Showing posts with label Kenny Loggins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenny Loggins. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2022

Yacht Rock: Top 100 Songs

Yacht Rock:

Top 100 Songs

“Yacht rock” is a somewhat loose term referring to the polished, adult-oriented, soft rock from the mid-‘70s through the early ‘80s. The term didn’t exist during that actual era, only coming about later as a derogatory term of the kind of smooth music one might stereotypically assume yuppie yacht owners are listening to while sailing. All Music Guide’s Matt Colier said the music tends to be catchy, focus more on melody than beat, and keeps the emotions light even if the sentiment turns sad. WK

30 lists were aggregated to create this list. All those songs which made 4 or more lists are included below.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

22 lists:

1. The Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes” (1978)
2. Kenny Loggins “This Is It” (1979)

21 lists:

3. Christopher Cross “Sailing” (1979)
4. Christopher Cross “Ride Like the Wind” (1979)

20 lists:

5. Player “Baby Come Back” (1977)
6. Seals & Croft “Summer Breeze” (1972)

19 lists:

7. Gerry Rafferty “Baker Street” (1978)

18 lists:

8. Rupert Holmes “Escape (The Pina Coloda Song)” (1979)
9. Toto “Rosanna” (1982)

17 lists:

10. Boz Scaggs “Lowdown” (1976)
11. Ambrosia “Biggest Part of Me” (1980)
12. Michael McDonald “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” (1982)
13. Steely Dan “Peg” (1977)

16 lists:

14. Toto “Africa” (1982)

15 lists:

15. England Dan & John Ford Coley “I'd Really Love to See You Tonight” (1976)
16. Looking Glass “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” (1972)
17. Steely Dan “Hey Nineteen” (1980)

14 lists:

18. Atlanta Rhythm Section “So Into You” (1977)
19. Robbie Dupree “Steal Away” (1980)

13 lists:

20. Little River Band “Reminiscing” (1978)
21. Ace “How Long” (1974)
22. Jay Ferguson “Thunder Island” (1977)
23. Bobby Caldwell “What You Won’t Do for Love” (1978)

12 lists:

24. Pablo Cruise “Love Will Find a Way” (1978)

11 lists:

25. Little River Band “Cool Change” (1979)
26. Daryl Hall & John Oates “Kiss on My List” (1980)
27. Eagles “I Can’t Tell You Why” (1979)

10 lists:

28. Bertie Higgins “Key Largo” (1981)
29. James Ingram & Michael McDonald “Yah Mo B There” (1983)
30. Starbuck “Moonlight Feels Right” (1976)

9 lists:

31. Lionel Richie “All Night Long (All Night)” (1983)
32. Fleetwood Mac “Dreams” (1977)
33. 10cc “I’m Not in Love” (1975)
34. Al Stewart “Year of the Cat” (1976)
35. Daryl Hall & John Oates “Sara Smile” (1975)
36. Orleans “Still the One” (1976)
37. Firefall “You Are the Woman” (1976)
38. Bob Welch “Sentimental Lady” (1977)
39. Paul Davis “Cool Night” (1981)
40. America “You Can Do Magic” (1982)

41. Kenny Loggins “Heart to Heart” (1982)
42. Boz Scaggs “Lido Shuffle” (1976)

8 lists:

43. Bill Withers & Grover Washington, Jr. “Just the Two of Us” (1981)
44. Daryl Hall & John Oates “Rich Girl” (1976)
45. Al Stewart “Time Passages” (1978)
46. Ambrosia “How Much I Feel” (1978)
47. Nicolette Larson “Lotta Love” (1978)
48. Steely Dan “FM (No Static at All)” (1978)
49. Steely Dan “Deacon Blues” (1977)
50. Orleans “Dance with Me” (1975)

51. Crosby, Stills & Nash “Southern Cross’ (1982)
52. Jackson Browne “Somebody’s Baby” (1982)
53. Michael McDonald “Sweet Freedom” (1986)

7 lists:

54. America “Ventura Highway” (19720
55. The Alan Parsons Project “Eye in the Sky” (1982)
56. Poco “Crazy Love” (1978)
57. Kenny Loggins with Stevie Nicks “Whenever I Call You Friend” (1978)
58. Chicago “Saturday in the Park” (1972)
60. The Doobie Brothers “Minute by Minute” (1978)

