Kenny Loggins’ new song “The Great Adventure” was written specifically for the San Diego Zoo Kids Channel, which brings wildlife-themed programs to medical facilities that serve sick children and their families. Kenny’s just happy he got the chance to create something so “uplifting.”
Kenny visited the zoo to see if they’d be interested in doing something with his animal-themed children’s book, Footloose. But, he tells ABC Audio, “While I was there, they told me about their Zoo TV channel and how they were in all the children’s hospitals and and Ronald McDonald houses. It sounded like a terrific project. And I said, ‘What can I do?"”
They came up with the idea of writing a “theme song”: As Kenny explains, “Something that would be the first thing that children hear when they wake up in the morning and they’re alone in their hospital room…something uplifting.”
Collaborating with the songwriters behind the Oscar-nominated song “Everything Is Awesome,” Kenny says they wanted to craft a song that would appeal to kids who are around 10.
“What really struck me were the lines, ‘You’ve got to be brave like a lion, strong like a tiger,"” Kenny says. “That really caught my attention as the pivotal moment of the song — that it’s calling on that child to be brave. Once we hit those lines, we knew where the song was going.”
“The Great Adventure” is out now, but Kenny says having it be a “hit” isn’t the goal.
“At this point, career-wise, I’m not really on the hamster wheel anymore,” he tells ABC Audio. “But it’s fun to have a project, especially something like this, that’s so heartful. It really matters to the children and their families. And then if something comes out of that or beyond that, that’s just a kick.”
By Andrea Dresdale
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