Yacht Rock
Though the likes of Hall & Oates might be heavily associated with the contentious ‘yacht rock‘ genre, Daryl Hall himself has expressed disdain towards the classification.
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Used as a way to refer to the soft pop-rock and blue-eyed soul of the ’70s and ’80s, the term ‘yacht rock’ was initially coined by makers of a 2005 mockumentary series of the same name. The series itself was a popular one, lasting from 2005 until 2010 and even resulting in a 2024 HBO ‘Dockumentary‘ that explored the genre in deeper detail.
However, while the likes of Michael McDonald and even John Oates have been receptive to the original show, Hall is singing a far different tune. In the latest episode of the Broken Record podcast, Hall told interviewer Justin Richmond that he’s far from a fan of the concept.
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“This is something I don’t understand. First of all, yacht rock was a f–king joke by two jerk-offs in California, and suddenly it became a genre,” he explained. “I don’t even understand it. I never understood it. It’s just R&B with maybe some jazz in there. It’s mellow R&B, smooth R&B. I don’t see what the yacht part is.
“People misjudged us because they couldn’t label us,” he continued. “They always came up with all this kind of crap, soft rock and yacht rock and all this other nonsense. And none of it, none of it really describes anything that I do, really.”
In 2007, Oates reflected on the success of the Yacht Rock series, explaining that it was the “beginning of this whole Hall & Oates resurrection,” and even noting that “a lot of things have happened because of Yacht Rock.”
It’s little surprise that both Hall and Oates have differing views on the matter, given that the pair’s 2024 dissolution was given an air of finality when Hall claimed in March that they would never again perform together. “That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean,” he explained. “I’ve had a lot of surprises in my life, disappointments, betrayals, so I’m kind of used to it.”
The Hall & Oates dissolution first began back in November 2023 when the pair became embroiled in a legal dispute. Described by Oates as “a very boring business issue,” the crux of the issue began when Hall filed suit against his former partner over Oates’ attempt to sell his half of the duo’s joint venture Whole Oates Enterprises to Primary Wave Music without Hall’s consent.
Veteran actor Rob Lowe has used a recent episode of his podcast to reflect on how he almost embarked upon a music career thanks to Toto.
Lowe made the claim during a discussion with journalist, author, and fellow podcaster Bill Simmons as part of the latest episode of SiriusXM’s Literally! With Rob Lowe. During their chat, the pair switched their focus onto the world of ’80s music and nascent documentary Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary, for which Simmons is an executive producer.
“That’s the other thing about yacht rock,” Simmons said during a focus on the somewhat negative attitudes to the genre in recent years. “These songs were some of – literally – the biggest songs of the year; songs that won Grammys.
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“[The Doobie Brothers‘] ‘Minute by Minute’ won a Grammy, Christopher Cross won, like, four Grammys. Toto crushed at the Grammys. Toto crushed at the Grammys to the point that people got pissed about it. Like, there was a Grammys backlash. They were like, ‘Who the fuck are these guys?’”
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Lowe countered Simmons’ claims about Toto’s success at the 1983 Grammy Awards (in which they won six awards due to the success of Toto IV and lead single “Rosanna”) by recalling how he too had a brush with the Los Angeles rockers.
“I got one for ya. There was a minute in the ’80s where I was definitely doing too much Bolivian marching powder and just being a fucking lunatic,” Lowe remembered. “And [it was] also coming at the time in a young actor’s career where they’re too old to play the roles they’ve been playing, but they’re too young to play the roles that will last you the rest of your life, which are really the great ones. And you can kind of feel it.
“I love music so much, as evidenced by this talk and all of that, that I got it into my head that maybe I should think more about music and I cut a demo with Toto.”
“Wow, this is one of the reasons you’re the world’s most interesting man,” Simmons responded. “You were partying with the Showtime Lakers as they were winning titles during the Magic’s shots scenario. Who weren’t you involved with in L.A. in the ’80s?”
“Probably nobody, because I also took having fun very seriously,” Lowe added.
Lower did not elaborate on the track further, and it’s unclear what happened to the demo that he recorded with Toto, or if it may ever see a potential release – ideally on a future sequel to the Yacht Rock documentary.
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