Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 3577
Date: 07/09/1988
Debut: 68
Peak: 8
Weeks: 19
Genre: Pop, Rock, Soundtrack
Pop Bits: Loggins was the king of soundtrack songs in the 80s. Up to this point he had put six movie tunes on the Pop chart with three of them hitting the Top 10 including the #1 "Footloose." In '86 and '87, his only charting songs (three of them) would come from movie soundtracks. He would make it four in a row with this song, which was his first Pop chart appearance of '88. The tune served as the theme to the comedy sequel Caddyshack II. Loggins had supplied the theme song to the original Caddyshack movie in 1980 with "I'm Alright" becoming his second Pop Top 10 solo hit. Naturally, when the sequel came about the producers sought out Loggins for another theme song. At first Loggins was hesitant in trying to replicate the success of "I'm Alright," but acquiesced and wrote this tune with Michael Towers. It was released as a single a few weeks before the film's debut and it would become Loggins' seventh charting movie theme and fifth overall Top 10 hit. It also got to #30 Rock and #42 AC. Loggins had succeeded in writing a hit for the movie, however in the long run it would end up being his last song to reach the Pop Top 40. Despite the song being a hit, the soundtrack album, which featured the track plus others by Patty Smyth, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Cheap Trick, and The Pointer Sisters, failed to make the album chart.
ReduxReview: The only thing good to come out of the debacle that was Caddyshack II was this song. Besides including the phrase "still alright," the song didn't have much in common with "I'm Alright," which was a good thing. We didn't need an "I'm Alright, Pt. II." (We didn't need a Caddyshack II either...) Still, it wasn't one of Loggins' strongest movie songs. There were some good passages such as the back half of the chorus and the bridge, but it didn't demand your attention in the way that "Footloose" or "Danger Zone" did. I'm glad it earned him a final Pop Top 10, but it is one that rarely, if ever, heard any longer.
ReduxRating: 6/10
Trivia: As mentioned above, this song was written specifically for the comedy film Caddyshack II. The original 1980 movie that starred Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight was a hit with audiences, but critics were not as impressed. It then achieved a sort of cult status when issued out on home video. Several years later, someone at Warner Bros. thought that a sequel would be a good idea and coaxed original director and co-writer Harold Ramis into writing a sequel. Also on board was Rodney Dangerfield and director Alan Metter, who just had success with Dangerfield in Back to School. Unfortunately, Dangerfield got in a battle with the studio and dropped out. With him gone, Ramis then washed his hands of it and then the director got fired. The movie ended up getting made with only one cast member from the original, Chevy Chase. Upon release, critics hated it and audiences stayed away. It was bad enough to secure four Golden Raspberry award nominations including Worst Picture. It would win two; one for Dan Aykroyd for Worst Supporting Actor and one for Worst Original Song. No, not for the Kenny Loggins hit, but for the tune "Jack Fresh" by Full Force.
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