61. Dr. Hook “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman” (1978)
62. George Benson “Give Me the Night” (1980)
63. Ambrosia “You’re the Only Woman” (1980)
64. Climax Blues Band “Couldn’t Get It Right” (1976)
65. George Benson “Breezin’” (1976)
66. The Sanford/Townsend Band “Smoke from a Distant Fire” (1977)

6 lists:

67. Olivia Newton-John “Magic” (1980)
68. Christopher Cross “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” (1981)
69. Fleetwood Mac “You Make Loving Fun” (1977)
70. Air Supply “Lost in Love” (1980)

71. Earth, Wind & Fire “After the Love Has Gone” (1979)
72. Michael Jackson “Human Nature” (1982)
73. Gerry Rafferty “Right Down the Line” (1978)
74. Gino Vannelli “I Just Wanna Stop” (1978)
75. Steely Dan “Do It Again” (1972)
76. Blues Image “Ride Captain Ride” (1970)
77. Donald Fagen “I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)” (1982)
78. Chuck Mangione “Feels So Good” (1978)
79. Seals & Croft “Diamond Girl” (1973)
80. Al Jarreau “Mornin’” (1983)

5 lists:

81. America “A Horse with No Name” (1971)
82. Daryl Hall & John Oates “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” (1981)
83. Exile “Kiss You All Over” (1978)
84. Todd Rundgren “I Saw the Light” (1972)
85. Elvis Bishop “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” (1976)
86. Bread “Make It with You” (1970)
87. Dave Mason “We Just Disagree” (1977)
88. Bill Withers “Lovely Day” (1977)
89. Dr. Hook “Sexy Eyes’ (1979)
90. Paul Davis “I Go Crazy” (1977)

91. Firefall “Just Remember I Love You” (1977)
92. Walter Egan “Magnet and Steel” (1978)
93. Christopher Cross “All Right” (1983)
94. Pablo Cruise “Whatcha Gonna Do?” (1977)
95. Andrew Gold “Lonely Boy” (1977)
96. Boz Scaggs “JoJo” (1980)
97. Steely Dan “Dirty Work” (1972)
98. The Beach Boys “Sail on Sailor” (1973)

4 lists:

99. Smokey Robinson “Being with You” (1981)
100. Gary Wright “Dream Weaver” (1975)

101. America “Sister Golden Hair” (1975)
102. Herb Alpert “Rise” (1979)
103. Billy Ocean “Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)” (1984)
104. Toto “Hold the Line” (1978)
105. Benny Mardones “Into the Night” (1980)
106. Gino Vannelli “Living Inside Myself” (1981)
107. George Benson “Turn Your Love Around” (1981)
108. Bread “Baby I’m A Want You” (1971)
109. The Doobie Brothers “It Keeps You Runnin’” (1976)
110. Christopher Cross “Never Be the Same” (1979)

111. Carly Simon “You Belong to Me” (1978)
112. Michael McDonald “I Gotta Try” (1982)
113. Herb Alpert “Route 101” (1982)

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First posted 12/5/2022.

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Monday, January 31, 2022

Aural Fixation: National Recording Registry - Kenny Loggins' "Footloose"

Aural Fixation:

National Recording Registry - “Footloose”

“Aural Fixation” is a music-themed column I wrote for PopMatters.com from 2011-2013. They are no longer online there, but I have reformatted them here at the DMDB blog with additional videos, photos, and links, such as where to buy referenced albums. I have also used the title “Aural Fixation” for any essays I have written outside of PopMatters.com as well. To see the essays, check out the Dave’s Music Database Aural Fixation page.

The essays from PopMatters.com have been gathered in book form as Aural Fixation: Essays from a Music Obsessive. Essays written from 2009 to 2011 have been gathered in the book No One Needs 21 Versions of “Purple Haze”. You can purchase the essays in book format here.

At the request of the Library of Congress, I wrote this piece in 2022 about Kenny Loggins’ song “Footloose,” a 2017 inductee into the National Recording Registry You can read the original here or read it below.

