Photo by Stephen Morales
Editor’s note: Tickets for Kenny Loggins’ June 9 at 8 p.m. concert at the Carson Valley Inn went on sale on Wednesday, April 12. They are available at the Carson Valley Inn or online.
Four decades into a storied career, singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins remains footloose and fancy-free.
“I feel very lucky that this is the way I make my living, and not a lot of people can say that,” Loggins notes on his website. “I’ve been lucky that I love what I do and get to keep doing it.”
The two-time Grammy Award winner will bring his cache of tunes to TJ’s Corral at the Carson Valley Inn on Friday, June 9. In 1979, he co-wrote “What A Fool Believes” with former Doobie Brothers singer Michael McDonald, along with “This Is It” (also with McDonald) the following year. Both songs earned Grammys.
McDonald also will appear in this year’s summer concert series at Carson Valley Inn, on Friday, Aug. 18.
Kenny Loggins’ latest creative effort is a children’s book, “Footloose,” inspired by the birth of his first grandchild and rewritten from his 1984 hit from the movie soundtrack. This time, though, zoo animals are the ones who break out and dance.
Loggins’ first work came as a songwriter. He penned “House at Pooh Corner” for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, one of several songs he wrote for the group’s 1970 album “Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy.”
Soon after, he hooked up with Jim Messina of Poco and Buffalo Springfield fame. The country-rock duo Loggins and Messina was born, and the two produced a studio album each year from 1971 to 1976 before Loggins embarked on a solo career.
The 1980s brought a new title for Loggins, now 69. He was tagged “King of the Movie Soundtrack,” writing “I’m Alright” for the cult classic “Caddyshack,” along with the blockbuster “Footloose.”
“I had a little up-tempo thing I’d been messing with that I probably wouldn’t have written if it hadn’t been for the movie,” Loggins says. He also scored the soundtrack for Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun,” including the songs “Playing With the Boys,” and “Danger Zone.”
With 12 platinum albums to his credit, Loggins continued to tour throughout his career and also performed for environmental causes. He reconnected with Messina for tours in 2005 and again in 2009. Since 2010, he has been onstage with the country trio Blue Sky Riders, which includes Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman.
Other shows announced for the summer concert series at TJ’s Corral: Wynnona and the Big Noise on Saturday, April 29; Lee Brice on Saturday, May 20,; Aaron Watson and Clare Dunn on Friday, June 16; the Spinners on Saturday, July 8; The Marshall Tucker Band on Friday, July 28, and Michael McDonald on Friday, Aug. 18.
Check out all that’s happening at the Carson Valley Inn at its weekly blog on Wednesdays.
-Randy Hashagen
