Marital breakup turns into creative wellspring for Loggins
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Singer Kenny Loggins has a broken heart and a broken marriage. The split, however painful, has ramped up his creative juices, yielding a batch of potential new songs.
With Hapa as the opening act Also: 7 p.m. Sunday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. $35, $45, $55; (808) 242-7469.
"We decided to go in different directions," Loggins, 56, told The Advertiser about his separation from wife Julia. He spoke as he was working off steam on an exercise bicycle in a New York hotel — panting, pedaling furiously and logging 113 on his cardio meter. "My target rate is 130," he said.
Kenny Loggins
The separation has triggered a spate of song lyrics and one completed melody; composing has had a therapeutic effect. That doesn't mean Loggins hasn't endured some emotional pain.
"I'm suffering from a broken heart, and one of the primary ways to let it out of my body is to create new music," he said.
For Loggins, the words flow more easily than the music.
"I've got books full of lyrics," he said. "But only one song — with a melody. No, I'm not performing that (in Hawai'i), but I'm sure the next album will be interesting. Music is such a healer to my psyche as I try to move on with my life."
Kenny Loggins says he and his wife, Julia, still love each other but are on different spiritual paths at the moment. Heartbroken, Loggins says songwriting is one way to "let it out of my body."
The split from Julia — he said they still love each other but are on different paths at the moment — means a time to check options, re-analyze what they had together, focus on the future.
"She's a healer, a psychic, a poet; she needs a lot of space. She needs to go more deeply into who she is, to find her inner path. She needs to find what's in her heart, and for both of us, it's a challenging experience that requires a tremendous amount of trust in God, like any death does.
"And God willing, we may find our way back to each other. If this journey takes us apart, perhaps something better might evolve. We each need to reach for the highest good, the highest goal."
He didn't see the split coming.
• Birthdate: Jan. 7, 1948. • Birthplace: Everett, Wash. • Marital status: Separated from wife, Julia. • Children: Three from first marriage, two from second. • Greatest hits: "Footloose," "Danny's Song," "Your Mama Don't Dance," "House at Pooh Corner," "I'm Alright," "Whenever I Call You Friend," "Danger Zone." • Nature connection: In 1992, Loggins and Earthtrust researchers teamed up and conducted an experiment at Earthtrust's dolphin intelligence research lab in Hawai'i. • Milestones: First three solo albums went platinum; record sales have exceeded 20 million albums (12 platinum, 14 gold discs); won Grammys for Song of the Year ("What a Fool Believes") and Best Pop Vocal ("This Is It"); earned Hollywood Walk of Fame star on Aug. 23, 2000.
"We are releasing each other to further our spiritual path," said Loggins, citing an agreement hitched to their wedding vows.
Logging Kenny
Ironically, one track in his latest CD, "It's About Time," dwells on his 12-year marriage to Julia. "With This Ring," one of the popular cuts, centers on the wedding band he bought himself on Julia's birthday, a symbol of their bonding at the time. Until then, Loggins had never worn a wedding ring, not even in his first marriage.
Still working at his cycling, Loggins let his hair down on a few other topics:
• On exercise: "I try to do it daily — 30 minutes. Easy? Are you kidding? On the road, it has everything to do with attitude; right now, it's the way I get my batteries charged. It's really an emotional release, more than anything else."
• On the rituals of touring: "I try to spend a little time at home with the kids; with summer approaching and the record out, it's necessary to tour. This is a bus and truck tour; of course, we fly to Hawai'i. But on the Mainland we travel in a tour bus that's got bunks; tour buses were the height of luxury in the old days, when (as the Loggins & Messina duo) we toured by station wagon. Airports now are such grief."
• On "American Idol": "I don't watch; not at all. I must be the only one (who doesn't watch). It bothers me that talent shows have become news. I never won a talent show; the first one I lost (to a Bob Dylan sound-alike), there were high school hula girls in black-light bikini tops (that glowed), doing 'Little Grass Shack' in Alhambra, Calif. Talent had nothing to do with it then, it was all T&As."
• On his Shell concert: "Don't know if you'd call it surprises, but I want to rock the place, though I realize the decibel level could be a problem at the bowl (Shell). It's going to be part greatest-hits show (with Loggins & Messina-era as well as solo hits), which is my primary way of turning on the audience to my new album — which radio won't play. It's mixing and pacing and ultimately fun — stuff that I know the people are coming to hear right there in the middle."
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.