The Movie:

Kevin Bacon bounds into the prom in the closing scene of “Footloose” with his rouse-the troops proclamation “I thought this was a party! Let’s dance!” Audiences heeded the celebratory cry and the movie danced its way to the top of the box office for three weeks in early 1984. It raked in $80 million domestically, ranking #6 for the year. 1

Thematically, the movie traversed in the classic trope of puritanical adults bent on rescuing misguided, rebellious teens from their delinquent proclivities. When outsider Ren (Bacon) comes to town, he’s stunned by the antiquated no-dancing-allowed law and becomes a rebel with a cause. His effort to fight the system puts him at odds with the town council and local preacher (John Lithgow).

It may sound like a plot set in the emergence of rock-n-roll in the 1950s, but the seemingly eyerolling fiction was based on real events in the present day. In 1981, the high school junior class in the Oklahoma town of Elmore City petitioned to overturn an 1898 law outlawing dancing so they could hold a prom. Reverend F.R. Johnson, from the nearby town of Hennepin, declared, “No good has ever come from a dance… When boys and girls hold each other they get sexually aroused.” 2

Dean Pitchford turned it into a movie. He’d never penned a screenplay before but was no novice to songwriting. He won an Academy Award as the lyricist for the title song to the 1980 film Fame. Irene Cara turned it into a top-five hit. Pitchford would also co-write the nine songs which comprised the Footloose soundtrack.

The Soundtrack:

Nineteen eight-four was one of the most important years in the history of pop music. Michael Jackson’s Thriller wrapped up a record-breaking run of seven top-ten hits. Bruce Springsteen unleashed his own blockbuster with Born in the U.S.A., eventually matching Thriller’s enviable count. Prince, Madonna, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and Huey Lewis & the News all similarly milked albums for multiple top tens in 1984.

Only five titles topped the Billboard 200 album chart that year. In addition to Thriller and Born in the U.S.A., Prince reached the summit with his Purple Rain soundtrack and Huey Lewis & the News achieved the feat with their Sports album. The only other chart-topper that year was the Footloose soundtrack, which logged ten weeks at #1.

With sales certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for nine million, Footloose ranks as one of the ten best-selling soundtracks of all time. 3 In 2007, The National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed the soundtrack among their “Definitive 200” list of albums. Dave’s Music Database ranked the album as one of the top 100 soundtracks of all time and one of the top 100 albums of the 1980s. Like its peers, the album sent a slew of ditties into the upper echelons of the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Six of the nine songs charted, most notably the Mike Reno and Ann Wilson ballad “Almost Paradise” (#7) and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” by Deniece Williams (#1).

The Song:

Of course, the most memorable cut was the title song, co-written and performed by Kenny Loggins. Released as the first single, the toe-tapping “Footloose” ousted Van Halen’s “Jump” (itself fueled by a can’t-sit-still manic energy) from the pinnacle the week of March 31. The call-to-dance anthem ranked #4 for the year. 4

It was the biggest hit of Loggins’ career, but it wasn’t his first venture into top-ten territory. He’d reached #4 with the 1972 Loggins & Messina song “Your Mama Don’t Dance” and hit #5 in 1978 with “Whenever I Call You Friend,” a duet with Stevie Nicks. In 1980, Loggins proved his talents could translate to the movies when “I’m Alright,” from “Caddyshack,” got to #7.

However, being part of 1984’s cream of the crop isn’t an automatic pass into the National Recording Registry. Take a gander at the top 10 songs of 1984: 4

  1. Prince, “When Doves Cry”
  2. Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”
  3. Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson, “Say, Say, Say”
  4. Kenny Loggins, “Footloose”
  5. Phil Collins, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”
  6. Van Halen, “Jump”
  7. Lionel Richie, “Hello”
  8. Yes, “Owner of a Lonely Heart”
  9. Ray Parker, Jr., “Ghostbusters”
  10. Culture Club, “Karma Chameleon”
Other than Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” only Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” both as part of their respective albums, have been inducted into the National Recording Registry. None of the other songs have been inducted as parts of albums or as individual songs. In fact (as of this writing), only six songs from the entire decade have been inducted (not including those as parts of albums). What makes “Footloose” so special?

