Asking rock stars if they can remember a specific show from decades ago, the response is usually, “Can you be more specific?”
But Kenny Loggins, honored Saturday night at the annual Keep Memory Alive Power of Love Gala at MGM Grand, well remembers the night the lights went out on him on the Strip. He is fast with the details.
“Well, the power went out, and when we went backstage, you could feel people obviously starting to talk to each other about what we were going to do. The theater was literally dark except for the Exit signs,” Loggins says, remembering that night in November 1978 at Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. ” I thought, ‘This is not a great vibe and recover from,’ and you could tell people were getting nervous.”
So was Loggins, who quickly to his unplanned “acoustic set.”
“I grabbed a chair and ran out to the edge of the stage and started doing what I do at parties, which is jamming,” Loggins says. “I did my version of, ‘For What It’s Worth.’” The song was a Woodstock-era hit for Buffalo Springfield.
“Then the crew comes out just, this was all spontaneous with flashlights, and they lit me with flashlights,” Loggins says. “And I’m singing, ‘Something’s happening here, …’ And they loved it. It was the perfect song for the moment.”
Loggins calls the show, “The party in the dark,” with the crowd cheering. “We all just started singing harmonies. It’s one of those moments where you do something spontaneous, and it matters, and everyone relaxed and got back into the party.”
The power was finally restored. “We just picked up from there, it worked so well,” Loggins says. “It’s funny, like my friend in the band Steve Wood used to say, ‘If it wasn’t for things going wrong, we wouldn’t remember s—-.”
Loggins was the honoree for the 30th anniversary of the event, which also paid tribute to Discovery Land Company founder Michael S. Meldman.
About 1,600 dignitaries sold out the Grand Garden Arena in advance. Rockers Kevin Cronin, Gavin DeGraw and Richard Marx were among those scheduled to appear. Chefs Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Palmer, alongside their sons, Byron Lazaroff Puck and Reed Palmer, are creating the night’s menu. The annual gala is the leading fundraiser for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewnal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.