American Top 40 PastBlast, 10/14/78: Kenny Loggins, “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend'”

I’ve never been much of a Kenny Loggins fan. It all started when WSAI played “I Believe in Love” a whole lot in the late summer of 77.  For whatever reason, it was one of those songs that made me immediately want to change stations or even turn off the radio; perhaps I’ve never fully recovered from the trauma. His penchant for doing songs for movie soundtracks probably didn’t help, either.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t like some of his stuff.  Here’s a personal top 5:

1) “Welcome To Heartlight”  (by far my favorite)
2) “Whenever I Call You ‘Friend’” (appealing blend with Stevie, it’s really solid)
3) “Celebrate Me Home” (this one’s grown on me over the years—it suffered from association with “I Believe in Love” for a long time)
4) “I’m Alright” (exception to the movie song rule)
5)  …well, okay, it’s only a top 4. Really. Others are okay, but in terms of actually liking something…nope.  Sorry?

This is another song, like “U Got the Look,” where it’s difficult to believe there’s no label credit for the female co-singer. Stevie sure did some wondrous “background vocals” in the late 70s. She and Kenny are at #8 on this show, nearing their peak at #5.