The American Film Institute named it one of the top 100 movie songs. Dave’s Music Database also ranks it in its top 100 movie list, as well as lists for party songs and mainstream rock tracks. It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Often the tunes that capture collective hearts and souls are those that elicit the listener to bump and grind, whether it be in the bedroom or on the dance floor. In the movie “Footloose,” music serves as a clarion call for the youthful spirit to kick back against the stodgy powers-that-be who would dare to squelch that need to groove, clothed or otherwise.

However, the lyrics and mood of the song “Footloose” don’t sound the alarm to unite in extending middle fingers to some oppressive authority. They don’t incite rebellion or have any political motivation. Like Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration,” one of the other National Recording Registry inductees from the ‘80s, the song is simply about having a good time and partying the night away. Like Bill Haley & the Comets’ “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock,” Chubby Checker’s “The Twist,” and Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” (all National Recording Registry inductees) it comes down to Ren’s immortal words at the closing of “Footloose”: “Let’s dance!”

Dave Whitaker has authored more than 20 books including “Music of the 1980s” and “The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999.” His website, DavesMusicDatabase.com is devoted to ranking, rating, and reviewing music of all genres and eras. It has more than two million visits while his Dave’s Music Database podcast, available on Spotify, has reached listeners in over 50 countries.

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First posted 1/31/2022; updated 10/28/2023.

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Saturday, July 26, 1986

Top Gun soundtrack hit #1

Top Gun (soundtrack)

Various artists

Released: May 20, 1986

Peak: 15 US, 4 UK, 2 CN, 3 AU

Sales (in millions): 10.3 US, 0.6 UK, 19.9 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: pop

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.

  1. Danger Zone (KENNY LOGGINS) (4/24/86, 2 BB, 4 CB, 3 GR, 3 RR, 7 AR, 45 UK, 7 CN, 14 AU, 19 DF)
  2. Mighty Wings (CHEAP TRICK) (32 DF)
  3. Playing with the Boys (KENNY LOGGINS) (8/16/86, 60 BB, 35 DF)
  4. Lead Me On (TEENA MARIE)
  5. Take My Breath Away (BERLIN) (6/15/86, 1 BB, 1 CB, 5 GR, 2 RR, 3 AC, 1 CO, 1 UK, 2 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF)
  6. Hot Summer Nights (MIAMI SOUND MACHINE)
  7. Heaven in Your Eyes (LOVERBOY) (7/17/86, 12 BB, 10 CB, 5 GR, 8 RR, 24 CN, 25 DF)
  8. Through the Fire (LARRY GREENE)
  9. Destination Unknown (MARIETTA)
  10. Top Gun Anthem (HAROLD FALTERMEYER/ STEVE STEVENS)

Total Running Time: 38:38

Rating:

4.172 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Quotable:

-- “A quintessential artifact of the mid-‘80s.” – Chuck Donkers, AllMusic.com

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

Top Gun was “one of the most influential movies of the 1980s.” AZ It was “a highly macho film about wannabe fighter pilots.” AB Its “military posturing and gung-ho heroics blazed a trail through cinemas around the world…snaring the public’s imagination, particularly in America, where the air of invincibility and stunning aerial photography meant the movie pretty much became a two-hour recruiting vehicle for the US Air Force.” AB

It propelled Tom Cruise to superstar status, and jetted director Tony…Scott’s career into the stratosphere.” AZ Tim Robbins and Meg Ryans received big career boosts as well. AB

It also allowed producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer to perfect their multiplex-friendly blockbuster formula of join-the-dots plot, MTV-inspired visuals and rapid-fire action.” AZ However, the music may have become bigger than the movie. The soundtrack “remains a quintessential artifact of the mid-‘80s.” AM

While the movie has no tie to 1984’s Footloose it’s hard for the Top Gun soundtrack not to feel like a sequel to Footloose’s. Both led off with Kenny Loggins’ smashes; his “Footloose” went to #1 on the pop charts while Top Gun’s Danger Zone got to the runner-up spot. Both soundtracks featured multiple follow-up hits, including a second Kenny Loggins’ hit from each soundtrack, although Playing with the Boys stalled at a much less impressive #60, compared to the #22 peak of Footloose’s “I’m Free.”

As if those parallels weren’t enough, each soundtrack featured a #1 hit with a female-led vocal – Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” from Footloose and Berlin’s Take My Breath Away from Top Gun. The latter serves as “the centerpiece of the film” AB and the “ninth best-selling single in British chart history.” AB It also won an Oscar for Best Song.

