Kenny Loggins Still So Cool At 77
Happy 77th birthday to Kenny Loggins! He’s been making us move and groove ever since he started making music in the 1970s with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band!
Loggins is one of those truly gifted musicians who has rolled with whatever changes music has thrown his way. From the Dirt Band to the duo of Loggins and Messina, to yacht rock hits, to becoming “King of the Movie Soundtrack,” Loggins has really made his mark on music!
He is featured extensively in the new HBO Original documentary “Music Box: Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary,” now streaming on Max.
The doc looked back at the soft rock pop culture of the ’70s and early ’80s, epitomized by Loggins, Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, and Toto. Yacht rock is easy listening music that takes cues from jazz, funk, and R&B.
If you haven’t watched yet, it’s an awesome trip back in time! The documentary looks at Loggins’ start in yacht rock – and his partnership with Michael McDonald. Together, they wrote and performed what the doc calls the “quintessential yacht rock song,” “What a Fool Believes.”
The two artists describe coming up with the song in 10 minutes flat. The story goes like this – Loggins was walking up McDonald’s sidewalk and heard McDonald playing his piano. He instantly jived with the tune, and told him let’s take it and run with it. Ten minutes later, they had a song that “ranked 100 on the yachtsky scale!”
The song won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1979. They followed it up with another Grammy-winning song, “This Is It.” They were certain it would be a flop – nope!
Yacht rock ruled for a few years, but then came MTV. The doc points that out that video literally did kill the radio star, as many of the yacht rock musicians simply didn’t have the desire to act in flashy music videos. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” also changed the game and the direction of music took a different turn.
Loggins pivoted, too, becoming the “King of the Movie Soundtrack.” He started with “I’m Alright” from the film “Caddyshack.”
He followed that with “Footloose” and “I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man)” from the movie “Footloose.”
Then came “Meet Me Halfway” from “Over the Top” with Sylvester Stallone.
Then of course, it was “Danger Zone” and “Playing with the Boys” from “Top Gun.”
Loggins also performed with USA for Africa on “We Are the World,” made children’s albums, and so much more.
Of being called a yacht rock artist, Loggins said, “At first, I felt a little insulted, like we were being made fun of. But I began to see that it was also a kind of ass-backwards way to honor us.”
It sure is – the dockumentary is really a fun trip back through a time when music was easy as the breeze blowing through your hair!
Give it a watch – and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KENNY LOGGINS!
