May 14, 2019
Contact: Jeff Albright
ROCK THE YACHT TOUR 2019 — FEATURING AMBROSIA, STEPHEN BISHOP,
PETER BECKETT – THE VOICE OF PLAYER, JOHN FORD COLEY,
WALTER EGAN AND LOOKING GLASS — SAILS FULL SPEED AHEAD
WITH ANNOUNCEMENT OF INITIAL U.S. TOUR DATES BEGINNING IN JULY
COME SAIL AWAY AND RIDE THE MUSICAL TIDE WITH ROCK THE YACHT 2019
FOR AN EVENING FULL OF GREATEST HITS PERFORMED BY THE ARTISTS
WHO HELPED SHAPE THE SOUNDS OF THE SEVENTIES
Here comes summer and the tide is high!
ROCK THE YACHT, the popular package tour featuring some of the most memorable artists and songs of the seventies, is “sailing” across the States once again!
This year’s illustrious crew — Ambrosia, Stephen Bishop, Player Lead Singer Peter Beckett, John Ford Coley, Walter Egan and Looking Glass — will be bringing a boatload of greatest hits on the summer trek which initially docks in such cities as Clearwater, Florida, Irving, Texas, Lake Charles, Louisiana and Biloxi, Mississippi beginning in July.
All aboard!
If you’re “Holdin’ On to Yesterday,” then “Baby Come Back.”
“Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl”… “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight.”
Of course, we could go “On and On” and tell you there’s an undeniable attraction between “Magnet and Steel.”
One thing’s for sure… you’ll hear hit after hit!
AMBROSIA, who headline this year’s tour, 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 in the late eighties, most of the original band members reunited and have been active with the group for the past three decades. In 1975, AMBROSIA released 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.
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. STEPHEN 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.
PETER BECKETT – THE VOICE OF PLAYER is best known for the band’s 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 — then consisting of BECKETT, Crowley, Ronn Moss and John Friesen — 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). Since 2013, PETER has toured extensively, performing the hits he helped make famous.
There are songs you hear in your life that transport you to a certain time period or give you a special feeling. You associate those good times to the group that made them famous. Songs like “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight,” “Nights Are Forever Without You” and “Love Is The Answer” by England Dan and JOHN FORD COLEY seemingly have that kind of effect on people. Those popular Top 10 singles from the 70’s, along with such other songs as “It’s Sad To Belong,” “Gone Too Far” and “We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again” have made JOHN FORD COLEY a singing legend. He has spent decades touring, writing, recording, and producing. JOHN — most revered as half of the Grammy nominated duo England Dan and JOHN FORD COLEY — continues to have a busy tour schedule, performing the platinum and gold record hits for audiences around the world. As part of that duo, he would have six Top 40 hits, including four Top 10’s. Classically trained on piano and an avid guitarist, JOHN loves the craft and enjoys every audience he encounters. JOHN looks forward to being a part of ROCK THE YACHT this summer, stating, “Every now and then I get the opportunity to perform with friends and musicians whose music I really enjoy and what they contributed to the world by their music.”
WALTER EGAN is a musician, singer, composer, writer, artist, sculptor and general Renaissance man who is most widely known for his 1978 million-selling Top 10 single, “Magnet and Steel,” featured on his album, Not Shy (Columbia Records) produced by Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Richard Dashut. Four decades later, Walter’s signature song is still a staple on classic radio and can be heard in feature films (including the cult classic, Boogie Nights) and on television. In addition to the hugely popular “Magnet and Steel,” his other hits have included such songs as “Hot Summer Nights,” “Only the Lucky” and “Fool Moon Fire.” Today, Walter continues to make original music as a prolific individual artist, with several solo CD’s to his credit, and as a member of performing and recording bands including the Malibooz and the Brooklyn Cowboys.
LOOKING GLASS is best known for their hit, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” a song featuring singer/songwriter Elliot Lurie on vocals and guitar, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” was released in the summer of 1972. It quickly rose to the top of the charts, selling over a million copies and becoming one of the most played radio records of the year. Over time, the song has endured, consistently registering over 2.5 million Spotify streams per month and being recorded by such disparate artists as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kenny Chesney. It has been featured in numerous films and TV productions including “Charlie’s Angels,” “The Simpsons” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” (Vol 2). “Brandy” was included on the “Guardians” soundtrack album, which is RIAA Gold certified, selling over 500,000 units. In 1973, LOOKING GLASS would experience chart success one more time with their song, “Jimmy Loves Maryanne,” that would enter the Top 40. The band was short-lived, disbanding in 1974, but Elliot Lurie would go on to release a solo album and eventually transition into supervising music for film and television, becoming an executive in charge of music for Twentieth Century Fox. He recently returned to his first loves — singing, writing and playing guitar. “Although I’ve constantly remained involved with music over the years, I was reminded that the most direct connection is still performing live to an audience.”
In addition to the four confirmed dates in Clearwater, Irving, Lake Charles and Biloxi, two Rock The Yacht dates featuring Ambrosia, Peter Beckett – The Voice of Player, John Ford Coley and Looking Glass have just been added in Cohasset, Massachusetts (South Shore Music Circus) and Hyannis, Massachusetts (Cape Cod Melody Tent) on August 15 and August 16, respectively.
All hands on deck!
Damn the torpedoes and come join the fun!
Sail into the sounds of the seventies with ROCK THE YACHT!
*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 2019 is expected to “dock” in other cities throughout the U.S. beginning in July. Additional dates to be announced soon.
ROCK THE YACHT CONFIRMED TOUR DATES SUMMER 2019
Wednesday, July 10 – Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida
Sunday, July 14 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas
Thursday, August 15 – South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Massachusetts
Friday, August 16 – Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis, Massachusetts
Saturday, August 17 – Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Friday, August 23 – IP Casino Resort Spa in Biloxi, Mississippi
Official Artist Websites