Funky Chillout Sofa Session: Yacht Rock Interpretations

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Many yacht rock artists sang about boats and used them as their cover art. The genre was some kind of soulful variant of mid-seventies West Coast pop/rock. It was made popular by bands like The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan and Hall & Oates who were inspired by R&B artists. Because of the soulfulness of yacht rock, quite a few black artists covered these West Coast pop songs and they did it in an even more soulful way. Most recently Thundercat made a wonderful version of Steve Miller’s Fly Like An Eagle.

Greg Caz wrote about this subject in the liner notes of Too Slow To Disco Yacht Soul:

"Rock and Pop artists found covering Blues and R&B songs to be a reliable source both of great material and of artistic credibility. Meanwhile, Soul and R&B artists would routinely cover current Pop-Rock songs as a way of expending their audiences and crossover potential…"

Enjoy this new funky chillout sofa session! Next up is a new show on Mellow Mellow FM.

Tracklist:

Ashleigh Smith – Sara Smile (2016)
The Three Degrees – We’re All Alone (1976)
Quincy Jones – Takin’ It To The Streets (1978)
Thundercat – Fly Like An Eagle (2022)
Terry Callier – Do It Again (1979)
Marcela Mangabeira – What You Won’t Do For Love (2008)
Botticelli & His Orchestra ‎– Rikki Don't Lose That Number (1974)
Cash And Carry – Low Down (1978)
Wendy Lewis & Vintage Lounge Orchestra – How Long (2012)
Carol Welsman – What A Fool Believes (2007)
Aaron Tesser & The New Jazz Affair – Ride Like The Wind (2010)
Destiny’s Child – Sail On (1998)
Randy Crawford – You Might Need Somebody (1981)
Phyllis Hyman – Kiss You All Over (1978)
Paolo Maffia Feat. Mara J Boston – Long Train Running (2021)