Both soundtracks also featured a power ballad with Mike Reno on vocals (the #7 “Almost Paradise” duet with Ann Wilson from Footloose) and his band Loverboy on Top Gun’s #12 Heaven in Your Eyes.

Both soundtracks flirted with the 10 million mark for U.S. sales and 20 million worldwide. Ultimately, you have two soundtracks cut from the same cloth that “define the bombastic, melodramatic sound that dominated the pop charts of the era.” AM

One of the specific players who made Top Gun huge was Giorgio Moroder, who co-wrote “Take My Breath Away” and “Danger Zone,” after previously writing Blondie’s #1 hit “Call Me” for 1980’s American Gigolo and scoring 1978’s Midnight Express.

Harold Faltermeyer, “the man behind ‘The Heat Is On’ from Simpson and Bruckheimer’s previous box-office bonanza, [1984’s] Beverly Hills Cop,” AZ turns in “the electro-instrumental Top Gun Anthem.” AZ It won a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Then there’s the presence of “up-beat, energetic American AOR stadium pop-rock by bands like Cheap Trick and [the aforementioned] Loverboy, huge names at the time of the film’s release.” AZ “All in all, a landmark soundtrack.” AZ

There were a few notable songs that didn’t get included in the soundtrack or movie. The Cars’ “Stranger Eyes” was used in an early trailer for the movie and Bryan Adams was contacted about the use of his song “Only the Strong Survive.” He said no because he thought the film glorified war. AB

Resources:

First posted 1/31/2009; last updated 12/7/2024.

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Saturday, April 21, 1984

The Footloose soundtrack began a 10-week run at #1

Footloose (soundtrack)

Various Artists

Released: January 31, 1984

Peak: 110 US, 7 UK, 19 CN, 2 AU

Sales (in millions): 9.0 US, -- UK, 16.9 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: pop rock

Tracks:

Song Title (PERFORMER) (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Footloose (KENNY LOGGINS) (Dean Pitchford, Kenny Loggins) [3:46] (1/28/84, 1 US, 2 AR, 6 UK, sales: 1 million, airplay: 1 million)
  2. Let’s Hear It for the Boy (DENIECE WILLIAMS) (Pitchford, Tom Snow) [4:20] (4/7/84, 1 US, 1 RB, 3 AC, 2 UK, sales: 1 million, airplay: 2 million)
  3. Almost Paradise (ANN WILSON & MIKE RENO) (Pitchford, Eric Carmen) [3:50] (5/12/84, 7 US, 1 AC, airplay: 2 million)
  4. Holding Out for a Hero (BONNIE TYLER) (Pitchford, Jim Steinman) [5:50] (2/25/84, 34 US, 2 UK)
  5. Dancing in the Sheets (SHALAMAR) (Pitchford, Bill Wolfer) [4:03] (2/25/84, 17 US, 18 RB, 41 UK)
  6. I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man) (KENNY LOGGINS) (Pitchford, Loggins) [3:46] (5/5/84, 22 US, 42 AR)
  7. Somebody’s Eyes (KARLA BONOFF) (Pitchford, Snow) [3:33] (8/4/84, 16 AC)
  8. The Girl Gets Around (SAMMY HAGAR) (Pitchford, Hagar) [3:22]
  9. Never (MOVING PICTURES) (Pitchford, Michael Gore) [3:45]

Total Running Time: 36:25

Rating:

4.204 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Quotable: “A light, entertaining listen. Sometimes, that can be better than something substantial” – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“Footloose was a throwback to ‘50s rock & roll movies, with a silly plot about a town where it was illegal to dance.” AMG When outsider Ren (Bacon) comes to town, he’s stunned by the antiquated no-dancing-allowed law and becomes a rebel with a cause. His effort to fight the system puts him at odds with the town council and local preacher (John Lithgow).

