WRLTHD: Kenny Loggins: 'I'm alright' being frugal

Photo's by Ray Tharaldson

By Larry Getlen

Kenny Loggins spent the 1980s as the go-to guy for memorable movie songs, fueled largely, he says, by luck. The producers of "Top Gun," which came out in a special 25th anniversary Blu-ray edition in late August, only asked Loggins to sing the film's signature song, "Danger Zone," when Bryan Adams and Toto fell through. And he only wrote and recorded "Footloose" as a favor to that film's screenwriter because, he says, "'Footloose' is not 'Gone with the Wind.'" Nowadays, Loggins tours solo and also plays with his new band, Blue Sky Riders, which will release their music without a record company because, he says, "(the record companies) just want all the money."

What did you do for a living in your early days?

My first job was as a box boy in a grocery store. Then I went from the first year of college to being on the road with (psychedelic '60s band) The Electric Prunes. I came back, lived with the bass player and drummer, did session work and got a job as a songwriter for $100 a week. That allowed me to rent half a duplex in East L.A. for $65 a month. The rest of the $100 would run out, so I would collect pop bottles to get refried beans and tortillas.

I had a VW bus that was about 10 years old. I was talking to a buddy about buying a new car, and he said his buddy was a race car driver. So, I called up his buddy and said, "If you could have any street car, what would you have?" He said he'd have a BMW 3.0-liter Coupe. So here I am, living in East L.A. with a dirt driveway for $65 a month with a 3.0-liter Coupe parked in the driveway. That was the beginning of the end for me, fiscally.

Probably in the middle right now. Or upper middle. I'm not as wealthy as people think I should be. Over the years, a couple of bad investments and rough divorces, and I'm still on the road doing what I do. I've got a couple of colleges yet to pay for -- I've got a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old -- and I'm still building a retirement fund.

Would you say you're a frugal person now?