3 Undercelebrated Yacht Rock Throwbacks To Take Your Summer to the Next Level

If you’re anything like me, the second the weather turns warm, you’re ready to bust out the yacht rock. This soft sub-genre is sun-soaked, summer incarnate. Nothing sets the scene for this time of year better than yacht rock. If you want to bolster your playlist of these kinds of songs, check out the three below.

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“I Keep Holding On To Yesterday” — Ambrosia

Ambrosia is a staple on any yacht rock playlist. You can’t avoid these 1970s rockers when you’re exploring this type of sound. But if you want a song from this group that diverges a little from the norm, check out “I Keep Holding On To Yesterday”.

It’s not a completely hidden gem, but it’s not their most well-known song ever. Listeners are more likely to discover “How Much I Feel” or “Biggest Part Of Me” first. After you get acquainted with these hits, this song is next on the list. It could do with some more praise, but it’s not unlike Ambrosia’s biggest hits, so it will satisfy fans.

“You Need A Hero” — Pages

Pages’ “You Need A Hero” wasn’t a major commercial success, but listeners and critics alike have looked on it more favorably than its chart standing suggests. This is a must-listen hidden gem in the yacht rock world. If you haven’t yet added this song to your summertime playlist, you’ll want to promptly after hearing it for the first time.

The band manages to make complex musicality sound easy breezy. The sound of this yacht rock staple is lighter than air on the surface, but intrinsically woven underneath. “You Need A Hero” expands the notion of what yacht rock can be, swapping carefree rhythms for true musicianship.

“Love Takes Time” — Orleans

Orleans is another band that has plenty of yacht rock hits. If you’re a fan of this band and you want to hear more, check out “Love Takes Time”. It’s not a completely hidden gem, but it’s also been overshadowed by some of their biggest tracks. If you’ve exhausted “Dance With Me” or “Still The One”, then you might want to give this one a spin.

“Love Takes Time” has all the makings of their biggest songs, but it’s a nice change of pace as well. The mid-tempo harmonies on this song are among the best of their era, bottling up the atmosphere of the West Coast. Take this song for a drive once the weather turns warm and you feel the full breadth of its power.

(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

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