Yacht Rock Essentials: “Whatcha Gonna Do?” the Danceable Lament by Pablo Cruise

It’s a wonder Pablo Cruise isn’t mentioned more frequently by those talking about the biggest acts in yacht rock. They had the slightly jazzy but nonetheless danceable grooves, the killer vocal harmonies, and the impassioned songs about relationships good and bad, all hallmarks of the style.

They also had one of the coolest names of anyone in the genre. And they had several big hits, including their breakthrough single “Whatcha Gonna Do?” which, questionable spelling and all, stormed the Top 10 in 1977.

AKA Pablo

First, let’s get it out of the way for those who might have been confused by this for all these years: There is no band member named Pablo Cruise. In the tradition of Pink Floyd or Jethro Tull, it’s a moniker they conjured that had nothing to do with the names of any of the members.

In fact, it came to one of the principals when they were enduring a quite vivid acid trip. (Hey, they did hail from San Francisco, after all). And it stuck, which ensured the band a career’s worth of clueless reporters asking them, “Which one of you is Pablo?”

Pablo Cruise started to come together when David Jenkins and Cory Lerios, who would go on to be the band’s main songwriters, first connected professionally in the ’60s. The band released their debut album in 1975, and their first two records gained some regional success. From their third album, A Place in the Sun, came their breakthrough single.

Relationship Issues Lead to a Hit

David Jenkins was dating a girl around the time of making the album, and it was one of those deals where he was torn between committing long-term or getting out all together. As he explained to The Tennessean, the words of a third party started ringing in his ear:

“‘Whatcha Gonna Do?’ came out of a relationship that was getting very confused. I was thinking about splitting up with this gal, and somebody said, ‘Whatcha gonna do when she says goodbye? What if she leaves you?’”

Interestingly enough, that same relationship also inspired Pablo Cruise’s next big single “Love Will Find a Way,” released in 1978, which made it to the same spot on the charts as “Whatcha Gonna Do?” (No. 6). The band would score a total of five Top-25 singles before their momentum ground down in the early ’80s.

Behind the Lyrics of “Whatcha Gonna Do?”

Jenkins, who ended up sharing writing credit for the song with Lerios, takes the part of the advising friend in “Whatcha Gonna Do?” He warns this guy that he might be missing the forest for the trees: And you don’t recognize what everybody knows.

He insists this person should give it another go and listen to the barrage of advice: And all your friends are calling you a fool / ‘Cause you don’t know a good thing / When you got it in your hands. When the refrain comes around, the narrator stops being so supportive, instead taking the blunt approach: Whatcha gonna do when she says goodbye / Whatcha gonna do when she is gone.

Pablo Cruise managed to have a rebirth when Jenkins and Lerios reconnected in the 2000s, and they’ve been a working band ever since. They have several hits to which they can turn in their shows, including “Whatcha Gonna Do?” the one that put them on the yacht rock map.

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