Interview: Kenny Loggins

By any measure, Kenny Loggins has had an amazing career in music. Early success came from his partnership with Jim Messina as the duo Loggins & Messina, which gave us songs including “Danny’s Song”, “House at Pooh Corner”, and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”.

Loggins went on to become the King of the Movie Soundtrack with songs like “I’m Alright” (from Caddyshack), “Footloose” (from Footloose), “Danger Zone” (from Top Gun), “Meet Me Half Way” (from Over the Top), and “Nobody’s Fool” (from Caddyshack II). He also co-wrote the hits “This Is It” and “What a Fool Believes” with Michael McDonald, and had other hits including “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend'” with Stevie Nicks and “Don’t Fight It” with Steve Perry.

This interview was for a preview article for a concert by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald on 1/18/15 at SOhO in Santa Barbara. It was done by email, with answers received on 1/13/15.

Interview: Jim Messina

Jim Messina is best known for the duo Loggins & Messina, which gave us songs like “Danny’s Song”, “House at Pooh Corner”, and “Your Mama Don’t Dance”. But by the time he and Kenny Loggins got together, he had already acquired quite an impressive musical resume, including the following highlights. He was the recording engineer for the album Buffalo Springfield Again, which ultimately led to him joining the band and producing their final album Last Time Around. Then, with Richie Furay from Buffalo Springfield, he co-founded the seminal country-rock band Poco, whose classic first albums he also produced. Next up was Loggins & Messina, which has been described as the most successful pop/rock duo in the first half of the 1970’s.

This interview was for a preview article for his 2/15/14 concert with Richie Furay at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara. It was done by phone on 2/7/14.