Almost 20 years ago, the irreverent comedy series Yacht Rock debuted on the web, lovingly spoofing popular '70s and '80s artists — such as Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Toto, and Hall and Oates — whose smooth music blended rock, pop, jazz and soul. The HBO documentary - Music Box: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary - depicts an aspect of the Southern California music scene from over 40 years ago when soft rock dominated the charts and became commercially successful.

It is perfect for anyone, who needs a primer on yacht rock AKA Westcoast Pop, R&B, Soft Rock, AOR, but as some of you also have pointed out, it does not paint the full picture of the Southern California music scene from over 40 years ago, when soft rock dominated the charts and became commercially successful. There was so much more than Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, and Toto, during that music period.

Garret Price, the director of this documentary, says:
"I think a lot of people still to this day think this music was called yacht rock in the late '70s, and that's definitely not the case. In the early 2000s, a group of comedians created a low-budget web series called "Yacht Rock," where they had these kind of imaginary alt history stories of these musicians in Southern California, you know, who were all friends making this really expensive, smooth, polished sound together."

J.D. Ryznar and Steve Huey helped coin this imprecise term in their 2005 mockumentary series Yacht Rock, long after the music it attempted to brand, was out of style. Each episode traced the activities of goofy, fictionalized versions of McDonald, his contemporaries, and his collaborators.

For some reason the term "Yacht Rock" has lived on, although no actual yachts have ever been involved in this music style.

Jay's comments about the Westcoast (Yacht Rock) genre

Hey everyone,
I assume you have heard about the documentary on HBO - Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary which premiered on November 29, 2024. Doing the yacht rock documentary was a lot of fun and of course brought back memories.

Over the years I have mentioned that songs aren't oldies if you haven't heard them before. With that in mind, for any generation, let's hope that people not familiar with the genre, will watch the documentary and become interested in pop/R&B music that breaks the rules! To take this to another level, the music may inspire young musicians that haven't been exposed to jazz chord changes used in pop songs!

A very good example of this is when Kenny Loggins heard Stevie Wonder's albums wanting to figure out the chord changes Stevie was using! Stevie was the first cat to really expand R&B/pop using such delicious chord voicings!

He changed my musical vocabulary as well. Even though I was kind of a jazzer, I didn't think I could get away with it in pop songs until I heard Stevie's album - "Music of My Mind"! His next four or five albums were incredible as well! Some of the albums after that may not have been quite as good, but there were always at least three or four songs that were masterpieces!

Back to the documentary. I hoped that they would use the footage in which I talked about albums, I produced, and the songs I co-wrote such as all the Jarreau albums, Airplay, JaR, the Dionne Warwick album "Friends In Love", the Steve Kipner and Marc Jordan albums, and more.

Even though Yacht Rock is a stupid name, at least it's a heading to put the music under and on this page we are noting a bunch of albums that fall into that category, although we are more used to call it the Westcoast Sound!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the documentary and I did have fun making the film. - Jay

 

 

A Few Westcoast Pop Gems for You to Enjoy!

Starting with the father of them all - AIRPLAY by Airplay (Jay Graydon and David Foster).

Japanese music lovers coined the term "Westcoast Sound" for the genre, which originated with this specific album - AIRPLAY. The Japanese music enthusiasts were among the first to recognize and categorize "Westcoast Music" s a distinct genre. Their appreciation helped preserve and document this musical style, creating a dedicated following that continues to this day. The album AIRPLAY - remastered by Jay Graydon in 2018 with liner notes written by Jay, who is reminiscing the song concepts, stories and recording sessions, is available from Sony Japan. A feast for your ears for sure!!!

