Yacht Rock
Yacht rock is a name given after the fact to smooth, highly polished soft rock made mainly in California from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.
The songs blend soft rock with jazz, R&B and funk, using electric piano, clean guitars, tight grooves and layered harmonies played by top studio musicians. The term was coined in 2005 by the online comedy series Yacht Rock. It differs from other soft rock in its jazzy chords and its rhythm and blues feel.
Artists it is known for: Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Toto.
- Family
- Rock
- On Spotify
- A current genre
- What it is
- A genre
- From
- California, mid-1970s (named in 2005)
- Also called
- West Coast sound
- Trackify listeners who play it
- 9%
About 7,200 of 83,000 Trackify listeners with public profiles have yacht rock among their top artists of the last four weeks. Rounded; updated 13 November 2026.
Yacht Rock artists
Fleetwood Mac
Eagles
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Steely Dan
America
TOTO
Chris Rainbow
Chicago
Bread
PlayerThe yacht rock artists most Trackify listeners have in their top fifty. Each opens on Spotify.
Sources
The definition is written for this site from open sources, and was checked against them on 13 November 2026.