Yacht Rock might be the only music genre that got its name long after it had passed from prominence. Back when it was made, between the mid-’70s and mid-’80s, the music industry called it “adult contemporary.” Most people called it “soft rock,” which sounds oxymoronic, but so was the idea of “rock” music that rejected youthful energy and rebellion for grown-up calm and satisfaction.
The term was coined 20 years ago as the title of an online comedy series that followed fictionalized versions of the genre’s stars – Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Hall and Oates – as they created their hits. People like McDonald recognized it as good-natured ribbing; Oates said it rekindled that duo’s career.
For a while the term carried negative connotations, until people started to notice that the music was gaining popularity with a new generation of fans. Now it’s undergone that favorite critical exercise, a reappraisal. You can search for Yacht Rock on Spotify and get a playlist, mostly filled with musicians who, if they’re still with us, appreciate the renewed attention.
Not all of them, though.
Filmmaker Garret Price, a fan of the genre, has produced a documentary on the subject, from the music’s inception to its renaissance. He got interviews for “Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary” with McDonald, Loggins and several other stalwarts of the scene. Then he phoned Donald Fagen, the voice of Steely Dan, a seminal band whose pristine production and smooth-jazz leanings were hallmarks of the sound, though their frequently dark and twisted lyrics belie the conceit.
Here, I’ll quote People magazine, which broke the story the other day.
The conversation, which is heard in audio [in the film], does not go down well. After Price introduces himself and politely asks Fagen for an interview about “this genre,” Fagen’s reaction is priceless.
Fagen: “And what genre is that?”
Price: “Um, yacht rock.”
Fagen: “Oh, yacht rock. Well, I tell you what. Why don’t you go f— yourself?”Beep, beep, beep.
I understand the ever-irascible songwriter’s response. As noted, most Steely Dan songs are lyrically leagues away from yacht rock – the frequently-cited “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” for example, is about the time Fagen, as a college student, hit on a professor’s wife. And that’s among the mildest of their tales.
But I don’t see how Fagen can deny the tag. Here, listen to this 1982 No. 26 single from Fagen’s first solo album, “The Nightfly.” Tell me this isn’t Yacht Rock.
If that’s not proof enough, British singer Howard Jones covered the tune the next year. I rest my case.
