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Song of the Day #3,340: ‘Only the Song Survives’ – John Hiatt

John Hiatt is a singer-songwriter worthy of more attention than I’ve ever given him. I own a couple of his albums and know some of his most famous songs (Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Thing Called Love,’ ‘Have a Little Faith’). But I haven’t listened to him, not really.

2000’s Crossing Muddy Waters is one of the Hiatt albums I own. It’s a stripped-down acoustic record of mostly heartbreak songs and though I can’t remember the last time I listened to it (probably the year it came out), sampling its tracks just now I didn’t come across a weak one.

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Song of the Day #3,346: ‘I’d Really Love to See You Tonight’ – England Dan & John Ford Coley

So many yacht rock songs are performed by artists completely alien to me. One- or two-hit wonders who never hit my radar no matter how well I know their songs.

Take ‘I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,’ a song I know quite well. With a gun to my head I could never have come up with England Dan & John Ford Coley as the performers. They sound like characters in a movie about Billy the Kid, not soft rock stars.

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Song of the Day #3,345: ‘I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)’ – Michael McDonald

If there’s a patron saint of yacht rock, it’s gotta be Michael McDonald. The velvet-throated soul singer has either penned or contributed vocals to multiple classic songs from the era.

My favorite McDonald moment remains The Doobie Brothers masterpiece ‘What a Fool Believes,’ but among his solo work, ‘I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)’ is the clear standout.

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Song of the Day #3,344: ‘Rosanna’ – Toto

Our next yacht rock staple comes from Toto’s classic 1982 album Toto IV. This record won multiple Grammys, including Album of the Year and Producer of the Year. Today’s SOTD, ‘Rosanna,’ won ‘Record of the Year’ as well.

The album’s other hit single, ‘Africa,’ is as well-known and well-loved as this one, but I’ve featured it on the blog before, so today is ‘Rosanna’s moment in the spotlight.

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Song of the Day #3,343: ‘Baker Street’ – Gerry Rafferty

My next yacht rock song is controversial on a number of levels. For one thing, there appears to be some heated debate over whether Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’ is yacht rock at all.

I’m not a stickler when it comes to genre definitions, so I won’t go down that rabbit hole. ‘Baker Street’ was released in 1978 and it’s smooth as hell soft rock with a sweet melody. That’s yacht rock to me.

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