Surprisingly, it was based on real events in the present day. In 1981, the high school junior class in the Oklahoma town of Elmore City petitioned to overturn an 1898 law outlawing dancing so they could hold a prom. Reverend F.R. Johnson, from the nearby town of Hennepin, declared,“No good has ever come from a dance... When boys and girls hold each other they get sexually aroused.” 405

The idea to turn it into a movie came from Dean Pitchford, a songwriter who worked on Fame with Michael Gore in 1980. As the lyricist for the title song, Pitchford won an Academy Award for the title song, a top-five hit for Irene Cara. Pitchford, a novice to screenwriting, turned to Craig Brewer to craft Footloose into a movie. It ended up topping the box office for three weeks in early 1984. It went on to rake in $80 million domestically and ranked #6 for the year. BO

The album was one of only five to top the Billboard 200 in 1984, along with Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Prince’s Purple Rain, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., and Huey Lewis & the News’ Sports. It went on to be one of the top-ten best-selling soundtracks of all time. MF “It’s easy to see why – the album delivers its mainstream pop, anthemic rock, and light dance-pop with style and an abundance of hooks.” AMG

The toe-tapping, call-to-dance title cut ousted Van Halen’s “Jump” (also propelled by a can’t-sit-still manic energy) from the top of the Billboard Hot 100 the week of March 31. It ended up ranked #4 for the year. BB It was the biggest hit of Loggins’ career, but it wasn’t his first trip to the top 10. He’d reached #4 with the 1972 Loggins & Messina song “Your Mama Don’t Dance” and hit #5 in 1978 with “Whenever I Call You Friend,” a duet with Stevie Nicks. In 1980, Loggins proved his hit-making talents could translate to the movies when “I’m Alright,” from Caddyshack, got to #7.

The “frothy, charming Let’s Hear It for the Boy” AMG was released as the next single and also found itself reaching the pole position on the Billboard pop charts. Like Loggins, Deniece Williams had previously reached the top-10 previously. “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle” peaked at #10 in 1982.

The album generated a third top-10 hit with “the excellent power ballad Almost Paradise.” AMG Once again, the song was given a huge bump because of the proven hit-makers on vocals. Mike Reno had racked up five top-40 hits as the lead singer of Loverboy while Ann Wilson had reached the top-40 nine times with Heart, including the top 10 hits “Magic Man” and “Tell It Like It Is.”

While some soundtracks were cobbled together from leftovers by big-name artists alongside a few songs written with the movie in mind, Footloose broke the mold. It did still follow the template of lining up as many A-listers as possible, but the songs bore the distinction of all being co-written by Pitchford. By the time Footlose completed its chart dominance, seven of its nine songs had charted with six of them reaching the top 40.

“The sound and production of Footloose has dated badly – there is a reliance on synthesizers and drum machines that instantly announces that the record was made in 1984 – but that isn’t necessarily a weakness. Not only does it function as a time capsule of a certain moment in pop music history, but many of the songs are catchy enough to transcend their production. There’s nothing of substance on the Footloose soundtrack, but it’s a light, entertaining listen. Sometimes, that can be better than something substantial.” AMG

Notes: An expanded edition of the soundtrack added Quiet Riot’s “Bang Your Head (Metal Health),” John Cougar “Hurts So Good,” and Foreigner “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” all of which were hits prior to the soundtrack. The expanded version also includes another version of “Dancing in the Sheets.”

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First posted 12/25/2008; last updated 1/25/2022.

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Saturday, March 31, 1984

Kenny Loggins hit #1 with “Footloose”

Footloose

Kenny Loggins

Writer(s): Kenny Loggins, Dean Pitchford (see lyrics here)

Released: January 11, 1984

First Charted: January 28, 1984

Peak: 13 US, 13 CB, 13 RR, 2 AR, 6 UK, 11 CN, 13 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.0 UK, 2.0 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 44.8 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

1984 was a good year for movie songs. Prince hit #1 with “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy,” Phil Collins with “Against All Odds,” Ray Parker Jr. with “Ghostbusters,” and Stevie Wonder “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” The latter three, along with with Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” and Kenny Loggins title song from Footloose, were nominated for Oscars for Best Song. It was the first time all five nominees had hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. FB

Dean Pitchford, the screenwriter for Footloose, was a co-writer on the title song, as he had been on 1980’s “Fame,” an Oscar-winning song from the movie of the same name. He had also worked with Loggins before on his 1982 top-20 hit “Don’t Fight It” and knew he wanted him on “Footloose.” He told Dick Clark, “It felt to me like he was the voice of the country.” FB Loggins also had experience with a hit song (“I’m Alright”) from a hit movie (Caddyshack).

