most YR songs of all time (it's actually the top 4, because the one-song-per-artist rule necessitated the omission of the 98.25 "This Is It" by Kenny Loggins, which McDonald cowrote). Anyway, this is the song that invented the Doobie Bounce, and - along with "Sailing" - took Yacht Rock to the top of the charts.
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