
The Yacht Rock Book
The Oral History of the Soft, Smooth Sounds of the 70s and 80s
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Greg Prato
-
By:
-
Greg Prato
About this listen
"It’s amazing that this style came to be. Can you imagine being a struggling musician back then? It must take an incredible amount of restraint to play that gently." (Fred Armisen, actor/comedian, from his foreword to this book)
Just what is "yacht rock", you ask? Perhaps the easiest description is music that would not sound out of place being played while carousing aboard a yacht back in the good old days. But these songs were also some of the top pop gems of the 1970s and '80s. And while some associate yacht rock’s biggest songs with one-hit wonder artists, several of rock’s most renowned artists fall under this category, too, including Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, The Doobie Brothers, Toto, and more.
Yacht rock seemed to have become extinct by the early 21st century…until a comedic video series, simply titled Yacht Rock, went viral and introduced captain’s hats and blazers to a whole new generation—as well as the emergence of a popular cover band, the Yacht Rock Revue, and of course, Jimmy Fallon’s on-air admiration of all things yacht rock.
Now, yacht rock is one of the most celebrated "yesteryear" styles of pop music, and has resonated with a new generation of musicians (including the Fred Armisen/Bill Hader-led Blue Jean Committee and soul/funk/electronica crossover act Thundercat). But despite all the hoopla, there has never been a book that told the entire story of the genre. Until now. Featuring interviews with many of the heavy hitters of the genre, including John Oates, Kenny Loggins, and Don Felder, The Yacht Rock Book leaves no sail unturned. This is the definitive story of the yacht rock’s creation, rise, chart-smashing success, fall, and stunning rebirth.
©2018 Greg Prato (P)2022 Greg Prato Writer, Corp.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Still Alright
- A Memoir
- By: Kenny Loggins, Jason Turbow - contributor
- Narrated by: Kenny Loggins
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Still Alright, Kenny Loggins gives fans a candid and entertaining perspective on his life and career as one of the most noteworthy musicians of the 1970s and ’80s. He provides an abundance of compelling, insightful, and terrifically amusing behind-the-scenes tales. Loggins draws listeners back to the musical eras they’ve loved, as well as addressing the challenges and obstacles of his life and work.
-
-
Getting to know Kenny
- By slmskrs on 06-19-22
By: Kenny Loggins, and others
-
Nightfly
- The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen
- By: Peter Jones
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The smooth veneer of the duo's songs made Steely Dan popular and famous in the 1970s, but the polish glossed over the underlying layers of anger, disappointment, sleaze, and often downright weirdness lurking just beneath the surface. The elliptical lyrics—were—and continue to be-an endless source of fascination. What kind of person was capable of writing such songs? Donald Fagen has always kept his true self hidden behind walls of irony, confounding most journalistic enquiries. Nightfly cracks open the door to reveal the life behind the lyrics.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Mike L on 10-13-22
By: Peter Jones
-
My Effin' Life
- By: Geddy Lee
- Narrated by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Cliff Burnstein
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.
-
-
Lee's Narration Will Captivate You.
- By Ms. R on 11-14-23
By: Geddy Lee
-
Don't Call It Hair Metal
- Art in the Excess of '80s Rock
- By: Sean Kelly
- Narrated by: Sean Kelly
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There may be no more joyous iteration in all of music than 1980s hard rock. It was an era where the musical and cultural ideals of rebellion and freedom of the great rock 'n' roll of the '50s, '60s, and '70s were taken to dizzying heights of neon excess. Attention to songcraft, showmanship, and musical virtuosity (especially in the realm of the electric guitar) were at an all-time high, and radio and MTV were delivering the goods en masse to the corn-fed children of America and beyond.
-
-
Must read for any musician or music lover
- By Scott Roland on 07-22-23
By: Sean Kelly
-
Long Train Runnin'
- Our Story of the Doobie Brothers
- By: Pat Simmons, Tom Johnston, Chris Epting - contributor
- Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey, Graham Winton, T. Ryder Smith, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only a very few rock bands that have had the longevity, success, and drama of The Doobie Brothers. Born out of late 1960s NoCal, they stood alongside their contemporaries The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and many others as an iconic American rock band. The train was rolling along, hits were flowing like wine, and arenas were packed with fans who wanted to see them live...then Tom Johnston, the band’s front man and lead guitarist, almost died.
