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**Official Yacht Rock Headquarters** - It's time to feel good (1 Viewer)

BeTheMatch said:
Today's offering:

Doobie Brothers - What a Fool Believes

Kenny Loggins co-wrote "What a Fool Believes" with Doobie Brothers lead singer Michael McDonald. Loggins put his version on his album Nightwatch, which was released in July 1978, five months before The Doobies included it on their Minute by Minute album. Loggins' version was never released as a single, but The Doobie Brothers took it to #1 in the US in April 1979.

While he was waiting for Loggins to arrive at his home, McDonald played some of the songs that were "in progress" and asked his sister Maureen which she thought was best. As Loggins was getting out of his car, he heard McDonald playing a fragment of this. According to Loggins, he heard about three-quarters of the verse's melody (no lyrics), but McDonald stopped at the bridge. Loggins' mind continued without a break... and the song's bridge was born. Then Loggins knocked on the door, introduced himself to McDonald, and demonstrated the bridge that he devised before the two of them could sit down. The lyrics were finished over the telephone the next day.

McDonald's concept for the lyric was a scenario where two people meet in a restaurant - two people who had a passionate relationship long ago. To the man, the affair was the best thing in his life; to the woman, it was fun, but it was time to move on. In the conversation, the man makes a complete fool of himself. When the woman excuses herself to leave, he doesn't get the message, believing he still has a shot and that their affair was much more meaningful than it actually was. Love makes a man a fool, and even a wise one can't reason it away.

Instant bonus:

Michael McDonald - Sweet Freedom
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When trying to define yacht rock, it is perfectly acceptable to use the criterion “how much does it sound like What a Fool Believes?”

 
BeTheMatch said:
Today's wonderment is another Yacht Block:

Ambrosia - Biggest Part of Me

Ambrosia - How Much I Feel

Ambrosia lead singer David Pack came up with the chords, melody, and some of the lyric for "Biggest Part of Me" in a 10-minute burst on July 4, 1979. He was waiting for his family to get ready for a trip when he realized he left the equipment on in his home studio. When he went to turn it off, inspiration struck. He sat down at the piano and came up with the skeleton of the song, which he recorded on a reel-to-reel tape deck. By the time he was done, the family was ready to go.

The first verse rhymes "arisin'" "horizon" and "realizin'." Pack thought the lyric would come off as Hallmark-card cheesy, so he did what any of us would do in that situation: he called Michael McDonald. Pack said he could envision bands singing it at a Holiday Inn; McDonald assured him that was good thing.

The drum pattern was something Ambrosia drummer Burleigh Drummond had been working on with his teacher, Freddie Gruber. "He had me doing these exercises that resulted in me playing that groove like 'Biggest Part Of Me' incessantly, Drummond said. "I mean, I wouldn't stop. So at our rehearsals, we probably wrote six to eight songs that had that exact same groove. And 'Biggest Part Of Me' just happened to be the best one. So, we owe it all to my drum teacher."

While "Biggest Part of Me" was all rainbows and cupid arrows, "How Much I Feel" deals with regret and still being hung up on the one that got away.  Even though now married to someone else, Pack laments, "sometimes when we make love, I can still see your face." 

In Greek, ambrosia means "immortality," and I'd say these sunsa#####es have achieved that with these bangers.

@urbanhack@Binky The Doormat
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These guys were incredibly talented and could have reached even bigger heights if not typecast as yacht rock (or whatever they called it back then) after yacht rock fell out of favor. 

Their first two albums are basically prog. The hits are on their third and fourth albums. The fifth and last album (Road Island) is an attempt to transition from yacht rock to something resembling a fusion of Journey and Wall-era Pink Floyd. It didn’t catch on but the songs are incredibly good.

 
BeTheMatch said:
Profit participation?
Click to expand...
7.5%.

Very complicated story (which also involves a lawsuit & NDA) but, after ABC Records refused to release Orleans' 2nd album (containing DWM), my company - which had a relationship w the band's mgmt - bartered an asset to them for half their mgmt share. It reverted to them a yr or so later when they sued us over our relationship with another of their acts (which we'd been trying to poach near the end of a contract term), just before they hit it big. *sigh*

 
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wikkidpissah said:
7.5%.

