Who Are the ‘Big 4’ of Yacht Rock?

As best-of rankings go, this might be one that some acts hope to avoid. Being one of the “Big 4” in Yacht Rock has its advantages and disadvantages.

The problem is right there in the name. Part celebration and another part insult, yacht rock can be as easy-going as it is fraught. Many of those associated with this belatedly named music genre openly embrace it, even appearing on shipboard themed concerts. Others, however, have an almost violent revulsion.

In its time, yacht rock might have been called soft rock, adult-oriented rock, or simply the West Coast sound. Whatever the title, this music became a commercial juggernaut between the mid-’70s to mid-’80s even amid the rise of punk, new wave, post-punk and hip hop. The genre’s biggest acts were platinum-selling chart-topping superstars.

READ MORE: Top 50 Yacht Rock Songs

Part of the secret to that success was the malleability of the music – and its high production values. Yacht rock drew on musical sources from outside the world of rock, including R&B, jazz, soul and disco. Its biggest stars were studio savvy. Everything came together to create some of the smoothest, catchiest, well-crafted songs of any era.

How Did Yacht Rock Get Its Name?

Yet it didn’t have name. That is, until the mid-’00s, when an online video comedy series linked the songs and their singers with one of California’s best-loved leisure activities. Other than the very occasional reference to boating – Little River Band‘s “Cool Change,” Christopher Cross‘ “Sailing,” Crosby Stills and Nash‘s “Southern Cross” – this connection was tenuous at best. But it was funny, so the name stuck.

Its roots in parody may be why some acts who’ve been dubbed yacht rock (including Daryl Hall, Boz Scaggs, Ambosia’s David Pack and, perhaps most notably, Donald Fagen) have pushed back so hard on the title.

The whole thing can become a little jokey – especially when cover bands dress up like dollar-store versions of the cast from Gilligan’s Island or The Love Boat. Thankfully, as the following list shows, that wasn’t required to become one of the “Big 4” of Yacht Rock.