Ladies and gentlemen, raise your Michelob Light and welcome…Mr. Michael McDonald!
Chastain Park Ampletheatre, Summer 1982, Atlanta, GA. Parking lot full of Mercedes and BMWs..all leased. Husbands and wives (and second wives) march out to the “table” seats up front. Candles are lit, white linen table cloths are laid out, catered food from a chic Buckhead restaurant. They don’t normally do take-away, but hell, you lent the owner your lake house and helped with his quickie divorce…you are a powerful guy!
“Is he gonna do any Doobies? Hell yes! Who’s opening? Hey, it’s Boz.. Boz Scaggs. Wow, he has great hair, love the blow-dried Look! We were almost late, couldn’t decide between the Lacoste or Ralph Loren shirt with my chino shorts and bass boat shoes…anyway, remember that time we were out on Lake Lanier listening to Christopher Cross? Ride Like the Wind, baby!..Man we were trashed..good times! I ruined my Rolex when I fell off the boat trying to rescue our bottle of Cuervo Gold… The Guys from the firm are never gonna let that one go…
“Hey, I went to Turtles Records & Tapes and bought this thing called a CD player..it plays like mini records..and it’s digital..first class all the way. CDs cost like $20 but they sound crystal clear on the Hi-Fi…got all the great discs
Pablo Cruise, Doobies, Christopher Cross, Billy Joel, Orleans, Steely Dan (not the early stuff, the good stuff “Peg” and “Hey 19”), Little River Band, and of course Jimmy (Buffett not Hendrix)
The kid at the store tried to get me to buy some of that Punk and New Wave crap. I’ve never heard of these bands…Elvis Costello? The Jam? Adam Ant? The Clash?.. you can’t party to this stuff!. I kinda like Genesis, but wish they weren’t so out there..like Pink Floyd, jeez, I’m not some long-haired druggie….
…I made a mix tape for my Beemer, the song list is great…all the songs we love: What a Fool Believes, The Biggest Part of Me, Lido Shuffle, Steal Away, Peg, Ride Like the Wind, This Is It, Baker Street, Escape (The Pina Colada Song), I Just Wanna Stop, Baby Come Back, Summer Breeze, Reminiscing, Still the One…
So the show’s ready to start, my wife is on here third glass of Chardonnay, so we’d better get to the men’s room for a quick toot before Boz starts….”
So there is my (imagined) Yacht Rock experience – thanks for the invite to The Main Stage…. Please share your own or nominate an artist I missed (or blast me for one I’ve included that does not deserve this fate).
