Did they sell this one at marinas? If there wasn’t already a term for it, someone would have had to come up with the phrase “Yacht Rock” for the song, and group, that hit the top 40 this day in 1978 – “Love Will Find A Way” by Pablo Cruise. I mean, they even incorporated a palm tree into the band logo and for the album cover, used an ocean sunset image! The single would go on to be one of the San Francisco band’s two big hits and one of the defining moments of that specific, usually California-based easy listening sound of the decade.
Pablo Cruise had started in the Bay Area in ’73, as a quartet. Guitarist and lead singer David Jenkins and keyboardist Cory Lerrios still run the group, almost five decades later though drummer Steve Price and bassist Bruce Day have moved along, as have Mike and Steve Porcaro of Toto who appeared on the record, but weren’t full members. Neither was there a “Pablo Cruise,” the band name was just something they came up with. They say “Pablo represents an honest, down-to-earth individual, and the ‘Cruise’ his fun-loving and easy attitude towards life.”
The song was written by Jenkins and Lerrios and certainly captured the zeitgest of the era. It was the lead single off their fourth album, Worlds Away, which ended up being their only top 10 album and one of two of theirs to hit platinum status. As allmusic would put it, the album with its “jazz-influenced pop sounds” “groove like Player in a Hawaiian shirt with a deep, dark tan.” “Love Will Find A Way” rose to #6 (tied for their career best with “Whatcha Gonna Do?”) , #5 in Canada and #8 in Australia, making it their biggest international hit.
Although it’s been awhile since they had a hit record, Pablo is still cruising, a popular act on oldies and Yacht Rock tours with the likes of Ambrosia and Christopher Cross.
A Sound Day 
Funny you said that. Someone at work asked me about Yacht Rock and I told them Pablo Cruise…and the song Summer Breeze are good examples. It’s been a while since I heard “Whatcha Gonna Do?”
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yeah, me too (quite awhile since I heard that song). I like those singles, but its funny…I mean, they almost predicted the term ‘yacht rock’ I think with their imagery.
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They did… some songs are hard to categorize but some are no brainers. UK#1’s was asking if his readers thought “Easy Lover” was Yacht Rock…I said I didn’t think so…a little too peppy.
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yeah, I would say no to that one, but at times we pull up a “channel” called “yacht rock” on Amazon music , I think it is, and they include a lot of stuff I wouldn’t like that, like things from Michael Jackson etc. To me, right, things like Pablo Cruise, Seals and Crofts, Orleans, Ambrosia, maybe Jimmy Buffett, Christopher Cross define the genre if it is a genre of its own.
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Yea….good point on Jimmy Buffett and the Parrotheads lol
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They are the dead centre bullseye for that ‘yacht schlock’ genre.
But there is a close affinity to this and the Captain and Tennille’s ‘ ‘Love is Creepy Together’ or rather ‘Love Will Keep Us Together.’ Which also got a mention recently hereabouts, if I recall?
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Pure 70s that!
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I pretty much know Pablo Cruise by name only, though I had both “Love Will Find a Way” and “Whatcha Gonna Do” – pretty catchy tunes. I can a hear a bit of Doobies in here.
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yeah, definitely sound a bit like M Macdonald era Doobies .
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