Beyonce and Post Malone Top 10 Most Songs About Drinking

There are a few schools of thought about how people are influenced by song lyrics that promote drinking. Some are concerned about the impact, especially on younger audiences. They worry that glorifying substance use might normalize or encourage risky behavior.

Then there are those like me who think it’s an artistic expression that people can relate to their own experiences. People also debate about whether the inclusion is driven by commercial motives, intending to appeal to certain audiences.

A recent study was conducted by the alcohol and drug rehab center Lantana Recovery. They analyzed the lyrics of 1100 songs from 2013 to 2023 to count the total drinking and drug-related words. What they learned was that some artists like to sing about it much more than others.

It revealed Drake and Migos as the top artists with the most alcohol and drug references in song lyrics over the past decade, each with 131.

Drake's song lyrics show that nearly 80% of his top 33 songs contain mentions of drinking and drugs. Migos has an equal amount with 131 drinking and drug-related words appearing in 7 songs from the same decade.

Future ranks third with 109, mostly drug-related. He had 11 songs from the list analyzed, with more than 90% references. Gucci Mane follows with 87 alcohol and drug-related words across four songs. Fifth on the ranking is Grammy-award-winning hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, with a total of 85 mentions of drugs and alcohol.

Morgan Wallen, the highest-ranked country singer in the top 10, landed sixth, using alcohol and drug-related words 81 times in 14 songs, with more than 90% referring to the subject. Travis Scott ranks seventh, with 59 alcohol and drug-related words appearing in all his eight songs on the list. Post Malone ranks eighth, with 57 words.

Florida Georgia Line, DJ Khaled, and Megan Thee Stallion are tied for ninth place, each with 51 alcohol and drug-related words. Florida Georgia Line's eight songs have an 87.5% reference rate, while DJ Khaled's six songs all reference drinking and drugs.

Other artists in the top 20 were Panic! at the Disco, Luke Combs, Cardi B, Dan + Shay, and Beyonce.

Lindsay Richerson, Lantana Executive Director and recovery health expert says "Music is a mirror of society, often reflecting and amplifying cultural norms and behaviors. The frequent mention of drugs and alcohol in popular songs doesn't just entertain, it influences. For young listeners, these references can shape perceptions and attitudes toward substance use, potentially normalizing risky behaviors.

They analyzed 1,100 songs from the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 lists from 2013 to 2023 to capture the most popular music of the decade and ensure a diverse and representative dataset. Using a custom analytical tool, they examined the lyrics to identify and count references to alcohol and drugs. It included general terms, specific substance names, brand names, and slang. Each song was checked for these terms, and the results were aggregated to reveal the total mentions across all songs.

July is here and it's prime season for Yacht Rock Songs. Time to sit back on your yacht, or ummm dingy, and listen to the smooth sounds from the mid-70s to the mid-80s, with temp hopefully right there as well. The seagulls cry the white caps slap against the fiberglass hull, and you hold your glass of buttery chard oh so gently while inspecting those bikinis. It's a tough job, but somebody's yachtta do it!

According to AllMusic, Yacht Rock is a broad music style and aesthetic commonly associated with Soft Rock, one of the most commercially successful genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Drawing on sources such as Smooth Soul, Smooth Jazz, R&B, and Disco. Meanwhile, common stylistic traits include high-quality production, clean vocals, and a focus on light, catchy melodies.^[6] The term yacht rock was coined in 2005 by the makers of the online video series Yacht Rock, who connected the music with the popular SoCal leisure activity of boating. It was considered a pejorative term by some music critics.

Furthermore, In 2014, AllMusic's Matt Colier identified the "key defining rules of the genre:"

This is 100 percent my own opinion. Top Ten does not leave a lot of room for error. I consider myself a pretty solid Yacht Rocker, and quite the musicologist. However, in the rare case you feel I make a mistake and leave off one of your Yacht Rock favs, have my people call your people and we'll get together off the coast of Island Beach State Park for some Sangria and Cheese, and a little Yacht Rock, of course!

By The By, Lovey, if you're looking for the perfect Yacht Rock swag to rock this summer, check this article out!

Plus if you need a place to dry dock and yacht rock, here's a spot that Yachts every Sunday all summer long!

The late great former front man of Stealers Wheel, had later solo success with this and a few other songs. However, there is no way Gerry could have known his Saxophone anthem balancing life and love while living in London, would go on to become the Stairway To Heaven of Yacht Rock.

If Baker Street is the Stairway of Yacht Rock, this most certainly is the Layla. A 1979 masterpiece about a boy and his sailboat that Cross has said was inspired by sailing with his older friend. Ridiculed throughout the 80s as a symbol of 70's schmaltz, it has found life and love as a Yacht Rock staple for a whole new generation.

The oldest of our Top 10, this song was released in the late summer of 1972, and immediately became a top 10 hit on the Billboard charts. It screams Summer, and beachy vibes, and of course the smell of Jasmine and  the line "July is dressed up and playing her tune" cannot be denied as all time Yacht Rock.

The song most people who know nothing about Yacht Rock, most closely associate Yacht Rock with. Now that's fine, and yes it is an all time great Yachtty classic, but think of it as your gateway drug to so much more: Next you'll be wearing a captains hat and a Hawaiian shirt.

The New England Patriots of Yacht Rock songs right here my friends. Too much of a good thing can be dangerous. Great band, great song, but it's flown way too far over the radar for way too long. Still, It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from singing along.

A few years before they were blessing the rains down in Africa, the boys from Toto were much sought after studio musicians. They helped good ol Boz on this 1977 super hit, that has gone on to become the go to song for doing Green Tea shots on the deck before the Saturday Night fireworks kick in.  And I quote: "Whoa Whoa Whoaoooo ooooo oooooo"

Old George really came through for the soft rock/jazz world with this 1976 classic. Plus it's the perfect Yacht Rock song for some early morning Mimosas and below deck nookie.

Kind of a toss up here between FM and Do It Again, but this has more of a party feel so I'm going with the kicking off of the high heel sneakers, and the grapefruit wine. Hey don't knock it til ya try it on the bow at sunset, baby!

You can have heartache, just as long as it has a good groove and doesn't bring the party down. Just ask Hall and Oates, they do it here to a tee. Talk to Isaac about your problems buddy, or whatever your yacht's bartender is named.

What can I say. The man is the muse of a genre. With apologies to great Yacht Rock songs like Brandy, What A Fool Believes, Couldn't Get It Right, and just about the entire catalog from Pablo Cruise, Ride Like The Wind is just captivating when you listen to it out on the bay doing 12 knots. Plus, at least we get our daily dose of Michael McDonald in!