Every Friday, 5–7 PM • 96.7 & 104.1 Beach Radio • All Summer Long

They made it in California. We perfected it down the Shore.

Starting this summer, Yacht Rock Friday takes over 96.7 and 104.1 Beach Radio every Friday from 5 to 7 PM -- two full hours of the smoothest music ever recorded, hosted by Sam Elliot and a rotating lineup of special guest hosts all season long. It's your official send-off from the workweek, your on-ramp to the weekend, and the best two hours of radio on the Jersey Shore.

Pour something cold. Hit the boards. Turn up Beach Radio. Let's sail.

So What Exactly Is Yacht Rock?

You know the feeling -- you're walking the boards, the sun's going down over the bay, and something silky comes floating out of a speaker that just makes everything feel right. That's Yacht Rock.

Born in Southern California in the mid-1970s, Yacht Rock is the sound of impossibly smooth, perfectly produced soft rock played by some of the best musicians who ever walked into a studio. Think Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, Boz Scaggs, Toto, Kenny Loggins, the Doobie Brothers -- music that is technically extraordinary and emotionally underrated in equal measure.

Nobody called it "Yacht Rock" at the time. That name came from a 2005 comedy web series that dramatized the musicians' lives in loving, absurdist detail -- and overnight gave the genre a name, an identity, and a second life. The music had always been this good. The world just finally caught up.

"Smooth, polished, and impossibly well-produced. The sound of Los Angeles session musicians at the peak of their powers, every note in exactly the right place."

The commercial peak runs from roughly 1976 to 1983. Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees is often cited as the opening gun -- it brought together the players who would go on to form Toto and set the template: jazz-influenced, R&B-tinged, impeccably crafted. Christopher Cross sweeping five Grammys in 1981 -- including Album and Record of the Year for "Sailing" -- marked the genre's high-water moment. But the songs themselves? They've never stopped sounding good. Forty-plus years on, they still land exactly the way they were designed to.

Yacht Rock Friday on Beach Radio

Every Friday at 5 PM, Sam Elliot takes the helm on 96.7 and 104.1 Beach Radio for two hours of the genre's finest. The show is built around three pillars of the genre:

• Classic Yacht -- The core canon. Christopher Cross, the Doobie Brothers, Toto, Boz Scaggs, Ambrosia. The songs that defined the genre and still define the summer.
• Deep Cuts -- The stuff that separates the real heads from the casuals. Steely Dan album tracks, Bobby Caldwell, Gino Vannelli, the Boz Scaggs rarities your friends don't know yet.
• Soft Rock Crossover -- The artists who orbit the genre without being pure Yacht: Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, Bruce Hornsby, the one-hit wonders that ruled the FM dial and never really left.

Listener requests are part of the show -- so if you've got a track you want to hear as you sail into your weekend, request right on the MyBeachRadio App.

Listen: A Look at the Playlist - June 5th, 2026

Week three of Yacht Rock Friday on Beach Radio featured a change at the helm as Captain Sam Elliot handed the wheel over to First Mate Lou Russo for an evening of smooth sailing through the Yacht Rock classics. Lou guided listeners through a perfect mix of feel-good favorites, soft rock treasures, and summertime singalongs that made for another unforgettable cruise into the weekend. From the docks of the Jersey Shore to wherever listeners were tuning in, Yacht Rock Friday delivered another night of great music, great memories, and smooth seas on Beach Radio.

Listen: A Look at the Playlist - May 29th, 2026

Week 2 of Yacht Rock Friday on Beach Radio was another smooth sail into the weekend. We kicked things off by a listener asking me to pick my favorite song of the night, and from there it was two hours of pure summer vibes.

The first hour featured an incredible run of classics, including Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years," Michael McDonald's "Sweet Freedom," Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love," Nicolette Larson's "Lotta Love," Ambrosia's "Your The Only Women," Dr. Hook's "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman," Van Morrison's "Crazy Love," Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby," The Alan Parsons Project's "Eye in the Sky," Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme," Starland Vocal Band's "Afternoon Delight," Bill Withers' "Just the Two of Us," Little River Bands' "Lady," Paul Davis' "Cool Night," and we wrapped up the hour with the perfect sunset soundtrack, George Benson's "Breezin'."

The First Show: A Look at the Playlist

The debut Yacht Rock Friday set the tone perfectly. Here's how the two hours went down:

Make It Your Friday Ritual

Yacht Rock Friday runs every Friday, 5 to 7 PM, all summer long on 96.7 and 104.1 Beach Radio. Hosted by Sam Elliot, with special guest hosts rotating throughout the season.

You can listen on the radio, stream online at Beach Radio's website, or tune in on the app. Requests are welcome --- if there's a song that needs to be on the show, let us know.

The workweek ends at 5. The weekend starts with us. See you on the water. ⚓

96.7 & 104.1 Beach Radio -- Your Jersey Shore Summer Station