Keith Urban is the Captain of 'Country' Yacht Rock

What Is 'Yacht Rock'?

A few years ago my friends and I would sit on our boat and listen to music.  This is where I first heard the term 'Yacht Rock.'  Although I'm still partial to Jimmy Buffet's 'Parrothead Playlist', they had recently discovered a unique station that played summer vibes called 'Yacht Rock'.  Prior to this, I had never heard of the genre, but once I began to listen, it became my yearly summer soundtrack.

According to Master Class: Yacht rock refers to the soft rock that dominated FM radio airwaves in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yacht rock is characterized by glossy production, breezy vocals, and bouncy rhythms—all elements thought to evoke relaxing bay cruises in Southern California, where the genre originated.

Keith Urban also became such a big fan of the genre that he recorded an album of his own Yacht Rock favorites; titled 'Flow State'.  The moment I heard Urban had intentions of recording this style of music, I instantly thought that he had the perfect voice for cool summer songs- with established 'summer' hits like 'Long Hot Summer' 'Wasted Time' ''Till Summer Comes Around' and 'Blue Ain't Your Color', it's almost like he was already recording 'Country' Yacht Rock.

In addition to the 'expected' songs below, there is one NEW song fans can add to their summer playlist: 'We Go Back' featuring Michael McDonald.  McDonald is an obvious choice to sing on a new summer selection; since his group The Doobies are considered core Yacht Rock artists, alongside The Eagles, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Christopher Cross, Jimmy Buffett, Robbie Dupree, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Fleetwood Mac, Bill Withers, Rupert Holmes, Olivia Newton-John, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Toto, Jackson Browne and Steely Dan.

Keith's album will include the following summer covers:

Steal Away

Baby Come Back

Magnet and Steel (with Little Big Town)

Just The Two Of Us

On and On

We Go Back (Michael McDonald) *Original 

Help Is On The Way

How Much I Feel

Summer Breeze

I Just Wanna Stop

Guitar Man (with John Mayer)

The History of Yacht Rock from Master Class:

Yacht Rock music was most prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s, far before the term “yacht rock” originated. Artists like Loggins & Messina, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, Toto, and more dominated the airwaves, with glossy soft rock that stood in contrast to disco, punk, hip hop, and heavy metal. Hits include: “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” by Rupert Holmes, “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” by Hall & Oates, “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” by Looking Glass, “Baby Come Back” by Player, “Africa” by Toto, and “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley.