How ‘Yacht Rock’ director Garret Price won over Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, and a reluctant Donald Fagen

For decades, yacht rock — the genre often associated with smooth soft rock hits of the late ’70s and early ’80s —has lingered in the background of grocery stores, doctors’ offices, and car radios. In HBO's Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary, filmmaker Garret Price shines a spotlight on the genre by combining a deep dive into the music's history with stories from its biggest icons.

Retroactively dubbed “Yacht Rock” in 2005 by a parody website series, the easy-listening, relaxing sounds from decades past, which were beloved by many, came to be gently mocked and even dismissed by rock lovers and critics, but have since reclaimed their legitimate place in music history and are celebrated in this groove-infused film from the Music Box anthology series.

The idea for Yacht Rock came to Price unexpectedly. While working as an editor on Daisy Jones & the Six, a show steeped in 1970s Los Angeles' music scene, Price became fascinated with the era. Around the same time, HBO approached him for a follow-up to his critically acclaimed Woodstock ’99 documentary.

“They were like, ‘Hey, do you have another music film you’d like to pitch us? We enjoyed working with you on Woodstock,’” Price shares. Fate intervened one night when Price met the daughter of yacht rock legend Christopher Cross in a bar. “She was like, ‘You should make a documentary about my dad.’ And guess what? My roommate and best friend is Michael McDonald’s daughter.”

After chatting more that evening, an idea began to take shape. “She told me how her dad had trouble accepting the term ‘yacht rock’ as a label for his music, while Michael thought it was hilarious. And I thought, ‘That’s interesting.’” From there, Price reached out to Cross and McDonald, who immediately boarded the project.

Michael McDonald and Christopher Cross in Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary (Photo courtesy of HBO)

Though the term "yacht rock" has been reclaimed by fans and critics in recent years, Price’s approach remained respectful from the start. His goal: to highlight the artistry behind the music.

“This segment of artists during this time period have been overlooked over the years, and no one’s ever really dug in to tell their story,” Price explains. “The artistry, the musicianship — it’s just bar none incredible. I went in talking to these guys saying, ‘I want to have fun with this story, but not make fun of any of you.’”

Although Price wasn’t initially immersed in the genre, he describes the experience of uncovering its stories as rewarding. “This music was the soundtrack of our lives, whether we liked it or not,” he says, referring to how songs like "Africa" by Toto and "Ride Like the Wind" by Christopher Cross became ubiquitous.

Through interviews with key players and extensive research, Price peeled back the layers of a vibrant Los Angeles music scene. “I was fascinated by this ecosystem of recording studios in the ’70s and these players who would just hop from studio to studio,” he says. “They all played on each other’s albums, and it really makes sense as a genre when you dig deeper.”

Toto in Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary (Photo: Jim Hagopian/HBO)

A fascinating discovery came when Price befriended the daughter of Roger Nichols, Steely Dan’s sound engineer. She had undeveloped negatives from Steely Dan’s studio sessions, which revealed unseen photos of the band recording their classic album Aja. “Some of these photos had never been seen before and are now in the film,” Price says.

Securing Steely Dan’s music and winning over the band's lead singer, Donald Fagen, proved to be one of the biggest challenges in making the film. “Steely Dan was the big bang of this sound, and I couldn’t tell the story without their music,” Price says. "We went back and forth [with Fagen's team], and finally I got a phone call one day from his manager, Irving Azoff that said, "Garret, I love the film. Donald hates the word 'yacht rock.' He's never going to sign off on the music."

But perseverance paid off. Price eventually spoke to Fagen directly after weeks of waiting. “I got a call, ‘Hey Garret, it’s Donald Fagen. What do you want to talk about?’” Price recalls. When Price responded, "yacht rock," the rock legend fired back, "Why don't you go f--k yourself," and hung up. Price says, "Irving then called me back and said, 'Donald's agreed to license all the music to you.'"

Beyond its nostalgic appeal, Yacht Rock also highlights the profound influence of the genre on modern artists, particularly in the hip-hop and R&B communities. “The first group to bring it back into the fold was hip-hop producers and artists,” Price explains. "This music was living in their parents' record collections and was being played on Black radio." He pointed to Michael McDonald’s appearance on Soul Train in the ’80s as an example of how the genre resonated in Black communities.

"I really wanted to lean on that," Price says. "It was really important to get contemporary and modern artists in this film too. I think that brings another legitimacy to these artists and this music. So having people like Questlove, Prince Paul, Thundercat, and Mac DeMarco talk about this music and how it influenced their own music and the modern pop rock landscape — I thought it brought another level to the storytelling."

“The music these yacht rockers were making was inspired by soul, jazz, gospel, and R&B — taking these elements of Black music they love so much and wearing those influences on their sleeve," Price says. “When the term ‘yacht rock’ came about, a lot of them felt it misrepresented their influences.”

Price calls the documentary a "jukebox musical" and says, "It never gets boring because I can just tap my toes the whole time. I just have a grin across my face hearing these stories and this music. I think this music does trigger so much nostalgia for so many people. And I think it's trans-generational. "Africa" is my kid's favorite song. That song is dominating TikTok now. Some of these songs have gotten this new breath of life because of social media and videos kids are making now. This music was always going to be catnip — an easy way in. And then just getting the stories on top of it, I think it is just a fun film."

Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary, currently streaming on Max, also includes interviews with Kenny Loggins, Steve Porcaro (Toto), Steve Lukather (Toto), David Paich (Toto), Brian Robert Jones (Vampire Weekend); “Yacht Rock” web series creator J.D. Ryznar and host Steve Huey; comedian Fred Armisen; music producers, journalists, scholars, and rock critics.

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