Kenny Loggins reveals the four words he wants on his tombstone

Kenny Loggins has revealed the simple four-word epitaph he wants written on his tombstone – and it has nothing to do with Footloose, Top Gun or the soundtrack hits that made him famous.

The 78-year-old disclosed his choice while discussing his new documentary, Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart, following a screening at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Directed by Dori Berinstein, the film traces his five-decade career from Loggins and Messina through his emergence as one of Hollywood’s defining soundtrack singers and his eventual decision to step back from touring.

Speaking about his insistence the documentary accurately reflect his life, Kenny said: “What stuck in my mind from that meeting was that if I ever do a documentary, it’s got to be true. I strove my whole career to write what I thought was the truth. Even if it was a make-believe relationship, it had to have some thread of honesty in it.”

Kenny said: “They asked me years ago, ‘What do you want on your tombstone?’ And I said, ‘He told the truth’.”

Kenny’s career has included a string of songs that became inseparable from some of the biggest films of the 1980s, including I’m Alright from Caddyshack, Footloose from the film of the same name and Danger Zone from Top Gun.

Before becoming a solo star, he formed Loggins and Messina with Jim Messina, producing songs including Your Mama Don’t Dance and Danny’s Song.

Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart examines both sides of that success, including his family relationships, decades spent touring and the public persona he developed while attempting to establish himself as a performer.

Dori originally approached Kenny about the possibility of turning his music into a Broadway production, before a remote interview conducted during the pandemic convinced her that his story should instead become a documentary.

She said: “I didn’t know that much about your creative process and your story, and I was riveted.

“And then the pandemic hit and then thinking that this was going to turn into a Broadway musical, I suggested we, even though there’s a pandemic going on, that we get some foundation and do an interview with you remotely.”

Dori added: “I’m like, ‘This has to be a documentary. Your life is just so extraordinary, and I need to know more. And I want to understand your creative process, and I’m so grateful that you gave me permission to tell this story’.”

He insisted: “No, I never gave any kind of direction. She knew what she was doing. I could tell. And that the interviews were often difficult and that was a good sign that we were getting to it.”

The documentary had its world premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto in April and will next open the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame Music Documentary Film Festival in Stony Brook, New York, on 25 September.