The Majesty of Kenny Loggins

Remember "Pop-Up Video"? My wife and I were watching a mini-marathon over the weekend when Kenny Loggins and "Danger Zone" appeared. Vicki was beside herself - "Top Gun" was one of her favorite movies as a kid, the type of movie she could basically recite from memory if necessary. As she rocked out, I wondered if Loggins might be the lyrical answer to John Williams (without the awards and staying power, of course - other than that, they're practically twins). He had a good run there in the 1980s, picking up an Oscar nomination for the theme song to "Footloose" and contributing timeless tunes to the "Top Gun" and "Caddyshack" soundtracks.



He performed two songs on the "Top Gun" soundtrack but wasn't nominated for either, while Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" (music and lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock) won the award as the year's best song. Doesn't matter - the video for "Danger Zone" is still one of the best combinations of awesome (fighter jets are just plain cool) and awful (closeups of Kenny Loggins in aviator sunglasses are not) in music history.



As for the last of the Loggins Trio - there is no way you can listen to "I'm Alright" and not picture a dancing gopher. No way.