-
-
Fans of the band will enjoy
- By JIM HOWELL on 01-24-23
By: Pat Simmons, and others
-
Into the Void
- From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond
- By: Geezer Butler
- Narrated by: Geezer Butler
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With over 70 million records sold, Black Sabbath, dubbed by Rolling Stone “the Beatles of heavy metal,” helped create the genre itself, with their distinctive heavy riffs, tuned down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics. Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler played a gigantic part in the band’s renown, from suggesting the band name to using his fascination with horror, religion, and the occult to compose the lyrics and build the foundation of heavy metal as we know it. In Into the Void, Butler tells his side of the story.
-
-
Geezer, The Only Member Of Sabbath You Can Trust.
- By monday night by satellite on 06-15-23
By: Geezer Butler
-
Still Alright
- A Memoir
- By: Kenny Loggins, Jason Turbow - contributor
- Narrated by: Kenny Loggins
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Still Alright, Kenny Loggins gives fans a candid and entertaining perspective on his life and career as one of the most noteworthy musicians of the 1970s and ’80s. He provides an abundance of compelling, insightful, and terrifically amusing behind-the-scenes tales. Loggins draws listeners back to the musical eras they’ve loved, as well as addressing the challenges and obstacles of his life and work.
-
-
Getting to know Kenny
- By slmskrs on 06-19-22
By: Kenny Loggins, and others
-
Nightfly
- The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen
- By: Peter Jones
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The smooth veneer of the duo's songs made Steely Dan popular and famous in the 1970s, but the polish glossed over the underlying layers of anger, disappointment, sleaze, and often downright weirdness lurking just beneath the surface. The elliptical lyrics—were—and continue to be-an endless source of fascination. What kind of person was capable of writing such songs? Donald Fagen has always kept his true self hidden behind walls of irony, confounding most journalistic enquiries. Nightfly cracks open the door to reveal the life behind the lyrics.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Mike L on 10-13-22
By: Peter Jones
-
My Effin' Life
- By: Geddy Lee
- Narrated by: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Cliff Burnstein
- Length: 16 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Geddy Lee is one of rock and roll's most respected bassists. For nearly five decades, his playing and work as co-writer, vocalist and keyboardist has been an essential part of the success story of Canadian progressive rock trio Rush. Here for the first time is his account of life inside and outside the band.
-
-
Lee's Narration Will Captivate You.
- By Ms. R on 11-14-23
By: Geddy Lee
-
Don't Call It Hair Metal
- Art in the Excess of '80s Rock
- By: Sean Kelly
- Narrated by: Sean Kelly
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There may be no more joyous iteration in all of music than 1980s hard rock. It was an era where the musical and cultural ideals of rebellion and freedom of the great rock 'n' roll of the '50s, '60s, and '70s were taken to dizzying heights of neon excess. Attention to songcraft, showmanship, and musical virtuosity (especially in the realm of the electric guitar) were at an all-time high, and radio and MTV were delivering the goods en masse to the corn-fed children of America and beyond.
-
-
Must read for any musician or music lover
- By Scott Roland on 07-22-23
By: Sean Kelly
-
Long Train Runnin'
- Our Story of the Doobie Brothers
- By: Pat Simmons, Tom Johnston, Chris Epting - contributor
- Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey, Graham Winton, T. Ryder Smith, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only a very few rock bands that have had the longevity, success, and drama of The Doobie Brothers. Born out of late 1960s NoCal, they stood alongside their contemporaries The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, and many others as an iconic American rock band. The train was rolling along, hits were flowing like wine, and arenas were packed with fans who wanted to see them live...then Tom Johnston, the band’s front man and lead guitarist, almost died.
-
-
Fans of the band will enjoy
- By JIM HOWELL on 01-24-23
By: Pat Simmons, and others
-
Into the Void
- From Birth to Black Sabbath—And Beyond
- By: Geezer Butler
- Narrated by: Geezer Butler
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With over 70 million records sold, Black Sabbath, dubbed by Rolling Stone “the Beatles of heavy metal,” helped create the genre itself, with their distinctive heavy riffs, tuned down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics. Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler played a gigantic part in the band’s renown, from suggesting the band name to using his fascination with horror, religion, and the occult to compose the lyrics and build the foundation of heavy metal as we know it. In Into the Void, Butler tells his side of the story.
-
-
Geezer, The Only Member Of Sabbath You Can Trust.
