Loggins and Messina

Loggins and Messina were an American rock-pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina.

In late 1970, Jim Messina, formerly of Poco and Buffalo Springfield, was working as an independent contract record producer for Columbia Records when he met Kenny Loggins, a little-known studio artist who had written a few songs of his own. At the time, Loggins was working as contract songwriter for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Messina decided to produce Loggins' debut album. By the time it was completed, Messina had contributed so much to the album, both instrumentally and vocally, that an accidental duo was born, and the album was released as "Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' in". Their harmonies meshed so well that what was begun as a one-off album became an entity unto itself. So rather than simply producing Kenny Loggins as a solo act, they both decided to form a duo, Loggins and Messina.

Over the course of the next four or five years they produced five original material albums, one album of covers of other artists' material and two live albums. One compilation album, a "best of", would be released after the duo had separated.

By 1977, the pair separated and pursued successful solo careers. They reunited in 2005 for a compilation album of their greatest hits, which proved successful enough for them to embark on tour together. The "Sittin' In Again" tour was launched in mid-2005 and played out the remainder of the year.

Their backing band changed from album to album but the core members are listed below. Many albums featured backing members who were well known in their own right, such as Stephen Stills who contributed to their self-titled second album. John Townsend and Ed Sanford, later of the Sanford & Townsend Band (Smoke from a Distant Fire) contributed vocals and songwriting to the Native Sons album.

Members

*Kenny Loggins – Vocals, guitar, harmonica
*Jim Messina – Vocals, guitar

Supporting musicians

*Lester A. Garth – Bass clarinet, saxophone, violin, percussion and vocals
*Jon Clarke (1951-2005) – Saxophone, oboe and percussion
*Vince Denham (since 1974) Saxophone
*Larry Sims – Bass guitar and vocals
*Merel Bregante – Drums - percussion and vocals
*Milt Holland - Percussion
*Steve Forman - Percussion
*Michael Omartian – Keyboards, percussion and concertina

Discography

*1971: "Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina - Sittin' In"
*1972: "Loggins and Messina"
*1973: "Full Sail"
*1974: "On Stage"
*1974: "Mother Lode"
*1975: "So Fine
*1976: "Native Sons
*1976: "The Best of Friends"
*1977: "Finale"
*2005: ""
*2005: ""

External links

* [http://www.logginsandmessina.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.popularsong.org/forgotten-gem.html commentary on "Return to Pooh Corner"]