Daryl Hall names the one subgenre he cannot stand (and he’s right)

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Daryl Hall boasts an illustrious musical career, marked by six top-charting singles on Billboard and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (for music enthusiasts) in 2014. Known for his soulful sound with blue eyes, he also holds great admiration for the R&B trailblazers who paved the way.

Additionally, he holds firm convictions regarding music. It’s essential for any accomplished musician to grasp the nuances of sound that define their craft. This understanding fuels their creativity and allows them to produce distinctive work. Creating high-quality, unique music is not commonplace; it’s a rarity. And Hall is one such rarity.

One genre he fiercely dislikes is a particular subcategory. In a recent interview on the Broken Records podcast, the singer expressed his opinion that those who popularized the phrase “yacht rock” were arrogant individuals whose term has been widely accepted by many. The definition of yacht rock, however, remains subject to debate.

Daryl Hall delivers a very harsh phrase for the creators of the term “yacht rock”

Back in 2005, during one of our podcast sessions, comedians JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, and myself (yeah, I was there too) jokingly came up with a term for a particular kind of soft R&B music. It’s funny because it was never the style Hall and Oates were known for. But now, this term is used to describe that very unique sound they never quite embraced.

Hall takes issue with the label attached to his music. He feels uncomfortable with categorizing his tunes. In essence, he views sounds as simply being either excellent or poor. To followers of Philadelphia soul, there’s no question that Hall & Oates fit the bill. However, the yacht rock genre? That appears to contradict what the duo aimed for in their music.

Hall expressed confusion, stating, “I can’t wrap my head around this. To begin with, yacht rock seemed like a sarcastic creation of a couple of Californians, and yet it morphed into a genre. Frankly, I’ve never grasped its essence.

He needn’t be confined to. The label “Yacht Rock” suggests that only the affluent and their circle appreciate the bland soft R&B blended with light jazz from the 1970s and 80s. It’s not fitting for anyone to enjoy such music. Hall and Oates were far more significant than the term suggests.

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2025-05-12 17:30