Dave Loggins, a singer-songwriter who had a memorable chart-topper with “Please Come to Boston” in 1974, died Wednesday at Alive Hospice in Nashville. He was 76; no cause of death was given.
With “Please Come to Boston” being the sole hit in his solo discography, Loggins — the second cousin of pop star Kenny Loggins — was sometimes branded a one-hit wonder. But he also enjoyed a highly successful career as a songwriter, mostly for country artists.
And in an unquantifiable sense, his biggest “hit” might actually be the theme song he wrote for golfing’s Augusta Masters Golf Tournament, which has been used since 1982. An obituary placed in the Tennessean says the golfing theme is “the longest running sports theme in history.”
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He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famein 1995.
The plaintive “Please Come to Boston,” a song about lovers who can’t — or won’t — overcome the obstacles that would have them living in the same city, has long been an anthem for music fans who couldn’t make a long-distance relationship come together. In 1974, it reached No. 1 on what was then known as the easy listening chart (since rebranded as adult contemporary), and No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It landed him a Grammy nomination for best pop male vocal performance, the first of his four Grammy nods.
Altogether, Loggins released five albums and 13 songs in the 1970s, primarily on Epic Records, but “Boston” remained the only solo recording of his to click with the public in a big way.
However, he found success again in the ’80s as a duet partner with Anne Murray on the song “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” a song that began its life on the CBS soap opera “As the World Turns.” Murray and Loggins performed the tune on the series. (It was also separately recorded by Jermaine Jackson and a very young Whitney Houston.) The collaborative recording went to No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and No. 10 on the Hot AC chart.
In 1985, Murray and Loggins shared the CMA Awards’ vocal duo of the year award, based on the success of “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do.” According to his Tennessean obituary, this made Loggins the only unsigned artist ever to win a CMA Award. The pair were also nominated for a Grammy for best country performance by a duo or group.
The list of artists who recorded his songs included Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Ray Charles, Tanya Tucker, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Alabama, Wynonna Judd, Johnny Cash, Three Dog Night, Don Williams, Lee Greenwood, Smokey Robinson, Crystal Gayle, John Conlee and Restless Heart. Two of his compositions, Kenny Rogers’ “Morning Desire” and Juice Newton’s “You Make Me Want to Make You MIne,” reached No. 1 on the country chart.
His theme for the masters tournament had a name, “Augusta” — and also a generally unheard set of lyrics. He wrote it after golfing at the site in 1981, and it got picked up for network use — sans words — the following year.
In 2019, Loggins told the Associated Press, “”I stopped for a minute, looked up at the pine trees and the wind down there was just different in some regards. Spiritually it was different. That course was just a piece of art. I looked over at some dogwoods and, man, I just started writing the song in my head which is what I do when I get inspired. I had the first verse before I even got off the course.”
In 2021, he discussed his career in an “All Things Vocal” podcast interview with Judy Rodman, who called him “a reclusive genius.” He told Rodman he was influenced by the finger-picking style of artists like Donovan. “One day I walked into Capitol Records (on Music Row in Nashville) and said, ‘Does anybody here listen to songs?'” He found a willing listener and Jerry Crutchfield signed him to a publishing agreement at age 22. The folk label Vanguard released his debut album before he moved on to Epic.
Loggins is survived by three sons, Quinn Loggins, Kyle Loggins, and Dylan Loggins, as well as his grandson, Braxton Loggins.
By Loggins’ request, there will be no funeral. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alive Hospice in Nashville.
