To celebrate this week’s release of Top Gun: Maverick we revisit our recent TVD interview with Kenny Loggins. —Ed.
It’s an understatement to say that Kenny Loggins has achieved massive success in the entertainment industry. He’s been on the Billboard Top Ten charts over 20 times and sold over 25 million records. Many of the songs he’s created have become an important part of the musical fabric of a certain time and place in American history. All that aside, Kenny Loggins has had one of the most successful runs in history creating pop songs for film; so much so, that he’s known in the industry as “The Soundtrack King.”
Mr. Loggins celebrates his soundtrack kingdom by releasing a special vinyl compilation for 2021’s Record Store Day. The album will be called At the Movies and—believe it, or not—collects, for the first time ever, Loggins’ greatest soundtrack hits on vinyl, including “Footloose,” “Playing With The Boys” (Top Gun), “Danger Zone” (Top Gun), and “Nobody’s Fool (Theme From Caddyshack)” plus, it includes a newly recorded version of “Playing With The Boys.”
Kenny and I discuss the new release and his need to purchase a turntable—so he can hear it! But we go further: this industry legend gives valuable insight into how film music is different in today’s climate, he shares some stories about the ones that got away, and also describes the critical music magic that happened right in his own car.
These days, it’s hard to imagine the pre-internet impact and significance these blockbuster movies and songs had. While the films were all-encompassing cultural events, the soundtracks belonged to Kenny.
Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.