Very complicated story (which also involves a lawsuit & NDA) but, after ABC Records refused to release Orleans' 2nd album (containing DWM), my company - which had a relationship w the band's mgmt - bartered an asset to them for half their mgmt share. It reverted to them a yr or so later when they sued us over our relationship with another of their acts (which we'd been trying to poach near the end of a contract term), just before they hit it big. *sigh*
Click to expand...
Cool. You've had a more interesting life than me. 

 
wikkidpissah said:
7.5%.

Very complicated story (which also involves a lawsuit & NDA) but, after ABC Records refused to release Orleans' 2nd album (containing DWM), my company - which had a relationship w the band's mgmt - bartered an asset to them for half their mgmt share. It reverted to them a yr or so later when they sued us over our relationship with another of their acts (which we'd been trying to poach near the end of a contract term), just before they hit it big. *sigh*
Click to expand...
Interesting story. 

I hope you're also profiting from this album cover masterpiece. 

 
zamboni said:
Interesting story. 

I hope you're also profiting from this album cover masterpiece. 
Click to expand...
only in laughter. that was the middle guy's wife Johanna's idea. i'd already moved on, but my knowledge that both the Hoppen Bros (each end) had mantitty sitches going on which required some air brushing made it all the more joyous

ETA: that middle guy, John Hall (one of the most attractive guys i ever knew), became a two-term US Congressman (mostly cuz he originated the No Nukes movement).

 
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Take today's bonus to the bank:

Player - Baby Come Back

"Baby Come Back," released as the first single for Player, was a huge hit, going to #1 in January 1978 and staying for three weeks.

The apotheosis of "I made a terrible mistake and now I want you back" songs, "Baby Come Back" was rooted in real heartbreak. It was written by Player founders Peter Beckett and J. C. Crowley. Beckett is from Liverpool, England but moved to Los Angeles to join a band called Skyband, which broke up after one album. By the time he formed Player with Crowley, his wife had left him and returned to England. Crowley was also going through a breakup, so channeled their feeling into the song. Beckett sang lead on the track.

"I guess this one hit home, lyrically, and touched people," Beckett said. "Basically, it was both of us having broken up with somebody. So it was a genuine song, a genuine lyric. And I think that comes across in the song - that's why it was so popular."

Player is almost exclusively known for this song, but their follow-up single, "This Time I'm in It for Love," made a respectable showing, going to #10 in America. The group had a few more minor hits before breaking up in 1982. After the demise of Player, Beckett joined Australia's Little River Band, who included "Baby Come Back" on a live album. Beckett also wrote "Twist Of Fate" for Olivia Newton-John and "After All This Time" for Kenny Rogers.

Player bassist Ronn Moss became a very popular star on the CBS Soap Opera The Bold And The Beautiful, playing the character Ridge Forrester from 1987–2012.

Crowley left Player after their second album and went on to write songs recorded by Smokey Robinson, Johnny Cash, The Little River Band and many others.

When Homer rings the lost baby hotline to report that Maggie has gone missing during the 1992 "Homer Alone" episode of The Simpsons, "Baby Come Back" is played as the on hold music. The song also appears in these movies:

Transformers (2007)
Date Movie (2006)
Roll Bounce (2005)
Safe Men (1998)
FM (1978)

@SWC

 
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Another Yacht Block today:

Little River Band - Cool Change

Little River Band - Reminiscing

Lots of drama with these guys.

"Cool Change" was written by Little River Band lead singer Glenn Shorrock at a time when tensions ran high in the band. Shorrock, who told Songfacts that he and guitarist Graeham Goble were like "chalk and cheese," needed a cool change from the internecine squabbles. In this song, he goes into reverie, dreaming of spending some tranquil time to himself in nature.

At the time, he kept this interpretation under wraps, but Shorrock later admitted the song was a "cry for help."

With a mellow '70s sound and specific references to sailing, this song is the apotheosis of yacht rock, a genre that became quite popular in America in the '00s and helped revive the music of the Little River Band. Shorrock stayed away from the various yacht rock tours due to contractual squabbles - he left the band for good in 1996 and was barred from performing under the Little River Band moniker as part of an agreement.

