June 15, 2015
ROCK THE YACHT TOUR 2015 TO SAIL ACROSS UNITED STATES
THIS SUMMER WITH LITTLE RIVER BAND, AMBROSIA, PLAYER,
STEPHEN BISHOP AND ROBBIE DUPREE PERFORMING NOTHING BUT THE HITS
NEW TOUR WITH DATES BEGINNING IN JULY
TO FEATURE POPULAR SONGS FROM THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES
If you feel like “Reminiscing” this summer and have a tendency to keep “Holdin’ On To Yesterday,” then we’ve got just the concert ticket for you!
“Baby Come Back!”
“Help Is on Its Way!”
Rock The Yacht 2015 — featuring Little River Band, Ambrosia, Player, Stephen Bishop and Robbie Dupree — is coming at you with a boatload of sensational songs from the late seventies and early eighties.
While the full tour itinerary has yet to be announced, Rock The Yacht is expected to “dock” in at least a dozen cities throughout the United States beginning in mid-July (see below for current itinerary).
Little River Band was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1975. It was originally a blend of musicians who had enjoyed success in other Australian rock acts. Their new focus was to get airplay on American radio, and they achieved that goal with good songwriting, powerful vocals and guitar harmonies. They immediately claimed their place as one of the great vocal bands of the ’70s… and the ’80s! Between 1976 and 1983, their chart success in America included the following singles: “It’s a Long Way There,” “Help Is on Its Way,” “Happy Anniversary,” “Reminiscing,” “Lady,” “Cool Change,” “Lonesome Loser,” “The Night Owls,” “Take It Easy On Me,” “Man On Your Mind,” “We Two” and “The Other Guy.” Considered to be one of Australia’s most significant bands, Little River Band boasts worldwide album and CD sales topping 30 million. They were the first band to have Top 10 hits for six consecutive years. According to BMI, two of their most popular songs, “Reminiscing” and “Lady” have had five million and four million airplays in America, respectively. In 2004, they were, rightfully, inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame. The current line-up brings new energy and arrangements to the classic hits, making new memories for the audience out of each live performance. This year, you’ll likely see plenty of people mouthing the words, “I love this song… I forgot it was one of Little River Band’s hits!”
Ambrosia is an American rock band formed in southern California in 1970. They had five Top 40 hit singles between 1975 and 1980 and, after a hiatus during the late 1980’s, most of the original band members have been active with the group for the past 25 years to the present day. In 1975, Ambrosia would release their self-titled debut album on 20th Century Fox Records that featured the Top 20 single, “Holdin’ On To Yesterday.” The legendary Alan Parsons engineered the album, which would be nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Engineered Recording” category. That same year, all four members of Ambrosia would play on the first album from the Alan Parsons Project. In 1976, the band would release, Somewhere I’ve Never Traveled, which also received a Grammy nomination, setting the stage for the band’s signing to Warner Bros. Records. The year 1978 marked Ambrosia’s biggest pop breakthrough with their first gold single, “How Much I Feel,” off Life Beyond L.A.. Two years later, they would have Top 20 single success with two singles, “Biggest Part of Me” and “You’re the Only Woman (You & I),” featured on their One Eighty release. Ambrosia appeared on the May 2, 2011 episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as part of the host’s “Yacht Rock 2k11” theme show, performing “Biggest Part of Me” (during the show) and “How Much I Feel” (after the formal taping, but put up on the Late Night website). Today, the band consists of original members Joe Puerta (bassist/vocalist), Christopher North (keyboardist) and Burleigh Drummond (drummer) and they continue to tour all over the world, performing both their legacy hit material and more recent songs.
