Kenny Loggins - vocals, guitars, keyboards; Paulinho Da Costa - percussion; Nathan East - bass; Tim Pierce - guitar; Donna McDaniels - vocals; Jon Clarke - sax; Tris Imboden- drums; Steve Woods - keyboards, vocals
Kenny Loggins had established considerable distance between the success in his years with Jim Messina and his own solo superstardom by the time this show was recorded for the King Biscuit Flower Hour. When Loggins embarked on his 1985 Vox Humana tour, most people were now coming to his shows to hear his own hits and not the few big ones he had with Messina.
And there were plenty of those solo hits (many attached to popular film soundtracks at that time), all of which are featured in this solid performance. Among them are "This Is It," "Whenever I Call You Friend" (which had been released as a duet with Stevie Nicks), "What A Fool Believes," "Heart To Heart," "Forever," "I'm Alright," and "Footloose."
Shortly after the success of Vox Humana and this tour, Loggins' popularity began to level off. He has remained a solid and steady touring act, but it has been a while since a new recording became a hit single. Still, this show is proof positive of how bright his star shone in the late-1970s and 1980s. He first came to prominence in Loggins & Messina, which formed in 1971.
Loggins had been a staff writer at Liberty Records in Los Angeles, and when he and Messina met up, the highly successful partnership began. Messina had been a member of both Buffalo Springfield (with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furray) and Poco before becoming a record producer. The duo's first album, Sitting In… Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina, initially was a Loggins solo effort produced by Messina, but soon after, the duo became "Loggins & Messina." From the initial record, they scored two acoustic ballad hits with "Danny's Song" and "House At Pooh Corner."
By the time the second album came out, the two had become a bona fide duo, and shortly thereafter, enjoyed their first Top 10 hit with "Your Mama Don't Dance." A number of other hits followed over the next four years. In 1976, the duo decided to call it quits and pursue separate solo careers. Loggins, being the better of the two vocalists, had no problem making the transition to solo superstar. He had a number top hits, the most popular being the title song to the MTV-inspired teen drama, Footloose.
Although Loggins remains a solo act (recording and touring most years), he did take time in 2005 for a successful reunion with Messina, that resulted in a tour, live LP, and DVD.