"Reminiscing" was written by Goble, who along with Shorrock and the group's other guitarist, Beeb Birtles, was a primary songwriter in the band. Goble was a very focused writer and rather meticulous, which didn't always sit well with Shorrock but resulted in some of their biggest hits; Goble also wrote "Lady" and "The Night Owls."

The "hurry, don't be late" section is a great example of the harmonies that were a hallmark of the group, sung by Shorrock, Goble and Birtles. "Graeham was the harmony master," Shorrock said in his Songfacts interview. "He was the Brian Wilson of the band."

This song garnered lots of airplay in America, where for decades it played on lite-rock radio, the kind heard in elevators and dentists' offices.

Along with AC/DC and the Bee Gees, the Little River Band was one of the first Australian groups to hit it big in the US, selling over 25 million records and scoring 13 American Top 40 hits. "Reminiscing" was their biggest, reaching #3.

"Reminiscing" was part of the band's fourth album; they released one every year from their founding in 1975 until 1979, with each one more successful than the last. The hectic pace and personality clashes took a toll though, and Shorrock was ejected in 1981, replaced with John Farnham. The hits dried up a few years later, and in 1985 the band broke up. They returned in 1988 with Shorrock, but never got back to form. By the late '90s, all original members left the group, giving up their rights to the Little River Band name in the process. Guitarist Stephen Housden, who joined in 1981, took control of the name, leading to legal squabbles in the '00s that worked out in his favor. Shorrock, Birtles and Goble started recording as BSG in 2002.

 
This thread reminds me of that show that was on VH1 about 10 years ago (maybe it is still repeated) that highlighted the greatest soft rock songs.   Many of the comments by the actors, comedians, and musicians were gold.   

 
Wanna end the war in Ukraine? Just blast this thing from the rooftops until Putin lays down his arms:

Christopher Cross - Sailing

Well, it's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see, believe me

It's not far to never never land
No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see, believe me

Sailing
Takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
Soon I will be free

Fantasy
It gets the best of me
When I'm sailing

All caught up in the reverie
Every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me?

Sailing
Takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Well, it's not far back to sanity
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see, really, believe me

Sailing
Takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

 
Beeb Birtles
Click to expand...
Sweet leaping hey-seuss, that may be the worst made up name in "rock" history.  Is it the Australian equivalent of "Fee" Waybill, or some ish?

"Blixa Bargeld." Now THAT'S a made up name you can wind your watch to.

 
Today's moment of Zen:

Christopher Cross - Never Be the Same

Cross' thoughts on the Web series Yacht Rock:

"Somebody sent me the original one a long time ago. The original one, one of the guys they parodied were myself and Mike and Daryl and John and Kenny [Loggins]. And I thought it was pretty stupid. It seemed silly at the time. But it's grown in popularity and I think the 12th one that came out has Mike and me in it. They parodied a lot of guys, and it got really popular. It's very popular in Japan.

And then what's funny is about two years ago, Jimmy Fallon called me. I know Jimmy a little bit. He said, "Hey, man, I'm really into this 'Yacht Rock' thing. Would you and Mike come on and play with The Roots and do 'Ride Like the Wind' and 'Sailing,' because I'm totally into this 'Yacht Rock' thing."

So we went on and it was fun, but at one point Jimmy asked me to put on the captain's hat to do "Sailing." My manager and I said, "I don't think so, man. It's a pretty classic song and it seems pretty silly." Jimmy was cool and said, "Oh, that's fine, don't worry about it." So then when I walked out to do "Sailing," The Roots all had those hats on. They were all bobby-pinned into their 'fros. Questlove especially looked so crazy, because it was just sitting on top of his head like a muffin or something, because he had a giant 'fro.

I looked at them and I said, "You know what, if you guys can humiliate yourselves, I can too!" So I put it on and Jimmy put one on and we did the song. It's gotten to be real popular, and people have talked about doing a Yacht Rock tour, which I think would be a lot of fun. The problem is not so much in my case, but if you get Mike and Daryl and John and all these people on one cover, it would be so expensive you'd never be able to afford it.