- By monday night by satellite on 06-15-23
By: Geezer Butler
-
Cinema Speculation
- By: Quentin Tarantino
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Quentin Tarantino
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In addition to being among the most celebrated of contemporary filmmakers, Quentin Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive. For years he has touted in interviews his eventual turn to writing books about films. Now, with Cinema Speculation, the time has come, and the results are everything his passionate fans—and all movie lovers—could have hoped for. Organized around key American films from the 1970s, all of which he first saw as a young moviegoer at the time, this book is as intellectually rigorous and insightful as it is rollicking and entertaining.
-
-
A letdown I didn't see coming.
- By polycow on 11-03-22
-
Scattershot
- Life, Music, Elton, and Me
- By: Bernie Taupin
- Narrated by: John Lee, Bernie Taupin
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the memoir music fans have been waiting for. Half of one of the greatest partnerships in popular music, Bernie Taupin is the man who wrote the lyrics for Elton John, who conceived the ideas that spawned countless hits, and sold millions and millions of records. Together, they were a duo, a unit, an immovable object. Their extraordinary, half-century-and-counting creative relationship has been chronicled in biopics (like 2019's Rocketman) and even John's own autobiography, Me. But Taupin, a private person, has kept his own account of their adventures close to his chest, until now.
-
-
Not Boring, A Relaxing Listen
- By jipickin on 09-14-23
By: Bernie Taupin
-
Anatomy of 55 More Songs
- The Oral History of Top Hits That Changed Rock, Pop and Soul
- By: Marc Myers
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Songs that sell the most copies become hits, but some of those hits become something more—iconic recordings that not only inspire a generation but also change the direction of music. In Anatomy of 55 More Songs, based on his column for the Wall Street Journal, music journalist and historian Marc Myers tells the story behind fifty-five rock, pop, R&B, country, and soul-gospel hits through intimate interviews with the artists who wrote and recorded them.
-
-
Must read/listen for baby boomers!
- By Laura B. on 06-10-23
By: Marc Myers
-
A Song for Everyone
- The Story of Creedence Clearwater Revival
- By: John Lingan
- Narrated by: John Lingan
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 1969 to 1971, as the United States convulsed with political upheaval and transformative social movements, no band was bigger than Creedence Clearwater Revival. They managed a two-year barrage of top-10 singles and LPs that doubled as an ubiquitous soundtrack to one of the most volatile periods in modern American history, and they remain a staple of classic rock radio and films about the era. Yet despite their enduring popularity, no book has ever sought to understand Creedence in conversation with their time. A Song for Everyone finally tells that story.
By: John Lingan
-
Alice in Chains
- The Untold Story
- By: David de Sola
- Narrated by: Sebastian York
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alice in Chains was the first of grunge's big four - ahead of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden - to get a gold record and achieve national recognition. With the charismatic Layne Staley behind the microphone, they became one of the most influential and successful bands to come out of the Seattle music scene. But as the band got bigger, so did its problems.
-
-
Disappointing!!!!
- By Rob on 12-23-16
By: David de Sola
-
Leon Russell
- The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History
- By: Bill Janovitz
- Narrated by: Bill Janovitz, Jason Culp
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leon Russell is an icon, but somehow is still an underappreciated artist. He is spoken of in tones reserved not just for the most talented musicians, but also for the most complex and fascinating. His career is like a roadmap of music history, often intersecting with rock royalty like Bob Dylan, the Stones, and the Beatles.
-
-
A dream come true for Leon Russell fans!!
- By William Straten on 03-15-23
By: Bill Janovitz
-
1966
- The Year the Decade Exploded
- By: Jon Savage
- Narrated by: Richard Trinder
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In America, in London, in Amsterdam, in Paris, revolutionary ideas fomenting since the late 1950s reached boiling point, culminating in a year in which the transient pop moment burst forth. Exploring the canonical figures, from The Beatles and Boty to Warhol and Reagan, 1966 delves deep into the social and cultural heart of the decade through masterfully compiled archival primary sources.
By: Jon Savage
-
Not Dead Yet
- The Memoir
- By: Phil Collins
- Narrated by: Phil Collins
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The long-awaited autobiography from Phil Collins, one of the best-selling music artists of all time. This is the roller-coaster journey from his beginnings as a child actor to his domination of the charts as both a solo artist and part of Genesis. His success is astounding, his music has global reach, and his story is legendary.
