The Long Play: Yacht Rock – The Genre born in 2005

Aired on Tuesday 20th January 2026, 6:00PM

The Fill In

Yacht Rock didn’t start as a genre — it became one. In this episode of The Long Play, Sophie and Pagey set sail into one of the smoothest, most misunderstood sounds in popular music: a cluster of late’70s and early ’80s records that only got their name decades later, when a 2005 comedy web series finally joined the dots. From pristine West Coast studios in Los Angeles to Australian radio playlists and coastal living rooms, this episode explores how Yacht Rock emerged, why it sounded the way it did, and how elite session musicians quietly shaped a sound that prized craft over cool. Along the way, we hear how jazz, soul, and pop converged through artists like Boz Scaggs, Christopher Cross, Toto, George Benson, and Grover Washington Jr., before following the sound across the Pacific with Little River Band and beyond. Once dismissed as “too smooth”, Yacht Rock has found a new audience — especially among younger listeners — who hear something radical in its emotional openness, sincerity, and calm. In an era of noise and anxiety, these songs still invite you in. Collars up. Deck shoes on. This is smooth sailing music that’s aged better than anyone planned. Featuring music from: Boz Scaggs, Christopher Cross, Toto, George Benson, Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers, Little River Band, and Daryl Hall & John Oates.

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