Kenny Loggins

Kenny Loggins

THE GRAND POOH-BARD

Kenny Loggins Returns to the Spotlight with Two Wildly Popular Children's Recordings
Way back in 1970, Kenny Loggins recorded with soon-to-be partner Jim Messina a sweet little A. A. Milne-inspired ditty he'd written in high school, called "House at Pooh Corner." It appeared on his debut album, Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina: Sittin' In and became a hit for Loggins & Messina, who continued their good-time rock-'n'-roll partnership through the '70s. In the ensuing decades, the song achieved classic kids'-song status and was covered on many children's recordings. Seven years ago, Loggins -- who'd been enjoying a successful pop career as a solo artist -- released his first family album, Return to Pooh Corner, which has almost reached the double-platinum mark (two million copies sold). Loggins's latest family recording is More Songs from Pooh Corner; he was also tapped to contribute to the soundtrack of Disney's The Tigger Movie. Both More Songs and the Tigger soundtrack feature his latest ballad "Your Heart Will Lead You Home." Barnes & Noble.com's Moira McCormick talked to Loggins about his family albums.

Barnes & Noble.com: What got you into doing children's albums in the first place?

Kenny Loggins: When my wife Julie was pregnant with our fourth child, Luke [now 7], I got the idea to write a new third verse to "House at Pooh Corner." I thought, This looks like the beginning of a kids' album. Pooh is loved by so many kids. And I'd sung so many lullabies over the years, I already had a collection of songs that I love, which would make a cohesive kids' album. After I recorded Return to Pooh Corner, I had half a dozen leftover songs, so there was the possibility of a sequel.

B&N.com: When did you decide to record the sequel?

KL: We were about to have our fifth child, Hana Aluna [for whom he wrote an eponymous song on More Songs from Pooh Corner], who's now two and a half. We had to have a new record, to save our sanity [laughs]. We couldn't stand the thought of listening to "House at Pooh Corner" over and over again.

B&N.com: How did you begin putting this album together?

KL: I started collecting songs. "Your Heart Will Lead You Home" I wrote for The Tigger Movie, and I included it on the album. I pulled "They Live in You" from the Broadway version of The Lion King. Phil Collins's "You'll Be in My Heart" was a late add. After I saw the Tarzan movie, I knew it was perfect, and stopped the presses, so to speak. "Always, in All Ways" I wrote with [film composer] Mark Mancina; it's for my oldest daughter, as she was packing to leave [for college.] We have in our house what Julie calls "all seasons at once" -- from a two-year-old to a 19-year-old, and all the ages in between. And the record's richer for it. The decisions you make for your seven-year-old are drawn from things you screwed up on with the 19-year-old; you realize this doesn't last forever.

B&N.com: How about some of the other selections on the album?

KL: "Flying Dreams," from Disney's The Secret of NIMH, is a new one for me, even though I've been sitting on it in my brain since Crosby, my 19-year old, was two. "That'll Do" is Randy Newman's song from {|Babe: Pig in the City|}, and it's a great tune. "Beauty and the Beast" was something I sang to my kids; "Baby Mine," from Dumbo, wasn't, but could have been. "Inchworm," from Danny Kaye's Hans Christian Andersen, was a song I grew up with; it was always haunting to me. "Hana Aluna" I wrote with Barry Flanagan of the Hawaiian duo Hapa; when I heard Barry's Hawaiian lyrics, I thought it was the perfect song for a girl with a Hawaiian name. I used Barry's melody and wrote English lyrics. "Goodnight," from the Beatles' White Album, was something I sang to my daughter Bella [now 12] when she was a baby. I tried to make a record that has emotional impact for parents, that they can listen to now with their children, and that years from now will still hold meaning for them.

B&N.com: What was it like working with the Sherman Brothers, with whom you composed "Your Heart Will Lead You Home"? They've composed some classic movie musicals, in particular Mary Poppins.

KL: It was fun writing with them -- they're amazingly quick. Robert Sherman is 80, and Richard is 79; Robert's an amazing lyricist, and Richard is really fast melodically. It's funny -- I'm 52, and I'd been thinking about retiring. But Richard said to me, "You know, kid, you got talent." I'm sure he said that to encourage me to hang in there. I asked Robert if he'd ever thought of retiring, and he said, "What, and miss getting a rush like this?" It's great to see your role models still working and still loving it.

B&N.com: Will you be going on the road to perform More Songs from Pooh Corner?

KL: I'm not touring this year -- I'm mostly taking the year off, though I'm doing some corporate shows. I will be taking my family to Hawaii for a month -- I'm trying to talk my teenage boys into coming along.
July 18. 2000

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