-
-
Funny, moving and honest
- By Brian Haworth on 11-03-16
By: Phil Collins
-
Set the Night on Fire
- Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with the Doors
- By: Robby Krieger, Jeff Alulis
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as The Doors, and parsing fact from fiction has been a virtually impossible task. But now, after 50 years, The Doors’ notoriously quiet guitarist is finally breaking his silence to set the record straight. Set the Night on Fire is packed with never-before-told stories from The Doors’ most vital years, and offers a fresh perspective on the most infamous moments of the band’s career.
-
-
Robby Krieger says it best!
- By Michael Gokey on 12-07-22
By: Robby Krieger, and others
-
Corporate Rock Sucks
- The Rise and Fall of SST Records
- By: Jim Ruland
- Narrated by: Jim Ruland
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Corporate Rock Sucks, music journalist Jim Ruland relays the unvarnished story of SST Records, from its remarkable rise in notoriety to its infamous downfall. With records by Black Flag, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, and scores of obscure yet influential bands, SST was the most popular indie label by the mid-80s - until a tsunami of legal jeopardy, financial peril, and dysfunctional management brought the empire tumbling down. This investigative deep-dive leads listeners through SST’s tumultuous history.
-
-
Warning: This book may lead to buying More stuff
- By Chris Lane on 05-11-22
By: Jim Ruland
-
The Philosophy of Modern Song
- By: Bob Dylan
- Narrated by: Bob Dylan, Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, and others
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers his insight into the nature of popular music. He writes over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose. And while ostensibly about music, they are really meditations on the human condition.
-
-
Needs chapter headings
- By kaon on 12-22-22
By: Bob Dylan
-
Making Rumours
- The Inside Story of the Classic Fleetwood Mac Album
- By: Ken Caillat, Steve Stiefel
- Narrated by: Ken Caillat, Fred Berman
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fleetwood Mac's classic 1977 Rumours album topped the Billboard 200 for 31 weeks and won the Album of the Year Grammy. More recently, Rolling Stone named it the 25th greatest album of all time and the hit TV series Glee devoted an entire episode to songs from Rumours, introducing it to a new generation. Now, for the first time, Ken Caillat, the album's co-producer, tells the full story of what really went into making Rumours.
-
-
Caillat Cursed With Perfect Memory
- By Private. on 02-05-13
By: Ken Caillat, and others
What listeners say about The Yacht Rock Book
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin C.
- 03-26-25
Not what I was hoping or expecting
First the author who read the book had a sing song approach to his performance. Up and down tones with the quotes he read. Also the book is made up of mostly quotes from artists about songs that are considered yacht rock. A significant contribution was on captain and Tennille which I never consider yacht rock. If you were hoping for a book that talks about the history and evolution into what we know as yacht rock today, you may be disappointed. In my opinion.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jarrod Gillman
- 10-11-22
Great content!
I found the Yacht Rock channel on Sirius XM about five years or so ago, and I listen to it all the time. I was really looking forward to this book when I saw it available. The content is great, and I love hearing input from so many of the heavy hitters of that era, and how the current revival came to be. My only critique albeit a small one would be for the author not to speak so quietly when pointing out reference material. I'm not sure if that is something one would normally do to portray a footnote or reference during an audiobook performance? I find this distracting. This is especially hard when I’m driving. When one of those sentences are spoken softly or with the turn of a head, it is difficult to hear for me. I don’t want to discourage others from selecting this title. It is possible that I’m being overly sensitive to this aspect. I’m just stating I would have enjoyed the performance more without that. Otherwise, this is very cool, and I would recommend checking it out!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jena
- 06-07-23
Not What I Expected
Full disclosure: I didn’t listen to the entire book. I bought this to learn about Yacht Rock and it’s just not a good learning tool for someone who doesn’t know anything about Yacht Rock. This book is designed for fans who are already familiar with the artists, aesthetic, and sound of Yacht Rock. I couldn’t finish the book because the narrator’s voice, Greg Prato, was incredibly boring to listen to. He seemed really disconnected with the writing which is funny because he wrote it. Maybe if they got someone else to narrate, I could maybe give this book another chance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- plofvus
- 07-08-23
Recognized voice
Love this guy Greg Prate.He can do grunge and yacht rock.Great author,narrator and music fan which matters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!