The 1980s was no throwaway era in cinema. The horror genre was at its more terrifying high point, as audiences got their frights from werewolves, zombies, aliens and any creep or creature that could ruin your day. At the action end of town, muscles were king. The Brat Pack was in its full swing. And all the big Hollywood hits, it seemed, were soundtracked by Kenny Loggins.
The American singer and songwriter was ’80s cinema’s go-to guy, nailing the theme songs to Footloose, Top Gun, Caddy Shack, and more.
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On Wednesday night, June 10, Loggins stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to re-live some of those golden numbers from the Silver Screen, with a difference. Loggins, Fallon and the late-night show’s house band the Roots performed a medley on classroom instruments, with a little help from from Kevin Bacon and John Lithgow, who got their Footloose on.
At one point, Lithgow interrupted and stayed in his party-pooper character Rev. Shaw Moore from Footloose. “Everybody listen to me. I object to this kind of music. It’s illegal in this building,” he barks. Enter Bacon. “Jump back,” he roars, channeling his Footloose lead, Ren. “Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a party. Let’s dance!”
Across his career, Loggins has landed 21 titles on the Billboard Hot 100, including a No. 1 for “Footloose,” one of his five top 10s. He also nabbed a No. 2 for “Danger Zone.” Both songs got the late-night treatment with classroom instruments.
In 2022, he recorded an updated version of his classic Top Gun adrenalin-pumping anthem “Danger Zone” for the second film in the Top Gun franchise, Maverick. The following year, in 2023, Loggins released his memoir Still Alright.
Expect Loggins to dispense with the classroom instruments and go with something more conventional when he performs at the Celebrate 250 festival, set for Jul. 3 – 4, 2026 in St Louis, MO.
Watch the classroom instruments session below.
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