KENNY LOGGINS' 3RD ACT

Kenny Loggins is a veteran of decades in the music business, both as half of Loggins & Messina and as a successful solo artist. Now, at the age of 64, he's decided to start over again and reinvent himself musically with the launch of a new band, Blue Sky Riders.

It actually started several years ago, when Kenny Loggins met with songwriter Gary Burr to write material for Loggins' 2008 "How About Now" release.

“The best part was that when we sang together, we sounded like brothers", Loggins explained. "The last time I experienced that kind of blend was with Jimmy Messina in 1971.”

Gary Burr lives in Nashville, but he's originally from Meriden, Connecticut. Burr joined Pure Prairie League in 1982, replacing Vince Gill who was going solo. Burr moved to Nashville in 1989, became one of its most successful songwriters and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2005.

Loggins worked with a number of writers in Nashville and said he found Gary to be the most fun to work with. "He always made me laugh", said Loggins. "When we did the demos and sang together, I noticed we had a particularly strong vocal blend. It just popped into my head that it might be fun to try a band. We both dismissed it as absurd, but even a few months later, it just wouldn't let me go. I kept thinking it would be fun and interesting. So, I called Gary, and said 'I think we should give it a try, if you're into it. But, let's include a female singer.

“I’ve got the perfect person,” said Burr. “Georgia Middleman. She’s the best I’ve ever worked with.”

Georgia Miiddleman is a Nashville songwriter who has written songs for Keith Urban, Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney, among others.

Burr picks up the story. "Georgia and I had just started dating after knowing each other for seventeen years. I thought about it for awhile, as there is a dynamic between three people in a band, much less two guys and a girl in a band. I wanted to make sure I wasn't closing one door by opening another, but it all turned out great."
Loggins flew to Nashville and the three sat down to write.

“What a meeting!” says Loggins. “We wrote our first song and were singing with a three-part blend that comes once in a lifetime.”

"As we wrote more and more, it became more cohesive with who we are", Loggins explained. "We like to say there was a fourth entity when we were writing, and it was the Blue Sky Riders. You can almost not tell which part is whose. It's like the blending of the three writers creates this fourth sound that none of us could do individually."

"I come from the roots of the Beatles and Crosby, Stills & Nash", adds Burr. "I've had my hands in a lot of music over the years, but there's never been anything I've been prouder of than this. I think it blows everything else out of the water."

THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO
BLUE SKY RIDERS PERFORMING "FEELIN' BRAVE"
Tip: once the video begins, move the slider to the last marker.

BLUE SKY RIDERS - "HELP!
Acoustic backstage live pre-show warm-up