By Jimmy Leslie, Soundtrack Sensei
It’s getting hot in here…Over the past two issues we set a sonic heading and started on a smooth course cruising into the heart of sailing season. We’ve scrutinized what qualifies as Yacht Rock and determined the playlist vision for Lats & Atts. The most seaworthy songs are guitar-friendly with catchy lyrics that address ships, sailors, and so on. We’re “nicely making way,” as Stephen Stills says in the first tune we dove into last issue, “Southern Cross.” I hope you dig these insights on five more with balmy vibes to rock your summer soundtrack.
“Sailing”
by Christopher Cross
There may be plenty of debate about what is and isn’t Yacht Rock, but this one is quintessential. It’s literally about sailing with an easy, breezy feel. There’s a high level of musical sophistication that belies its simple sound, and it’s as sonically smooth as the mirror a yacht rocker might use to indulge Columbian inspiration while cruising the crystalline surface of a placid bay. Cross uses open D guitar tuning to create the hallmark hypnotic aesthetic on “Sailing.” He wrote the song about his memories sailing every summer with a friend in Texas.
In the outrageous second episode of the mockumentary web series Yacht Rock, a fictionalized Christopher Charles Geppert pitches “Sailing” to smooth music impresario Koko Goldstein amidst a brawl between Hall & Oates and Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins. Goldstein’s “lucky harpoon” winds up struck through his heart, but he loves “Sailing.” His dying vision is for the Texas troubadour to take up the name Christopher Cross and “sing to the world.”
Well, it’s not far down to paradise, at least it’s not for me
If the wind is right you can sail away, and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see, believe me
Sailing, takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Fantasy, it gets the best of me when I’m sailing
On the Howard Stern Show, the real Cross explained that sailing with his friend got him away from teenaged tribulation. He explained that if the guy had taken him bowling, the song could have been “Bowling.” We’re all thankful they went sailing instead. Cross won three Grammy Awards for his 1980 hit including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist. Another Cross tune, “Ride Like the Wind,” is an ideal play when summer sails are full and your vessel hits its top cruising speed.
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