How Yacht Rock Taught Me More About Smooth Music Than 12 Years Of Grade School

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How Yacht Rock Taught Me More About Smooth Music Than 12 Years Of Grade School
by Nick Law - December 19, 2008

If you’re a closet fan of 70s/80s smooth music like I am, chances are you’ve heard of the 11 part mockumentary entitled “Yacht Rock” that’s gained hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube over the past two years. The miniseries basically revolves around Doobie Brothers Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald as their paths cross with some of the more notable recording artists of their day. The stories that inspired the music are finally revealed. Well, sort of.

The series was created by J.D. Ryznar and Hunter D. Stair after the two had noticed how often several of the groups collaborated with each other on past projects. For example, Michael McDonald co-wrote Loggins’ “This Is It” and The Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes” and also performed backing vocals for artists such as Steely Dan and Christopher Cross, all of which make cameos throughout the series. In one moving episode entitled: “Keep the Fire Burnin’ Bright”, the Doobie Brothers are challenged to a song-writing contest by their rivals Hall and Oates. When things start to get intense, an all out brawl breaks out and the only thing that can calm the people Down is the Smooth rhythm of “Sailing” as sung by newcomer Chris Geppert, who would later go on to be dubbed Christopher Cross by the brawl’s only victim Karel "Koko" Goldstein (he landed on his “lucky” harpoon).

As the series progresses, many of the Yacht Rockers are tempted to leave the smooth music scene and welcome in the new style of rock and roll that the 1980s have to offer. In one episode, Kenny Loggins tries to convince fellow Doobie Brother Michael McDonald that his new song “I Keep Forgetting” is too smooth for the 80s. Always on the defensive, Michael McDonald makes a bet with Loggins that the smooth grooves of the tune are enough for it to reach at least number 2 on the charts. McDonald ends up losing the bet, but wins his money back over 10 years later when “I Keep Forgetting” is sampled by Nate Dogg and Warren G in the hit number 2 song “Regulate.”

The stories are Genius and the episodes are all hilarious. The group of friends who wrote and stared in each episode have to be doing something great by now due to the overwhelming popularity of the series.

What makes Yacht Rock so great is its ability to tell these stories, albeit in a not entirely honest fashion, but entertaining nonetheless. When I first heard about the series over 2 years ago, I was sure to forward the links on to all of my friends, half of which had either seen all the episodes, or were at least aware of their existence. As someone who considers himself to be always up to date on the YouTube culture, I was in shock. Was I really the last one?

Perhaps not. If you still haven’t heard of Yacht Rock, please do yourself a favor and at least watch episode 1 on YouTube. Just make sure you set aside enough time when you do because I guarantee that you’ll go through all 11.

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