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Kenny Loggins
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Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948 in Everett, Washington) is an American singer and songwriter best known for a number of soft rock and adult contemporary hit singles beginning in the 1970s. Originally a part of the duo Loggins and Messina, he has also recorded as a solo artist and written hit songs for other artists.
ins was raised in Alhambra, California, where he formed a band called The Second Helping. This band released three singles in 1968 and 1969 on Viva.
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Encyclopedia
Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948 in Everett, Washington) is an American singer and songwriter best known for a number of soft rock and adult contemporary hit singles beginning in the 1970s. Originally a part of the duo Loggins and Messina, he has also recorded as a solo artist and written hit songs for other artists.
Early life
Loggins was raised in Alhambra, California, where he formed a band called The Second Helping. This band released three singles in 1968 and 1969 on Viva. Greg Shaw described the efforts as "excellent punky folk-pop records" that were written by Loggins who was likely to be the bandleader and singer as well; Shaw included "Let Me In" on both Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 2 and the Pebbles, Volume 9 CD.
His early 20s found him in the band Gator Creek with Mike Deasy. An early version of "Danny's Song" (later recorded by Loggins and Messina) was included on an effort on Mercury Records.
Loggins and Messina
Loggins continued his career in the 1970s. After attracting the attention of fellow singer-songwriter Jim Messina, the two began a duo career as Loggins and Messina, which lasted until 1976. In 1977, Loggins went on to produce his first solo album, Celebrate Me Home, which included the hit "I Believe In Love," originally sung by Barbra Streisand in A Star Is Born. Nightwatch, a popular album released in 1978, included the hit "Whenever I Call You Friend", a duet with Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. He followed this in 1979 with Keep the Fire.
Loggins also wrote the song "What a Fool Believes" with Michael McDonald. Each man recorded his own version of the song, with McDonald's recording his version as a member of The Doobie Brothers. Loggins's version was released first, but The Doobie Brothers' version became better known, as it went to #1 on the pop charts. In 1980, Loggins and McDonald received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year for "What a Fool Believes".
In 1979, Loggins and McDonald wrote "This Is It" for Loggins's ailing father, who had to choose between life and death. The song earned Loggins a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal. NBC Sports used the song to end its 1980 Coverage of The NCAA Tournament, in which Louisville defeated UCLA 59-54.
Solo career
Over the next decade, Loggins recorded many hit songs for movie soundtracks. This began with "I'm Alright" (peaked at #7 in the U.S.), "Mr. Night" and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack. Hits followed with "Footloose" and "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" from Footloose, "Meet Me Halfway" from Over the Top, "Danger Zone" and "Playing With the Boys" from Top Gun. Loggins also performed "Nobody's Fool" from the unsuccessful movie Caddyshack II. He also performed as a member of USA for Africa on the famine-relief fundraising single "We Are the World".
In the 1990s, Loggins continued his album career, including the popular 1994 children's album Return to Pooh Corner, which included the title single, a reworking of "House at Pooh Corner" written for his newborn son Luke.
In 1991, Loggins recorded and produced Leap of Faith, which included the single "Conviction of the Heart." Former vice president Al Gore billed this song as "the unofficial anthem of the environmental movement." On Earth Day in 1995, Loggins performed at The National Mall in Washington, D.C. for a live audience of 500,000.
In 1997, Loggins released the album "The Unimaginable Life" based on his book which was co-written by Loggins's wife Julia. Tracks include "Now That I Know Love", "The Art of Letting Go" and "One Chance at a Time". The album was produced by Loggins and Randy Jackson, and with background vocals by Skyler Jett, Lamont VanHook and Howard Smith.
Recent years
In recent years Loggins has continued to record and produce within the Adult Contemporary genre and scored a No. 1 single on the Billboard AC chart in 1997 with "For The First Time" (the Oscar-nominated song from One Fine Day). His last movie song to date was The Tigger Movie song "Your Heart Will Lead You Home", which he co-wrote with Richard and Robert Sherman.
In 2005, Loggins reconnected with Messina. The two decided to hit the road again; the result was a successful nationwide tour that resulted in the CD and DVD Loggins and Messina Sittin' In Again.
After a gap of nearly four years, 2007 saw Loggins joined start-up label for the release of his How About Now album. It also saw him inducted into Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard RockWalk.
On July 31, 2008, Loggins appeared on the TV program Don't Forget the Lyrics! and performed "I'm Alright" and "Footloose".
Loggins is working on a third children's album for Disney that will tie to a new Tigger movie.
On November 16, 2008, Loggins sang the National Anthem before the Seattle Seahawks / Arizona Cardinals NFL football game at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington.
On January 16, 2009, Loggins was referenced, along with Jim Messina, on the TV show Psych in the episode "Lassie Did a Bad Bad Thing." In a recurring joke throughout the episode, his name was mentioned and people thought that it referred to him instead of a career criminal with the same name.
Personal
Loggins married in 1992 and the couple divorced in 2004. They had two children together. They also wrote a book called The Unimaginable Life which was made of letters the two had written to each other and helped many with their relationship.
Previously, Loggins had been married to Eva Ein (1978-1990) with whom he had three children. The oldest is named Crosby Loggins, who cut his first CD in 2007 entitled We All Go Home. In 2008, Crosby Loggins was voted the winner of the MTV reality show Rock the Cradle.
Loggins has a cousin, singer-songwriter Dave Loggins.
Discography
External links
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