As music critic and writer Steve Huey once explained, “from 1976 to 1984, the radio airwaves were dominated by really smooth music.” Once known as soft rock, since the mid-2000s pretty much everyone has called it Yacht Rock.
We’re talking of course about the music of people like Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, Toto, Christopher Cross — pop songwriters at the intersection of soul, jazz and disco who were defiantly uncool for their day but are now recognized as the legends they are. And as an early Christmas president, HBO is giving people a crash course via “Yacht Rock: A Documentary,” which debuts Nov. 29.
Directed by Garret Price (“Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage,” “Daisy Jones & the Six” and “Love, Antosha”), the film features commentary from legends like McDonald, Loggins, Cross and more, plus some of the people they influenced — like Thundercat, Mac DeMarco and Questlove.
Watch the trailer below now:
And as you can see in the trailer, thankfully it also finally shines a light on the people who coined the term itself — JD Ryznar, Hunter D. Stair and Lane Farham, co-creators of the 2005-2010 web series “YachtRock,” along with Huey and David Lyons, who co-starred in it with Ryznar and Stair.
If you haven’t seen it, “Yacht Rock” is a slightly absurdist comedy that imagines the songwriting adventures of McDonald and Loggins in the ’70s and ’80s, and their (entirely fictional) bitter, occasionally deadly rivalry with Hall & Oates (who, it must be stated clearly, technically did not make Yacht Rock music themselves). Each episode covers the creation of one or more era-defining songs, with particular highlights concerning Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (episode 5) and “We Are the World” (series finale).
All episodes are available on YouTube here, but Ryznar, Stair, Huey and Lyons also host the (excellent) podcasts “Yacht or Nyacht,” in which they listen to songs and determine whether or not — and if so, how much — a song actually is in the genre, and “Billion Dollar Record Club.” More here and here.
“Yacht Rock: A Documentary” is produced by Garret, Adam Gibbs, and Madison Cross. Jody Gerson, Marc Cimino, and Bill Simmons are executive producers; Geoff Chow and Sean Fennessey are co-executive producers.
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