Log Jam: Kenny Loggins is Alright

The Log will roll into town for a show at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts at Ole Miss on Thursday, October 30 at 7 p.m.

That’s Kenny Loggins. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks, and in the meantime, I’ve mentioned to many folks that the show is coming up. I’ve discovered that because there are many layers to the Log and phases of his career (or, if you will, many circles within the Log), each person immediately thinks of a certain song or image.
Some go first to his first rumblings in the early ’70s with Jim Messina such as “House at Pooh Corner” and “Danny’s Song” (none mention my favorite, “Angry Eyes”). Others light up as they cite “Footloose” and “Danger Zone” from the early ’80s when he was king of the killer soundtracks (I have to remind them of his greatest cut of that zone, “I’m Alright” from Caddyshack). Some first remember his big hits between those eras, such as his duet with Melissa Manchester “Whenever I Call You Friend.” And none make reference to the Log having co-written some major cuts, such as “What a Fool Believes” with Michael McDonald for the Doobie Brothers and “This Is It” which the pair wrote and Kenny had a hit with. He’s been going strong ever since, and has a lot of material to share at the Ford Center.

Maybe you’re one of those who doesn’t care for that kind of stuff such as the Log, the Doobies, and other “soft rock.” That’s cool. I’m sure Slayer will come around sometime soon and you can feel super tough. But for now, for Thursday, October 30, I’ll enjoy the Log.
Then again, I wear a belt buckle featuring all the characters from Pooh Corner every day that I got in 1975 when I was three years old, and I write songs on an acoustic guitar, and cats like the Log are to thank, or blame.
See you at the Ford Center.
— Tad Wilkes, tad.wilkes@hottytoddy.com
Tad Wilkes is a songwriter performing for years under the name Moon Pie Curtis. Catch him with his full band Moon Pie Curtis & The Fixins tonight (October 24) at the Blind Pig and at Proud Larry’s Halloween Bash (October 31) opening for the Kudzu Kings.