Remembering When Kenny Loggins Started Building His Soundtrack Kingdom on a Golf Course in 1980

Every king must take the first step towards the throne. We now recognize Kenny Loggins as the King of the Soundtrack for his incredible success rate with movie songs. But he didn’t just get that title by random decree. He earned it, starting in 1980.

Videos by American Songwriter

That’s when Loggins contributed a song to a movie that many thought was a folly when it was released. Instead, it turned into one of the most beloved comedy movies of all time. And Loggins’ theme song played a big role in its success.

Going to the Movies

Kenny Loggins split with his partner Jim Messina, with whom he’d churned out a series of soft-rock hits, in 1976. Interestingly enough, one of the first moves that he made following that was to co-write a song for a movie. That song, “I Believe In Love”, appeared in A Star is Born in 1976. Loggins released his own version of the song as his first solo single in 1977.

By 1980, Loggins’ solo career had ascended nicely. Hits like “Whenever I Call You Friend” and “This Is It” made it clear he could get the job done on his own. Co-writing the massive Doobie Brothers’ hit “What A Fool Believes” also raised his profile.

Jon Peters, the film producer who had been behind the making of A Star Is Born, remembered Loggins when he needed music for a new project. In this case, Peters was producing a raunchy comedy about golf that looked to follow up in the slob-humor vein of the big hit Animal House. The film was called Caddyshack.

‘Shack’ Sentiments

Loggins, recalling the positive experience he’d enjoyed with Peters back on A Star Is Born, accepted the assignment. He picked up a rough cut of the movie, which he thought was hilarious. The opening scene, with the main character riding his bike through his neighborhood, featured Bob Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody” as the temporary music.

Loggins realized that the producers were looking for something a little edgy for the opening sequence. Lyrically, he wanted to connect the song to this character’s journey, as he tries to make sense of who he is while being influenced by the various people in his life.

To make that last point clear, Loggins created a track where vocals come in from all directions around the main melody. He titled the song “I’m Alright”. But when Loggins delivered it to Peters, he received some news that made him think twice about his decision to contribute it to the film.

Gopher It

Peters explained to Loggins that the movie would feature a plotline with a pesky gopher causing havoc on the golf course. A greenskeeper played by Bill Murray would hunt the gopher throughout the film. And instead of an actual gopher, the producers were planning to use a puppet for comedic effect.

Loggins intensely disliked the idea. Of course, the gopher would become one of the more memorable parts of the movie. And when “I’m Alright” plays again at the end of the film, it ties in perfectly with the gopher having survived Murray’s efforts to kill him, efforts that essentially destroyed the golf course.

Caddyshack lit up the box office, while “I’m Alright” hit No. 7 on the pop charts in 1980. More importantly, it set Kenny Loggins on the path to the movie-song crown. Incredibly, he’d release four more soundtrack songs in the decade (including one for Caddyshack II in 1988) that reached at least No. 11 on the charts.

Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images