Kenny Loggins

2024 Recipient of the John Lennon Real Love Award

Kenny Loggins was born in Everett, Washington in 1948 and grew up listening to R&B greats like Fats Domino and Little Richard. When he saw Jerry Lee Lewis on American Bandstand playing the piano with his foot, Kenny thought “that is rock and roll.” He was so taken by the music that in the 4th grade he attempted to start his own band before he could even play an instrument. 

That would soon change.  

On guitar Kenny learned to play songs by Gordon Lightfoot, Ian & Sylvia, and, most notably, Bob Dylan. He started performing at local hootenannies and formed his own folk group, but something wasn’t quite clicking. As Kenny writes in his memoir, Still Alright, his “material was stuck in a genre that had lost its vibrancy” for him.  

What unstuck Kenny was the Beatles. 

On the evening of February 9, 1964, with 73 million other viewers, Kenny sat transfixed in front of his television  watching the Fab Four on the Ed Sullivan Show. Kenny recalls, “Like so many future rockers, the arc of my life dramatically changed over the course of that hour.” 

It wasn’t long before Kenny landed a job as a staff songwriter for ABC and four of his originals were covered by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. That brought him to the attention of former member of Poco and Buffalo Springfield, Jim Messina, who had just been hired as a producer at CBS Records. Messina’s intention was to produce Kenny’s debut album, but instead he ended up singing and playing on the record – and serendipitously one of the era’s most beloved musical duos was born. 

With six albums and a string memorable hits, including “Danny’s Song,” “House at Pooh Corner” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance,” Loggins and Messina was the hottest musical duo of the early 70s. But with Kenny’s musical focus shifting from country rock to R&B, Loggins and Messina spilt in 1976. 

Before the end of the decade Kenny’s solo career was in full swing with a string of hit singles, “Whenever I Call You Friend” with Stevie Nicks, “What A Fool Believes,” co-written with Michael McDonald, and “This Is It,” which earned him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. 

In the 80s Kenny recorded a series of classic songs for film soundtracks, including “I’m Alright” for Caddyshack, #1 smash “Footloose” and “Danger Zone” for Top Gun. In the early 90s, his song “Conviction of the Heart” was hailed as “the unofficial anthem of the environmental movement” by Al Gore. After  over 20 albums and over a half century on the road, Kenny concluded his final concert tour last year in November.  

Throughout his career Kenny has lent his time and talent to support youth-based programs and organizations, such as Toys For Tots, Make A Wish, the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, and WhyHunger’s Summer Meals Rock for Kids. Kenny was part of “We Are The World,” the legendary charity single by USA For Africa. Much more recently, Kenny wrote and recorded a theme song for the San Diego Zoo Kids Television Network, a channel featuring programs for medical facilities serving pediatric patients. 

Kenny once told an interviewer, “For those who have been graced with the kind of luck like I’ve received in my career, I have always believed that there is an obligation to give back.” 

For his songs that have left an indelible musical imprint of the soundtrack of our lives and for his longstanding generous support of countless local, national and international charities, Theatre Within is honored to present Kenny Loggins with the 2024 John Lennon Real Love Award.