When we think of the last name “Loggins” and “songwriting,” most of our minds will go straight to the 1980s rock icon who penned the themes for Caddyshack and Top Gun. But on November 10, 1947, a different Loggins was born—one that would go on to enjoy a similarly prolific music career throughout the latter half of the 20th century, albeit in a different genre than his Kenny counterpart. The Loggins in question was Dave Loggins, Kenny’s second cousin.
Whereas Kenny Loggins produced quintessentially 1980s rockers like “Danger Zone” and “Footloose”, Dave excelled in the easy listening and country realms. He scored his first hit in May 1974 with “Please Come to Boston”, which garnered Dave a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The track also spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart.
Additionally, Dave found success as a songwriter for other recording artists, like Three Dog Night, which recorded his track, “Pieces of April”, in 1973. He continued to write songs for country and easy listening artists like Jimmy Buffett, Wynonna Judd, Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, Juice Newton, and Don Williams. While this songwriting role put Dave just outside of the pop culture spotlight, he took a much more prominent role in the world of golf.
Indeed, if you’re one of the millions of golf fans who tune in to watch the Masters Tournament each April, you’ve heard Dave plenty of times.
Dave Loggins Composed the Iconic Masters Theme in the Early 1980s
Dave Loggins was visiting the picture-perfect golf course that is the Augusta National in Georgia in 1981 when he first met former CBS golf producer Frank Chirkinian. Knowing Loggins was a songwriter himself, Chirkinian tipped the musician off to the fact that the Masters was looking for a new theme song. Loggins told the CBS exec that he was the one to write it. A tall order, to be sure—but fortunately, Loggins had plenty of inspiration nearby.
While walking along the 14th fairway with his friend, Loggins said, “I stopped for a minute, looked up at the pine trees, and the wind down there was just different in some regards. Spiritually, it was different. That course was just a piece of art. I looked over at some dogwoods and, man, I just started writing the sign in my head, which is what I do when I get inspired. I had the first verse before I even got off the course.” Loggins worked up a demo and sent it to CBS, which has used the springtime serenade in the four decades (and counting) that followed.
Loggins recalled bringing the full version of “Augusta”, lyrics and all, to Chirkinian’s office. “He put it on and listened to it and was slightly stunned that it was that good. He played it again and then looked at me and said, ‘You did good, son. You did real good.’ Coming from him? That was great.”
If Kenny Loggins was the “King of the Movie Soundtrack,” then we’d have to assume his cousin, Dave Loggins, was the “King of the Fairway.” Dave died in early July 2024 at the age of 76, but his musical legacy lives on—especially every first full week of April down in Georgia.
