Kenny Loggins Cuts Loose
HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo) - A few years ago, Kenny Loggins, the perennially boyish singer whose career spans 30 years and such memorable movie tunes as "I'm Alright" from Caddyshack, was ready to quit.
"There are no white guys over 40 getting airplay," Loggins tells Box Office Mojo. "I figured I'd be knocking myself out for two years to make a record and hand it to Columbia [Records] and they'd throw it away."
Something one of his five kids said changed his mind.
"When I told my son, Luke, who was seven, that I was going to retire, he started to cry," Loggins recounts. "Finally, he confided to [his mother, Loggins's wife, Julia], and he told her: 'If Daddy stops singing, he'll die.'"
"I suddenly realized that making music is about being alive," Loggins explains. He knows that selling his latest CD—titled It's About Time with ballads and rock songs written by Loggins with Richard Marx, Clint Black and others—won't be easy in today's culture. Still, he's determined to promote the record, his first studio album in more than six years.
At 55, Loggins is hustling like he's 22. He's logging into chat rooms and touring. So far, he reports that live audiences love the new material, and that his first single "The One That Got Away" is getting standing ovations.
Praise is not new for Loggins, whose hits include the themes from Over the Top, Top Gun and Footloose. Loggins also wrote songs for Barbra Streisand's A Star is Born, Thelma and Louise and One Fine Day. Asked to explain his success with movie soundtracks, he insists there's no formula.
"It depends on the movie," he says. "With Caddyshack, the songwriting meant watching the screen and the character. With Footloose, which I wrote with Dean Pitchford (Fame), we co-wrote the song based on what we *wanted* to see on screen. The best stuff is always about the moment."
Top Gun almost didn't happen. "Toto was supposed to record the song "Danger Zone" [for the soundtrack], and they dropped out of the project," Loggins recalls. "I happened to be in the studio and I went over and introduced myself to [producer] Giorgio Moroder."
Footloose is gaining renewed interest. The movie's star Kevin Bacon recently guest starred on Will and Grace as himself, dancing with the character Jack to the title song, and Pitchford, who wrote the lyrics, is remaking the popular 1984 movie based on his Broadway musical version.
Loggins isn't surprised. "It really is a story about personal liberation from society," he notes. "I think that's the hook because you really feel that sense of play when the kids break loose—the essential theme is about freedom."
"My writing in general is about hope," Loggins reveals. "When I wrote 'I'm Alright' for Caddyshack, I just watched the movie. Basically it's a 'Get-the-F***-Off-My-Back' song. It's this kid who's trying to figure out where he's gonna go, and everyone's pushing him around and, instead, he takes charge of his own life." <DIV align=center> <CENTER> <TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=1> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align=middle width="100%" bgColor=#8c0000>RELATED LINKS</TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%">• Discuss Kenny Loggins in the forums...</TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%" bgColor=#f7f7ff>• Kenny Loggins official Web Site</TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%">• Buy Kenny Loggins CDs from Amazon.com</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER></DIV>
"There are no white guys over 40 getting airplay," Loggins tells Box Office Mojo. "I figured I'd be knocking myself out for two years to make a record and hand it to Columbia [Records] and they'd throw it away."
Something one of his five kids said changed his mind.
"When I told my son, Luke, who was seven, that I was going to retire, he started to cry," Loggins recounts. "Finally, he confided to [his mother, Loggins's wife, Julia], and he told her: 'If Daddy stops singing, he'll die.'"
"I suddenly realized that making music is about being alive," Loggins explains. He knows that selling his latest CD—titled It's About Time with ballads and rock songs written by Loggins with Richard Marx, Clint Black and others—won't be easy in today's culture. Still, he's determined to promote the record, his first studio album in more than six years.
At 55, Loggins is hustling like he's 22. He's logging into chat rooms and touring. So far, he reports that live audiences love the new material, and that his first single "The One That Got Away" is getting standing ovations.
Praise is not new for Loggins, whose hits include the themes from Over the Top, Top Gun and Footloose. Loggins also wrote songs for Barbra Streisand's A Star is Born, Thelma and Louise and One Fine Day. Asked to explain his success with movie soundtracks, he insists there's no formula.
"It depends on the movie," he says. "With Caddyshack, the songwriting meant watching the screen and the character. With Footloose, which I wrote with Dean Pitchford (Fame), we co-wrote the song based on what we *wanted* to see on screen. The best stuff is always about the moment."
Top Gun almost didn't happen. "Toto was supposed to record the song "Danger Zone" [for the soundtrack], and they dropped out of the project," Loggins recalls. "I happened to be in the studio and I went over and introduced myself to [producer] Giorgio Moroder."
Footloose is gaining renewed interest. The movie's star Kevin Bacon recently guest starred on Will and Grace as himself, dancing with the character Jack to the title song, and Pitchford, who wrote the lyrics, is remaking the popular 1984 movie based on his Broadway musical version.
Loggins isn't surprised. "It really is a story about personal liberation from society," he notes. "I think that's the hook because you really feel that sense of play when the kids break loose—the essential theme is about freedom."
"My writing in general is about hope," Loggins reveals. "When I wrote 'I'm Alright' for Caddyshack, I just watched the movie. Basically it's a 'Get-the-F***-Off-My-Back' song. It's this kid who's trying to figure out where he's gonna go, and everyone's pushing him around and, instead, he takes charge of his own life." <DIV align=center> <CENTER> <TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#111111 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=1> <TBODY> <TR> <TD align=middle width="100%" bgColor=#8c0000>RELATED LINKS</TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%">• Discuss Kenny Loggins in the forums...</TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%" bgColor=#f7f7ff>• Kenny Loggins official Web Site</TD></TR> <TR> <TD width="100%">• Buy Kenny Loggins CDs from Amazon.com</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER></DIV>
