"Footloose" is a song co-written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins. 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) I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man) is a song recorded by American recording artist Kenny Loggins, composed by Loggins, Dean Pitchford, and produced by Loggins and David Foster. It was released in June 1984 as the second of two singles by Loggins fr ...

"). 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. Lead ...

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, o ...

artist Blake Shelton for the 2011 remake of the 1984 film. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song 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, sou ...

's " I Just Called to Say I Love You" 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 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 librar ...

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "Footloose" was directed by Brian Grant. It uses the single version and features several scenes from the film, in particular the warehouse where Kevin Bacon's character performs an unorchestrated dance routine (which was actually performed to a different song in the film itself).

Personnel

* Kenny Loggins – lead vocals * Neil Larsen – keyboards * Steve Wood – keyboards, background vocals * Buzz Feiten – guitar * Nathan East – bass guitar * Michael Boddicker – synth bass, percussion * Tris Imboden – 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 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 chart in November 2011. A music video for Shelton's version of the song, directed by Shaun Silva, premiered in October 2011.

Music video

The video opens with Blake Shelton driving a pickup truck into a drive-in theater 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 – 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 retel ...

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

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episode of

Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its Regular Show (season 8), 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 co ...

titled "Karaoke Video", were Pops (voiced by Sam Marin) sangs his version of the song towards the end. Chord Overstreet and Kevin McHale performed this song in ''Glee'', season 4. Andrew Goodwin and David Johnson sang a cover of this song for '' Final Space'', season 2, episode 4, "The Other Side".

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