Loggins & Messina

Long before he lit up the American airwaves as a solo superstar, Kenny Loggins cut a carload of classic tracks with former Buffalo Springfield/Poco member Jim Messina as Loggins & Messina, a hit-making duo that defined ’70s pop. The sweetheart sentiments of the instant-classic love ballad “Danny’s Song” were so universal that Anne Murray quickly covered the tune for a Top 10 hit. But the pair plunged into deeper waters on tracks like the urgent “Angry Eyes,” combining a country-rock core with touches of jazz and progressive rock. Who would’ve guessed that the following decade would find Loggins on his own, shaking a tailfeather to a turbo-charged, new-wave-tinged beat for the dance-’til-you-drop theme from Footloose?

In Next Steps, uncover some Loggins & Messina magic pop radio may have missed.

Lots of Loggins & Messina’s songs have become an indelible part of our pop-culture consciousness, but plenty of equally powerful tunes pop up as soon as you scratch the surface of the ’70s duo’s story. “Changes” churns through sawing, searing fiddle licks, funky keyboard riffs, and some fleet-fingered guitar while casting aspersions on the roller-coaster ride of rock-star life. With its easy-rolling groove and swampy, blues-baked feel, “Long Tail Cat” could’ve fallen from the back of Little Feat’s pickup truck on a bumpy road. And even though Anne Murray beat Kenny and Jim to the charts again on her version of “A Love Song,” their original cut has a sweet, soulful quality entirely its own.

Like L&M on record? You’ll love ’em live, in Deep Cuts.

Loggins & Messina were responsible for some of the most dazzlingly seamless studio creations of the ’70s, but don’t think for a moment that means they couldn’t deliver in front of a crowd. An in-concert cut of the tenderhearted ballad “House At Pooh Corner” reveals the duo’s knack for making an audience of any size part of an intimate experience. Flip to the other side of the coin to catch Kenny and Jim revving up and rocking out on a live take of “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” And a live version of the Kenny Loggins/Michael McDonald-penned “What a Fool Believes” serves as a soulful reminder that the song was a Loggins & Messina cut before it became a Doobie Brothers smash.