Pitchford had never penned a screenplay, but was inspired by a real-life event. In 1981, the high school junior class in the Oklahoma town of Elmore City petitioned to overturn an 1898 law outlawing dancing so they could hold a prom. Reverend F.R. Johnson, from the nearby town of Hennepin, declared,“No good has ever come from a dance... When boys and girls hold each other they get sexually aroused.” 405

Pitchford said Loggins “persevered with me through script after script after script…He was very much around when the whole thing was coming together.” FB The pair wrote the song over four days while Loggins was suffering a rib injury and Pitchford from strep throat. They knew they had a hit when they saw audiences at Loggins’ concerts respond to the song before the movie had even been released. FB

Pitchford co-wrote all the songs on the soundtrack – six of which charted. In addition to the #1 hits “Footloose” and “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” the soundtrack churned out top-40 hits with another Kenny Loggins’ song (“I’m Free”) as well as tunes by Shalamar (“Dancing in the Sheets”), Mike Reno and Ann Wilson (“Almost Paradise”), and Bonnie Tyler (“Holding Out for a Hero”).

In the context of the movie, the music serves as a clarion call for the youthful spirit to kick back against the stodgy powers-that-be who would dare to squelch that need to groove, clothed or otherwise. However, the lyrics and mood of the song “Footloose” don’t sound the alarm to unite in extending middle fingers to some oppressive authority. They don’t incite rebellion or have any political motivation. The song is simply about having a good time and partying the night away. It comes down to Kevin Bacon’s character Ren’s immortal words at the closing of Footloose: “Let’s dance!”

Resources:

First posted 1/28/2021; last updated 1/24/2022.

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Saturday, April 14, 1979

Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes” hit #1

What a Fool Believes

The Doobie Brothers

Writer(s): Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald (see lyrics here)

First Charted: January 20, 1979

Peak: 11 US, 12 CB, 12 GR, 113 RR, 22 AC, 1 CL, 31 UK, 11 CN, 12 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 64.23 video, 200.73 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

The Doobie Brothers formed in 1970 in San Jose, California. From 1971 to 1975, they released five albums with Tom Johnston as the lead singer. Three of the albums reached the top 10 and three achieved platinum status. However, with Johnston facing health problems, the band brought in Michael McDonald as the new lead singer. He’d worked together with guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter as a session musician with Steely Dan.

McDonald “had serious piano chops and a big, burly voice.” SG He brought a “slicker R&B” FB which made for a “fusion of pillowy LA soft-rock and studio-slick blue-eyed soul.” SG The 1976 album Takin’ It to the Streets suggested the new sound didn’t alienate fans. It was another top-10, platinum seller which produced two top-40 hits. The next album, Livin’ on the Fault Line, reached the top 10, but failed to generate any top-40 hits. It looked like the band might have peaked.

However, their 1978 album Minute by Minute was a triple-platinum, chart-topping success thanks largely to the success of the #1 hit “What a Fool Believes.” Not only was it “stylistically unlike any song the Doobie Brothers had done before,” WK it was also one of the few non-disco songs to reach the pinnacle of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. WK It is now “considered a foundational yacht rock classic,” SG although that wasn’t a genre tag until decades later.

The song tells the story “of a many who is reunited with an old love interest and attempts to rekindle a romantic relationship with her before discovering that one never really existed.” WK McDonald had started the song, but didn’t finish it until getting together with Kenny Loggins. The two had never met before, but Loggins wanted to work with McDonald. When Loggins heard the unfinished song at McDonald’s house, he knew where it should go and the pair finished the lyrics over the phone that night. SG

Loggins released the song on his second solo album, 1978’s Nightwatch. Loggins had previously recorded with Jim Messina as a duo. They got to #4 in 1972 with “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” As a solo artist, he had more than a dozen top-40 hits, including “Whenever I Call You Friend” (#5, 1978), also from Nightwatch, and “This Is It,” a #11 hit from 1979 which was also co-written by McDonald and Loggins.

Resources:

  • DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Doobie Brothers
  • DMDB encyclopedia entry for Kenny Loggins
  • FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 500.
  • SG Stereogum (1/27/2020). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan
  • WK Wikipedia

First posted 12/6/2022.

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