Airplay - AIRPLAY (2018 Remaster) *** Spotify link to the full album Considered the very first Westcoast pop album, "Airplay" was a collaboration between Jay Graydon and David Foster. This album set the template for the sophisticated Westcoast sound with its pristine production and jazz-influenced arrangements. Labeled the "Holy Grail of Westcoast Pop" by aficionados - the very start of the whole Westcoast Pop genre. This album includes the original recording of the Grammy winner "After the Love Is Gone".	Steve Kipner - KNOCK THE WALLS DOWN *** YouTube link to the full album Steve Kipner's solo album is a hidden gem in the Westcoast music catalogue. Before becoming a successful songwriter for other artists, Steve Kipner released this solo album, produced by Jay Graydon. Jay also co-wrote a few of the songs, as well as played many of the instruments, engineered and arranged the full album. Check out the extensive and totally outstanding guitar solo on the song "The Ending"!	Marc Jordan - BLUE DESERT *** Spotify link to the full album Marc Jordan's "Blue Desert" is considered a classic of the genre, featuring great songs, inventive arrangements and showcasing Marc Jordan's distinctive vocals. The album is produced by Jay Graydon and his guitar work throughout this album is playful, innovative, and absolutely fabulous! A few of the many highlights of Jay's brilliant guitar playing are e.g. on songs like "I'm A Camera" and "From Nowhere To This Town".
Pages - PAGES *** Spotify link to the full album The self-titled album by Pages, released in 1981, featured Richard Page and Steve George, who would later form Mr. Mister. The album showcased the classy arrangements and vocal harmonies that would become hallmarks of the Westcoast sound. Jay co-wrote 3 of the songs, produced 7 songs, and played all the guitars on a few of the tracks.	Steely Dan - AJA *** Spotify link to the full album Often considered Steely Dan's masterpiece, Aja epitomizes the perfectionist studio approach of Westcoast music. The album features some of the finest session musicians in Los Angeles and set new standards for production quality. Jay's exquisite guitar solo on the song "Peg" is legendary. Jay's solo became the "keeper" after 7-8 top studio session guitarists (including Robben Ford and recurring guitarist Larry Carlton) had attempted.	Al Jarreau - BREAKIN' AWAY *** Spotify link to the full album This Grammy nominated album, produced by Jay, perfectly blends jazz, R&B, and pop elements that define the Westcoast sound. Al Jarreau's vocal acrobatics and the album's clever and delightful arrangements made it a commercial and critical success. To quote AllMusic, "Breakin' Away became the standard bearer of the L.A. pop and R&B sound." The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA and was Grammy awarded for "Best Vocal Performance".
Al Jarreau - JARREAU *** Spotify link to the full album Following the success of "Breakin' Away", Al Jarreau continued his collaboration with producer Jay Graydon on this album, further refining the Westcoast sound with subtle arrangements and Jarreau's distinctive vocal style. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA and received four Grammy Award nominations, including for Jay Graydon as "Producer of the Year". The song "Mornin'" was a hit single.	George Benson - TURN YOUR LOVE AROUND *** Spotify link to the full album This song won the "Best R&B Song Grammy Award" at the 25th Grammy Awards in 1983 for Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin, and Steve Lukather as its co-writers. Jay recalls: "George Benson was coming in town Tuesday, so I had four days to come up with a song for "The George Benson Collection". And I was gettin' nothing. And then bang! I just came up with this melody for the chorus when I was in the bathroom..." and the rest is history ...	DeBarge - RHYTHM OF THE NIGHT *** Spotify link to the full album While more R&B-oriented than some Westcoast albums, "Rhythm of the Night" incorporates many elements of the polished production style associated with the genre. This album includes the super hit "Who's Holding Donna Now", which Jay co-wrote with David Foster and Randy Goodrum.
Dionne Warwick - FRIENDS IN LOVE *** Spotify link to the full album This album features Dionne Warwick embracing the Westcoast sound with production by Jay Graydon. Many beautiful songs are included on this album, one of them being "For You". Dionne Warwick recalls the recording sessions as "enjoyable musical events", while Jay recalls working her "hard", but Dionne says "He didn't work me at all. Recording that album was really a breeze with him. I didn't feel that I was being overworked. I was madly in love with Al Jarreau's voice, all of his songs and the recordings that he had done with Jay, so when I got the word that Jay was going to be producing that album for me, I was thrilled. I felt that the choice of songs was absolutely correct, and his production was spot on."	Manhattan Transfer - EXTENSIONS *** Spotify link to the full album This album by The Manhattan Transfer incorporates elements of the Westcoast sound with jazz and pop influences. Jay co-wrote the tracks "Nothin' You Can Do About It", and the super hit "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone". Jay also produced the full album and Janis Siegel won a Grammy Award for the Vocal Arranging of the song "Birdland". She later on requested that Jay would be officially approved to share the win with her, since he had been instrumental in assisting her with this vocal arrangement, and his help was absolutely crucial in leading to her Grammy win, but the request unfortunately came too late and did not comply with the strict time limits stated in the Grammy rules.	Manhattan Transfer - MECCA FOR MODERNS *** Spotify link to the full album Another sublime offering from by the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer that blends vocal jazz with Westcoast production sensibilities. This album was the highest-charting album to date for the group, peaking on Billboard magazine's Top Pop Catalog Albums chart at No. 22. The album won multiple Grammy Awards and showcases the group's incredible vocal harmonies. Jay co-wrote e.g. the massive hits "Spies in the Night", which incorporates the "James Bond Theme", and "Smile Again". Jay also arranged several of the songs, played synths and guitars, and produced this album.

 

Current Albums Keeping the Westcoast Pop Flame Alive

Jay Graydon - PAST TO PRESENT - the 70s *** Spotify link to the full album This compilation showcases Jay Graydon's work as a guitarist, producer, and songwriter during the 1970s. As one of the key architects of the Westcoast sound, this collection provides insight into the development of the genre. In Jay's words: "This is an album as close to "Airplay" as it will ever get."	JaR - SCENE 29 *** Spotify link to the full album A collaboration between two Westcoast music legends, Jay Graydon and Randy Goodrum. This album has received rave reviews and here is a quote from one of them: "You guys have taken the torch from Steely Dan and have run miles and miles ahead" - Steve Lukather.	JaR - SOMETIMES YOU WIN *** Spotify link to the full album This single was first included on the Japanese version of the first JaR album - SCENE 29, and now available as a single download at our digital partners. Both JaR releases represent a return to the delicious sound Jay and Randy helped pioneer in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Jay Graydon - AIRPLAY FOR THE PLANET - Remastered *** Spotify link to the full album Jay Graydon's solo album is a return to the classic Westcoast sound he helped pioneer, featuring collaborations with many artists associated with the genre, showcasing Jay's skills as a producer, songwriter, guitarist, and more. Includes a new version of the Grammy winner "After the Love Has Gone".	State Cows - STATE COWS *** Spotify link to the full album This Swedish band's self-titled debut album is a loving tribute to the classic Westcoast sound. With pristine production and elegant arrangements, State Cows has helped revive interest in the genre for a new generation of discerning quality music lovers. Jay is delivering a superb guitar solo on the song "New York Town".	State Cows - THE SECOND ONE REDUX *** Spotify link to the full album State Cows' second album continued their faithful recreation of the classic Westcoast sound. The album features guest appearances from original Westcoast musicians and showcases the band's commitment to the genre. Jay plays an excellent guitar solo on the song "In the City".

More details in the song catalogue, the discography, the recording session pages, the production page, and the page for Grammy Awards & Nominations.

 

 

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