I've only seen the first one, but it was pretty funny. The guy they had that played Loggins I thought was classic. This guy's standing by the fire and it's all pretty silly. I don't think Mike McDonald or any of us take them very seriously, but it's funny how they've gotten very popular."

Instant bonus

 
Today's offering:

Pablo Cruise - Love Will Find A Way

Released in May of 1978, the song peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100.

Pablo Cruise formed in San Francisco back in 1973.

Over the 13 years they were together, they released eight studio albums and had five singles make it into the top 25 of the US singles charts.

The story goes that, when the band first began performing, people would come to their shows and ask, “Which one of you guys is Pablo Cruise?” The band would answer, “He’s the guy in the middle.”

The band partially reformed in 1996. Then in 2004, all four original members of the band played at one of the band member’s wedding. This led to three of them reuniting.

Original band members were, Cory Lerios (keyboards and vocals), David Jenkins (vocals and guitar), Steve Price (drums), and Bud Cockrell (bass and vocals).

Instant Bonus:

Pablo Cruise - Whatcha Gonna Do?

 
Today's moment of, "Lee Harvey, I wanna party with you":

Looking Glass - Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)

If there's not at least two serial killers in this group, I'd be shocked.

The four members of Looking Glass are alumni of Rutgers University, and the Spring 2009 Rutgers alumni magazine carried an article about this song and the band itself. The pertinent part reads:

"The band recorded the song seven times before they got it right. 'Brandy' - based on the name of (lead singer) Elliot Lurie's high school sweetheart 'Randy' - tells the story of a musician torn between his love for a life at sea and his love for a barmaid. Released as the B-side of 'Don't It Make You Feel Good,' the song was overlooked, as was the A-side, for that matter, until Harv Moore, a Washington DC disc jockey took it up as a personal cause. After years of playing covers and their originals at frat parties and bars in the New Brunswick area, Looking Glass was signed to Epic Records by the legendary Clive Davis.

'Brandy' was not typical of the band's sound, which caused a problem at concerts. While audiences expected pop songs like this one, Looking Glass played rock, which left the crowds disappointed. The band broke up less than two years later.

 
I never really considered these guys part of the Yacht Rock genre, but the Internet says I'm wrong, and I'm not going to argue:

Toto - Rosanna

The song was inspired by actress Rosanna Arquette, whose magnetism and piercing blue eyes have captivated several rock luminaries such as Peter Gabriel who wrote 'In Your Eyes' about her.

In the early 80s, Arquette was in a romantic relationship with rocker Steve Porcaro, the keyboardist for Toto and one of the most sought-after session musicians. Toto bandmate & fellow virtuoso David Paich, who was always searching for real-life inspiration to write lyrics, was working on a tune about a girl he dug in high school. Since the relationship between Porcaro & Arquette was hot & heavy at the time, he decided to title his un-named song 'Rosanna.'

From the opening line, it seems like this is going to be a love song to Rosanna:

All I want to do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes

But a few lines in we learn that she's a heartbreaker:

I didn't know you were looking for more than I could ever be

By the end of the song, we learn that she's been gone for nearly a year, and this poor guy is still a wreck:

I never thought that losing you could ever hurt so bad

Porcaro and Arquette broke up not long after this song was released.

The girl who played Rosanna in the video will look familiar to fans of the movie Dirty Dancing: It's Cynthia Rhodes, who played Penny Johnson in the movie. Patrick Swayze is also in the video, but much less visible - that's him wearing the red jacket among Rosanna's suitors. The West Side Story-style dance fighting was used in the clip almost a year before Michael Jackson did it in his video for "Beat It."

Even more trivia: Rhodes was married to Richard Marx from 1989-2014.

 
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Back at it:

England Dan & John Ford Cole - I'd Really Love to See You Tonight

The 1970s were the peak time for this duo, and this was their biggest hit. The premise: A man wants to see his former love again for a one-night-stand. What's more beautiful than that?

England Dan is Dan Seals, who had a series of country hits after he stopped performing with Coley in 1980. His older brother Jim was the Seals of Seals & Crofts, who had the hit "Summer Breeze."

