How Top Gun’s Famous Volleyball Scene Led Kenny Loggins to the ‘Danger Zone’

Kenny Loggins’ song, “Danger Zone,” absolutely helped this classic ’80’s Tom Cruise movie shoot up to top rank:  Top Gun. And it shot Loggins up to mega-star status.  But it wasn’t meant to happen that way.

The song perfectly encompassed the theme of the 1986 movie about military pilots.  And it was a number one hit for Loggins; who was one of 20 artists who showed up at a theater to watch the movie…  They all did, in hopes of making the soundtrack.

“I could tell immediately that this was more of a cattle call than a strictly private thing,” Loggins says, though he can’t remember who else was there, other than four or five guys from an R&B group.

While everyone wanted to write for the opening scene, Loggins wanted to write for the volleyball scene, which is was buried in the movie.  “Playing With The Boys,” is what he came up with.

But Giorgio Moroder, who was overseeing the soundtrack, eventually came to Loggins with a demo of “Danger Zone.”   It had actually already been pitched to several artists, including Corey Hart, Jefferson Starship, and Toto – who all declined.

But Loggins recorded it.  He still makes a ton of money from it, today.  Loggins has said he gets tired of playing it, sometimes, because it’s not his main style of song (and it’s been around forever).  But he still plays it because he sees how happy it makes fans, and how it’s tied to some cool memories.