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Kenny
Loggins and Jim Messina Reunite
By PAUL V. GRIFFITH
For The Associated Press
May 19, 2005
During the first half of the 1970s, Loggins & Messina were a constant presence on FM radio. With hits such as "Your Mama Don't Dance," "House at Pooh Corner" and "Danny's Song," the duo epitomized Southern California's soft-rock sound and paved the way for future mellow hit makers from Richard Marx to Kenny Chesney.
Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina parted ways in 1976, and both forged solo
careers -- Loggins scored mega-hits such as "Whenever I Call You
Friend" and "I'm Alright" (from the film "Caddyshack"),
while Messina reunited with Poco, the seminal country-rock band he helped
form in the late '60s.
Recently, Loggins & Messina have reunited for a forthcoming tour and
a greatest hits album. Titled "Sittin' In Again" (after the
duo's 1972 debut, "Sittin' In"), the new project has provided
an opportunity for the pair to renew their artistic and personal relationships.
"In the long run it was the friendship that brought us back together,"
says Loggins. "The reunion coincided with a divorce that I'd been
going through. Jimmy reached out to me as a friend and as someone who
had been through a
similar situation. The reunion is something to put my attention into that's
more lighthearted than the solo record I know I'll eventually have to
make."
Lightheartedness is front and center when the pair talks about their upcoming
tour, which will feature their classic hits as well as some solo material.
"When we first started this project we were thinking we should do
an album of new original material, but then we decided to grab the old
arrangements and just have some fun," Messina says. "If we get
inspired, we'll have plenty of time on the bus to write a new tune, but
this is about us getting reacquainted and playing our music that we've
created in the past."
After thirty years, little has changed musically for Loggins & Messina,
but maturity has brought fresh attitude to the pair, who were barely out
of their teens before becoming superstars.
"We were 21 when we started," recalls Loggins, "and there
are hazards to ascending to stardom that quickly -- it's got to effect
your ego. By the end we were getting too enmeshed; we needed a break."
"Kenny still likes to kick me in the butt," continues Messina,
"but we're adults now, and we're able to help each other a lot more.
We've learned how to work so that we don't step on each other's toes --
so far, at least, I've only lost one little toe."
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