Yacht Rock

When I began DJ'ing in the early 90's, 80's "retro" music pretty much meant playing New Wave in the order of Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure, etc. A couple of years later, people started asking for the "Jessie's Girl" brand of 80's retro. In the past couple of years we saw the addition of Hair Metal, especially Bon Jovi, Guns & Roses and Poison. I have heard from a few of the Beep Djs (and I've seen it myself) that there is a new category of previously frowned upon 80's music that people have been requesting (and we have enjoyed playing in a very guilty pleasure sort of way). We have been referring to it as Easy 80's. Songs like "Easy" and "All Night Long" by Lionel Ritchie, "Caribbean Queen" by Billy Ocean, "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, "What a Fool Believes" by Michael McDonald, "Sailing" by Christopher Cross. These are songs that I would consider ultra hokey and would have never considered playing them had I not been asked specifically by the client. People love these songs in the same way they love "Jessie's Girl" or "Livin' on a Prayer". It's an equal dose of irony and respect. Yet, it's different than dancing to YMCA or Dancing Queen for the same reasons. It's fresh. It hasn't been run into the ground... yet. Last night I was reading up on Bread, one of my favorite Soft Rock groups from the 70's. It got me on a google search for the definition of Soft Rock, which led me to the Wikipedia website. They had a link for a related genre that just floored me: Yacht Rock. I didn't even have to read the definition. I knew exactly what it was going to be. I laughed my ass off. Here is the link: Click Here. It's not exactly the Easy 80's genre but it is very similar. Obviously, there was no Yacht Rock genre in the 70's and 80's. It's a posthumous definition, but my brain really wants to make these connections. It is ultra smooth music with a laid back vibe. I didn't even make the connection that the Easy 80's genre we were trying to define was mostly nautically themed. We were debating on whether or not to add a Easy 80's category to the Beep song list. If we did, it would be a genre that would only be played if the client requested it specifically. It would be a genre that people would either take a stand for or against. No middle of the road. At any rate, have fun with a google search on the subject. It's really entertaining.