"Footloose" is a song co-written and recorded by American singer-songwriter
Kenny Loggins
Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
. It was released in January 1984 as the first of two singles by Loggins from the
1984 film of the same name (the other one being "
I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)"). The song spent three weeks at number one, March 31—April 14,
1984, on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Loggins' only chart-topper, and was the first of two number-one hits from the film. ''Billboard'' ranked it at the No. 4 song for 1984.
The song was very well received, and is the most recognizable song recorded by Loggins. When the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
released its ''
AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs'', "Footloose" reached the 96th position. The song was covered by
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...
for the
2011 remake of the 1984 film.
It was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...
at the
1985 ceremony, losing to
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...
's "
I Just Called to Say I Love You
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" is a ballad written, produced, and performed by American R&B singer and songwriter Stevie Wonder. It was a major international hit, and remains Wonder's best-selling single to date, having topped a record 19 char ...
" from ''
The Woman in Red''.
The single version is slightly shorter in length compared to the album version. It begins with a soloed guitar track instead of a drum intro, and features more prominent backing vocals in the mix, particularly towards the end of the song.
In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the
National Recording Registry
The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...
by the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Footloose" was directed by
Brian Grant
Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenaciou ...
. It uses the single version and features several scenes from the film, in particular the warehouse where
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...
's character performs an unorchestrated dance routine (which was actually performed to a
different song in the film itself).
Personnel
*
Kenny Loggins
Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
– lead vocals
*
Neil Larsen
Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles.
Early life
Larsen was ...
– keyboards
* Steve Wood – keyboards, background vocals
*
Buzz Feiten
Howard "Buzz" Feiten (born November 4, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist and for having patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instrument ...
– guitar
*
Nathan East – bass guitar
*
Michael Boddicker
Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...
– synth bass, percussion
*
Tris Imboden
Gregory Tristan "Tris" Imboden (born July 27, 1951) is an American rock and jazz drummer. As a performer, he has been in studio sessions and on tour with some of the most notable and highest-selling musicians of all time. He was the drummer fo ...
– drums
*
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
* Marilyn Dorman and Rick Washington – background vocalists
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Blake Shelton version
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...
covered the song for the
2011 remake of the film. Shelton's version also appears on the film's soundtrack. It charted at number 63 on the US ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart in November 2011. A music video for Shelton's version of the song, directed by
Shaun Silva
Shaun Silva is a music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include Jason Aldean, ...
, premiered in October 2011.
Music video
The video opens with Blake Shelton driving a pickup truck into a
drive-in theater
A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...
screening the 2011 remake of the 1984 movie wherein the manager and ticket seller tells him that the film was only about to start. He then enters the compound where his band awaits him while the theater patrons watch the film and take notice of him. Shelton and his band begin to perform the song and the theater patrons join in dancing while scenes from the film are played. The music video was filmed in early 2011 at the Hi-Way 50 Drive In theater located in Lewisburg, Tennessee.
Personnel
*
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...
– vocals
Chart performance
Certifications
Other cover versions
VeggieTales
''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retelling ...
performed this song in ''Bob and Larry Sing the 80's''.
The final episode of the
season 2 Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* '' 2econd Season''
See also
*
{{disambig ...
episode of
Regular Show
''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the course of eight seasons a ...
titled "Karaoke Video", were Pops (voiced by
Sam Marin
''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the course of eight seasons an ...
) sangs his version of the song towards the end.
Chord Overstreet
Chord Paul Overstreet (born February 17, 1989) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Sam Evans on the Fox television series ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series ''Acapulco'' since 20 ...
and
Kevin McHale performed this song in
''Glee'', season 4.
Andrew Goodwin and David Johnson sang a cover of this song for ''
Final Space
''Final Space'' is an adult animated space opera comedy drama television series created by Olan Rogers and developed by Rogers and David Sacks. The series involves an astronaut named Gary Goodspeed and his immensely powerful alien friend Moonca ...
'', season 2, episode 4, "The Other Side".
See also
*
List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984
References
External links
Kenny Loggins discusses "Footloose"- RetroRewind interview
{{authority control
1984 singles
2011 singles
Kenny Loggins songs
Blake Shelton songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Music videos directed by Shaun Silva
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Number-one singles in South Africa
Songs about dancing
Songs from Footloose
Songs written by Kenny Loggins
Songs written by Dean Pitchford
Columbia Records singles
Atlantic Records singles
1983 songs
1980s ballads
United States National Recording Registry recordings