Have you ever wondered where the term “Yacht Rock” came from?

Actually, it can be traced back to “Sailing” by Christopher Cross.

The song, from his Grammy-winning debut album, was an autobiographical memory of how he and his high school friend Al would spend hours on a sailboat just to get away from the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.

Christopher and Al lost track of each other after they graduated, but were reunited 28 years later on The Howard Stern Show.

After they reconnected, Christopher sent Al a copy of the platinum record “Sailing” had earned by selling five MILLION copies!

With that many copies sold, it should be pretty obvious that “Sailing was a #1 hit…and it was…but that was only ONE of the reasons why it earned “Great Song” status.

It also won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Arrangement of the Year, while helping Christopher win the Best New Artist award!

Later on, VH1 named “Sailing” the most “Softsational soft rock” song of all time! Impressive to say the least!

“Sailing” by Christopher Cross: A Great Song of 1980, and the genesis of Yacht Rock!

–Mike Cook