5 Classic Singles That Define Yacht Rock

Defining singles in the yacht rock category is bound to vary by listener, depending on their personal views of what makes a soft rock tune qualify as yacht rock — yes, it can be that contentious for some listeners. It's more a vibe than a textbook designation, something you know when you hear but can't easily describe to outsiders. For our purposes, yacht rock's ancestral DNA is expressed in smooth grooves, easy-going rhythms that often inspire dancing (alone, in pairs, or in whole groups), and performances that tend toward the soothing end of the balance. They're all ideal aspects for music that could easily be enjoyed on a luxury seafaring vessel, or anywhere you find your appetite for lush, soft rock gnawing at your soul.

Rooting out five exemplary songs from the yacht rock genome made for a fun scavenger hunt. We traced back to the ancestor songs that set the tone from the early '70s to the early '80s. Vintage charmers like "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts and "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes typify the heart and soul of the finest yacht rock works. And if you have a round-up that leaves out the king of the yacht rock castle, the inimitable "What a Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers, your arrangement of definitive yacht rock tunes is woefully incomplete.

Considered by many to be the ultimate yacht rock song, "What a Fool Believes" by the Doobie Brothers is a checklist of every genre hallmark, with the smoky, lived-in vocals of Michael McDonald as a premium bonus. The fact that it was a 1979 No. 1 song for the reconfigured Brothers reinforces the notion that the tune is a superior offering from the yacht rock movement. There were certainly songs that fit the yacht rock classification prior to this sprightly piece, but it helped clarify what the descriptor really meant.

McDonald would go on to become a top-shelf adult contemporary artist and have many more yacht rock hits through the '80s. But as the high point of the Doobies' shift toward McDonald's smoother sound, a whole new glut of listeners were drawn to the band by his soothing voice and groovy, piano-driven melody; McDonald crystallized the yacht rock concept without meaning to. He and co-writer Kenny Loggins arguably arrived at the gold standard against which all other comers would be measured. If you haven't sung this one while doing your best Michael McDonald impersonation, have you even yacht rocked?

The romantic lilt of "Summer Breeze" gives Seals & Crofts a chilled-out, champion yacht-rock song for the lovers in the crowd. The lyrical descriptions of domestic bliss feel bathed in stardust, thanks to the uber-smooth voices of both singers, with an acoustic soundtrack billowing behind them. The simplicity of recalling the haven of home, inspired by nothing so much as a seasonal wind, somehow takes on an evocative grandness that can feel meditative if you let the imagery in the lyrics spirit you away. It clearly resonates with a slew of listeners; how else would it have become a No. 6 Billboard hit?

The background to the song's impetus is a little less yacht-rock romantic. The yearning to make a tune that would become a defining yacht rock work began in Texas, where Jim Seals and Dash Crofts wanted their music to be a balm against the tumultuous social and political happenings of the late '60s and early '70s. Seals imagined the surety of his childhood home, which was nothing like the cozy imagined space that made it to the song. But the glowing aspirational quality summed up in the chorus — "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine / blowing through the jasmine in my mind" — creates a meditative entry point that doubles as a landmark on the yacht rock musical seascape.

A song extolling the virtues of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana demonstrates that yacht rock can take place anywhere your songwriting imagination takes you. Paul Cotton wrote "Heart of the Night" in a 20-minute burst, drawing on his love of New Orleans. The song appeared on Poco's 1978 album "Legend" and became a hit when it was released as a single in 1979. The band had undergone some serious line-up changes that made Cotton and Poco founder Rusty Young believe they'd be launching a separate project. Instead, the band's label turned the yacht rock classic and the other songs from the project into the next Poco album.

"Heart of the Night" reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the adult contemporary chart. The country-pop acoustic textures, paired with Cotton's warm vocals, made the tune rich and relaxing; the wailing sax solo, courtesy of Phil Kenzie, gave it a cosmopolitan sheen. Kenzie had conjured the exceptional '70s soft rock solo on Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat," a hit in 1977. Adding his pedigreed performance to this Poco classic was the soulful cherry on top of the luxurious yacht rock cake.

Humor hit the yacht rock scene in the form of "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)," Rupert Holmes' witty tale of romantic ennui and sneaky attempts at adultery that lead both parties right back to the situationship they were trying to, yes, escape. Holmes' literary way with lyrics and storytelling (he went on to write novels and musicals) crafted a taut narrative of two sorry souls communicating via personal ads — no handy visuals of modern dating app profiles to help pull back the curtain on the trickery afoot. The song is a trove of '70s stereotypes; lines like "I was tired of my lady" and references to yoga and health food sound sweetly dated now. It also holds the distinction of being the last Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 of that decade.

But the biggest buzz this yacht rock specimen creates is around the line "If you like piña coladas / and getting caught in the rain." It captures the heady, romantic-ish quality of what this escapist musical classification is meant to do: take listeners into an idealized world, where boat drinks and beach views are the order of the day. Holmes helped assemble some of the key elements of the yacht rock formulation without realizing it. Now, there's a singable anthem encouraging listeners to get out of their doldrums, with a reminder that the escape they're looking for may have been right in front of them all along. Who knew yacht rock could be so complex?

Nicolette Larson broke into the yacht rock boys' club decades before the concept arose with "Lotta Love," her cover of a Neil Young song that would be her shining moment in the '70s spotlight. Her status as a No. 1 adult contemporary chart hitmaker was clinched when she was just 26 years old and had become an established background singer for other artists of the era, major names like Linda Ronstadt and fellow yacht rockers the Doobie Brothers. Ronstadt recommended Larson when Young was looking for backing singers; Larson first heard "Lotta Love" on a demo cassette she discovered in Young's car. He offered it to her, and the rest is yacht rock history.

Larson took the tune to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979, and Broadway World included "Lotta Love" at No. 29 on its list of the 101 best yacht rock songs. The maximalist orchestration creates a lush wilderness of backing tracks for Larson to lay her lovely vocals over. For a category dominated by male sounds and male perspectives, having Larson carve out a space for a female viewpoint and soundscape helps balance the seminal yacht rock collection. It also demonstrates the synergy among the top acts in the genre, even if they didn't know they were yacht-rockers at the time.