Kenny Loggins Feels Footloose

About his new song for people 50-plus

by: Meredith Maran, from: AARP The Magazine, February/March 2013

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Kenny Loggins was yearning to re-create his rockin' youth. A star by his mid-20s, with a series of hits ("A Love Song," "Whenever I Call You Friend," "Footloose"), he went on to score 12 platinum albums (several with onetime partner Jim Messina).

Download 'Dream'

Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. — Brian To/Filmmagic/Getty Images

Blue Sky Riders, Kenny Loggins's new band with musicians Georgia Middleman and Gary Burr, is offering fans a free download of "Dream," a single from their new album Finally Home.

Now Loggins, a twice-divorced father of five living in Santa Barbara, California, is back with a new Americana-tinged trio, Blue Sky Riders. He chats with AARP The Magazine about their first album, Finally Home.

Q: How is starting a band different now than when you were 17? At 64, I have a better perspective on the opportunities and the pitfalls. I trust my intuition. It's such grace to be given this second time around on the rock-and-roll wheel.

Q: What advice can you offer your fellow late-life self-reinventors? The head and heart are almost always in disagreement. The head wants to play it safe; the heart wants to jump in. I've taught my head to serve my heart, so when I get a crazy intuitive idea, my brain's job is to figure out how to achieve the goal, not scare me off with reasons why it's impossible. All dreams are impossible until proven otherwise.

Q: What's been your best moment in life so far? I like to think that the best times are yet to come. By living in gratitude and believing in everyday miracles, I stay open to magic in my life.