Women of Yacht Rock

Where Are the Women of Yacht Rock?

I was listening to Yacht Rock on SiriusXM and I had a realization: there are very few female musicians on this channel. I have only heard Nicolette Larsen once, Carole King once and Fleetwood Mac a few times (which half counts as female). I had been listening for about 5 hours. Where are the women?

Who Are the Women of Yacht Rock?

Women most certainly created music that fits the “criteria” of yacht rock. So why do we think of men more than women when we hear the term “Yacht Rock?” Numbers. There are more male singers and bands than there are female singers and bands. Even now, there are 4 male singers for every 1 female singer (source: Inclusion in the Recording Studio report). 40 years ago those numbers were probably even more uneven. There were huge female stars during this era who were singing Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary music (Barbra Streisand, Helen Reddy) but they weren’t Yacht Rock by default.

Here are some female singers who put on the boating shoes but didn’t go for a full sail on the ocean, or something like that.

Linda Ronstadt

“Blue Bayou,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “It’s So Easy” and “You’re No Good” are some of Ronstadt’s hits, though not all would fall into the “yacht rock” category. Ronstadt’s music transcended many genres, but is Yacht Rock one of them?

Carole King

“So Far Away,” is just one of Carol King’s big hits, but she isn’t really Yacht Rock.

Olivia Newton-John

“Magic” by Olivia Newton-John is a great smooth hit from the Yacht Rock era, but that might be it for ONJ’s Yacht Rock songs.

Carly Simon

Carly Simon and king of Yacht Rock Michael McDonald wrote a song together so you know it’s got to be good. “You Belong to Me” was recorded, separately, by both Simon and McDonald (to excellent results of course). Still, Carly doesn’t quite qualify as Yacht Rock.

Nicollette Larson

“Gonna Take a Lotta Love” is a Yacht Rock staple. Larson also collaborated with Michael McDonald (he’s not the king of Yacht Rock for nothin’) with a duet that McDonald wrote, “Let Me Go, Love.”