Who Was Danny in Loggins and Messina’s ‘Danny’s Song’?

Today, we see how the “Danny” was in Loggins and Messina’s “Danny’s Song.”

This is “What It’s All About,” a new feature that explains what certain notable songs were written about, provided that the song wasn’t written about a famous person (in which case that’d be a Meta-Message).

One of the earliest songs that Kenny Loggins ever wrote was “Danny’s Song,” which showed up in a few different places before it was featured on what would have been his first solo album, but instead became the first Loggins and Messina album. The song didn’t make a big wave at the time, but then Anne Murray had a big hit with her cover of “Danny’s Song,” and then suddenly the Loggins and Messina version became an FM radio staple.

The lyrics are clearly about a young guy having a kid and getting married:

People smile and tell me I’m the lucky one
And we’ve just begun
Think I’m gonna have a son
He will be like she and me, as free as a dove
Conceived in love
Sun is gonna shine above
And even though we ain’t got money
I’m so in love with you, honey
And everything will bring a chain of love, oh, oh, oh
In the mornin’, when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes
And tell me everything is gonna be alright

So people typically think of “Danny” as being Kenny Loggins’ son. However, in actuality, the song was about Danny Loggins, Loggins’ older brother, and HIS son, Collin. A lot of the lyrics come from a letter Dan wrote to Kenny about his life at the time (noting he didn’t have a lot of money, but he was still looking forward to the future with his new family).

Dan Loggins actually later helped Kenny Loggins get his record deal (that led to Loggins and Messina) through an odd chain of events where Loggins was working at a store owned by CBS Records, and he met a guy who had a connection to the main company, who ultimately signed his younger brother.

Collin later was in a band himself called Tappan Zee! Cool, huh?

Okay, folks, I’m sure you have songs where you’re curious as to who they were written about, so drop me a line at my all-new, all-shorter e-mail, brian@poprefs.com and I’ll see what I can find out! I was away for a couple of weeks in March, but I’m going to still try to fit all 31 articles before the month ends! Suggestions are quite useful!