The Tonight Show - Christopher Cross

Christopher Cross and The Roots perform "Sailing" on the Tonight Show...

Ride Like the Wind Resurfaces

It's coming up on four years since Christopher Cross performed on the finale of the first ever Yacht Rock Party and the online videos of the performances are long gone. But one of them, "Ride Like the Wind", has resurfaced on vimeo.

If, like me, you can't get enough of this, this is exciting news. Here's Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and The Roots performing "Ride Like the Wind"...

Flag Day

Well it's Flag Day again (or it was) and Kirk has written a song about it. In the past, all of Kirk's holiday-themed songs have been slightly on the side of inappropriate. But this one promises to be different. In the end, I think it's all in the interpretation.

Yacht Rock 2K10

YACHT ROCK IS BACK - AND IN BULK. This Friday, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon will throw its second Yacht Rock party. The special musical guest will be Robbie Dupree who will sing his smooth hit "Steal Away". My first impression is that it's no comparison to Christopher Cross and Michael McDonald but we'll see how it goes.

Yacht Rock Party: Epilogue

Epilogue: Johnny Louis never made it to San Francisco. He was hit and killed by a drunk driver.

Adam and Katie were married later that summer but divorced 5 years later. Both have since remarried.

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As a bookend to the Yacht Rock Party, here are some notable Yacht Rock songs that I either love or are just evocative of memories from their era.

Steely Dan - Peg

Knowledgeable music listeners will recognize that this was sampled in the also cool "Eye Know" by De La Soul. This song features Michael McDonald.

The Doobie Brothers - What a Fool Believes

Written by Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. Michael Jackson has also claimed to have contributed to at least one backing track but is not credited.

Jefferson Starship - Sara

OK, maybe this one doesn't belong here, I don't know, but I felt it should be included. It's the epitome of "smooth rock" for better or worse in my opinion. Hey, is that Rebecca Demornay?! Yes, it is. I'm no doctor but if you suspect storms are brewin' in your eyes, you should seek medical attention and/or a meteorologist immediately.

Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin'

Man, Michael McDonald is dominating this list. Again, sharp music listeners will note that this song was sampled later by Warren G on "Regulate".

Christopher Cross - Never Be the Same

I really wanted to use "Ride Like the Wind" but I thought I would avoid repetition. This song though, REALLY sounds like it was used as a television show theme in the 80s. Perhaps it's just my imagination but I think it's from somewhere. What am I thinking of? It's similar to the "Doogie Howser" theme, but I think there's something else... Anyway, good song.

Yacht Rocked

Well, it happened. The Yacht Rock Party was a complete success (inasmuch as you can call a themed episode of a TV show a success, let alone verify the completeness of its success).

A COMPLETE SUCCESS. And I was there with my captain's hat, double-breasted blazer, ascot champagne and pipe.

In case you missed it - and to miss it you'd have to be one of those people who would say, "Oohh, I didn't go to Woodstock because I had homework to do!" - but if you did miss it, here's the performance in its entirety. The performance was everything I ever thought a Christopher Cross performance could be and the special guest surprise was so awesome that I shot fire-breathing sharks out of my eyes.

[Broken Video Removed]

And a special web-only exclusive "Sailing".

[Original Video Broken]

Late Night Etc.

Late Show

Tonight's Late Show saw the return of Madonna which is always an event after the infamous interview from the early 90s (... fine here's a link for people who were living under a rock in the 90s and are immune to all manner of odd and offensive conversation). As always, the interview was charged with tension and there was way too much nervous laughter and applause from the audience. The interview ended, of course, with Dave and Madonna leaving the studio during the show and going to an Italian restaurant for pizza.... obviously.

Late Night

Only 4 days until The Christopher Cross & The Roots Yacht Rock Party. It's so exciting my eyes are shooting fireballs.

Awesome Roots Choice #7: If you have Amy Brenneman on your show and she's promoting the show "Private Practice", what music do you choose to introduce her with? Wrong. Instead of that rather offensive - and I have to say - slightly gay choice, they played a musical remix/mashup of Allen Iverson's "Practice" speech (private... practice!), proving once again that they're geniuses (or "genii").

And the Phillies are in the playoffs.