Seals and Coley met in high school. This was their first single, and they followed it up with several other light favorites, including "Nights Are Forever Without You" and "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again."

This was written by a Mississippi songwriter named Parker McGee, who also wrote "Nights Are Forever Without You."

When "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" was played to an executive at Atlantic Records, he turned it down. However Doug Morris of Big Tree Records heard the song through the wall of his over-joining office and offered the duo a contract.

One of the great misheard lyrics appears in this song: "I'm not talking about movin' in" is often heard as "I'm not talking about the linen."

 
Today's moment of goodness:

James Ingram & Michael McDonald - Yah Mo Be There

According to McDonald, the song was based on the original Hebrew name for God (Yahweh) and was originally called "Yahweh Be There." The title was James Ingram's idea: "We were talking about how to say 'G-d will be there' without scaring most of the audience away." It was co-written and produced by Quincy Jones (who does the African style sounds in the song) and Rod Temperton, who later wrote "Sweet Freedom" for McDonald.

This won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

McDonald has sung the song solo over the years. It was even an in-joke in the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin in which one of the characters (Paul Rudd), who plays an electronics store employee, endures a never-ending loop of a DVD of the McDonald Soundstage production playing in his store and says, "If I hear 'Yah Mo Be There' one more time, I'm gonna 'yah mo' burn this place to the ground!" 

 
BeTheMatch said:
Back at it:

England Dan & John Ford Cole - I'd Really Love to See You Tonight
Click to expand...
With all due respect to YachtGod, Chris Cross, and YachtJesus, Ken Loggins, this is my favorite yacht rock song of all time. 

Not everyone had a yacht to go sailing, and not everyone could hold a ball of light while looking totally bad###, but there were thousands if not millions of Jack Trippers and Larry Dallas' out there, living three deep in a two bedroom condo, having key parties and falling over furniture, just hoping to reach out to that one ex for one more BetaMax and Bang session.  

This was their theme song.

 
In the office today, put an album of covers on by Jonathan Coulton (he of Code Monkey, Still Alive and acoustic Baby Got Back) called Some Guys. The track listing is a solid Yacht Rock or Yacht Rock adjacent hits. His versions are spot on and entertaining.

  • Sister Golden Hair
  • On and On
  • Alone Again (Naturally)
  • The Things We Do for Love
  • Make It With You
  • New Kid in Town
  • Baker Street
  • How Deep Is Your Love
  • Easy
  • Wildfire
  • Everybody's Talkin'
  • If You Could Read My Mind
  • Crazy Love
  • Same Old Lang Syne
Some Guys - Jonathan Coulton (Spotify Link)

 
BeTheMatch said:
Back at it:

England Dan & John Ford Cole - I'd Really Love to See You Tonight

The 1970s were the peak time for this duo, and this was their biggest hit. The premise: A man wants to see his former love again for a one-night-stand. What's more beautiful than that?

England Dan is Dan Seals, who had a series of country hits after he stopped performing with Coley in 1980. His older brother Jim was the Seals of Seals & Crofts, who had the hit "Summer Breeze."

Seals and Coley met in high school. This was their first single, and they followed it up with several other light favorites, including "Nights Are Forever Without You" and "We'll Never Have To Say Goodbye Again."

This was written by a Mississippi songwriter named Parker McGee, who also wrote "Nights Are Forever Without You."

When "I'd Really Love To See You Tonight" was played to an executive at Atlantic Records, he turned it down. However Doug Morris of Big Tree Records heard the song through the wall of his over-joining office and offered the duo a contract.

One of the great misheard lyrics appears in this song: "I'm not talking about movin' in" is often heard as "I'm not talking about the linen."
Click to expand...


even better - their cover of Todd's "Love Is The Answer"

 
Bogart said:
•Alone Again (Naturally)

  • Make It With You
  • New Kid in Town
  • Wildfire
  • Everybody's Talkin'
  • If You Could Read My Mind
  • Crazy Love
  • Same Old Lang Syne
Click to expand...


those 8  ... always welcome in my playlists - with Wildfire/Crazy Love on top. 

 
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I always love these threads but am hesitant to post because no way I am going back through to see what has or hasn't been posted already. 

 
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