The band Player features original members Peter Beckett and Ronn Moss and is best known for their international number one hit, “Baby Come Back.” Their biggest hit came about when Peter had just split from someone he had been in a relationship with for a long time. Still feeling the pain, he sat down with J.C. Crowley to write, and their moods were reflected in the song. First played on the radio in October of 1977, it would ultimately reach the top of the charts in January of 1978. Later that year, Player would be voted “Best New Single Artist” by Billboard magazine’s honor roll. Just two months after “Baby Come Back” hit the pinnacle position on the charts, Player would experience another Top 10 hit with “This Time I’m In It For Love,” which also appeared on their self-titled debut album, Player. Quick to capitalize on their immense success, the band would release another album that year, Danger Zone, that featured a Top 40 hit called, “Prisoner of Love.” Where their first album captured the sunny sound of California pop, Danger Zone illustrated the band’s progressive pop/rock side with heavier guitars pushed to the front. The core of the band reunited in 2007 and in 2013, released their most recent studio effort titled, Too Many Reasons (Frontier Records). That same year, they embarked on a summer tour called Sail Rock with Christopher Cross, Orleans, Gary Wright, Firefall, John Ford Coley and Robbie Dupree.
At the age of 13, Stephen Bishop found himself a crossroads. A clarinetist with hopes of becoming a history teacher, he was forever changed after watching the Beatles one night on The Ed Sullivan Show. He soon convinced his brother to buy him an electric guitar, wrote his first song called, “Surf’s Turf,” and formed a band called The Weeds that played original and Top 40 songs at local fraternity parties. He headed to Los Angeles, where he walked the streets playing his $12 acoustic guitar, playing songs for various publishers in Hollywood. Through a friend, Art Garfunkel heard some of Stephen’s songs and, ultimately, recorded two for his 1975 Breakaway album. It wouldn’t be long before he was singing his songs in person for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Bette Midler and Michelle Phillips. He signed a record deal with ABC Records and released his debut album, Careless, in 1976 that featured the hit songs, “Save It For a Rainy Day” and “On and On.” The album went gold as did his ’78 follow-up, which was simply titled, Bish. He sang the theme, “It Might Be You,” from the movie, Tootsie, in addition to writing or singing songs for thirteen other films including White Nights and Animal House. Yes, that’s Stephen singing “I Gave My Love a Cherry” on the staircase at the toga party, when John Belushi takes away and smashes his guitar.
Singer, songwriter Robbie Dupree began his music career in the clubs of New York’s Greenwich Village in the late 60’s. After years of performing in Rhythm and Blues bands (including one called New World Rising with renowned producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers), Robbie relocated to Los Angeles in 1978 in search of a new music world. The move paid off as a new musical partnership was born with old friends Rick Chudacoff and Peter Bunetta, leading to Robbie’s first recording contract on Elektra Records. His debut album from 1980 produced two major hit singles, “Steal Away” and “Hot Rod Hearts,” both of which are now classics. In 1981, Robbie was honored by being nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best New Artist” category. Robbie’s music can be heard in major motion pictures, network television shows and national sports events. VH1 recently featured a profile of his enduring career… He continues to record and maintain a full touring schedule, performing on concert stages around the world.
Isn’t it time for a “Cool Change?”
Come on board and Rock The Yacht this summer!
If you’d like to interview one of the artists regarding the tour or need additional press materials, please contact Jeff Albright / The Albright Entertainment Group at rockstarpr@aol.com.
ROCK THE YACHT TOUR 2015
Wednesday, July 15 – Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, New Jersey
Thursday, July 16 – St. George Theatre in Staten Island, New York
Friday, July 17 – NYCB Theatre at Westbury in Westbury, New York
Thursday, July 23 – Fraze Pavilion in Kettering, Ohio
Friday, July 24 – RiverEdge Park in Aurora, Illinois
Sunday, July 26 – North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts (Ambrosia, Firefall, Player, Stephen Bishop and Robbie Dupree)
Wednesday, September 16 – Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky
Friday, September 18 – IP Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi
*More dates expected to be announced.
Individual Artist Websites are as follows:
www.littleriverband.com
www.ambrosialive.net
www.player-theband.com
www.stephenbishop.com
www.robbiedupree.com