Keep the Fire

Keep the Fire
Kenny Loggins, a long-haired bearded man, holding football-sized glowing sphere, standing in front of fantastic space scene above an ocean.
Studio album by
Kenny Loggins
ReleasedSeptember 26, 1979 (1979-09-26)
Recorded1979
Studios
GenrePop rock
Length40:48
LabelColumbia
ProducerTom Dowd
Kenny Loggins chronology
Nightwatch
(1978)		 Keep the Fire
(1979)		 Caddyshack: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1980)

Keep the Fire is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, released on September 26, 1979. It is perhaps best known for the hit single "This Is It". The song was co-written by Michael McDonald, who also performed on the track. Michael Jackson sings backup vocals on the track "Who's Right, Who's Wrong".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star
Christgau's Record GuideC+
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album GuideStarStarHalf star
Record CollectorStar
Record MirrorStarStarStarHalf star

Rolling Stone described the album as "the new sound of Southern California: a sophisticated, diffuse, jazz-inflected pop rock performed by an augmented rock band in which guitar and keyboards share equal prominence" and "churning romantic atmosphere constructed around a matinee idol's voice". The Globe and Mail noted that, "occasionally, he stumbles into some of the good-time hokey rockin' fun that made such Loggins and Messina numbers as 'Your Mama Don't Dance' so nauseating."

Film

The award-winning short film "Keep the Fire", by Jake Rice, is a fictionalized "Behind the Album Cover" story.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kenny Loggins, with additional writers noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Love Has Come of Age" 3:51
2."Mr. Night"Richard Stekol3:20
3."This Is It"Michael McDonald3:57
4."Junkanoo Holiday (Fallin'-Flyin')" 4:30
5."Now and Then"Jeff Bouchard3:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Who's Right, Who's Wrong"Richard Page5:38
2."Keep the Fire"Eva Ein4:34
3."Give It Half a Chance"Stephen Bishop4:57
4."Will It Last"Ein5:50

Personnel

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 95
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)36
US Billboard 20016

Year-end charts

Chart (1980) Position
US Billboard 200 16

References

  1. ↑ "Sep 26, 1979, page 8 - The Burlington Free Press at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Keep the Fire at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  3. ↑ "Sep 26, 1979, page 8 - The Burlington Free Press at Newspapers.com™". Newspapers.com. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: L". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 1, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 417.
  6. ↑ Pinfold, William (September 2012). "Kenny Loggins-Keep the Fire". Record Collector. No. 405. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  7. ↑ Sexton, Paul (February 16, 1980). "Kenny Loggins: Keep The Fire / Jimmy Messina: Oasis". Record Mirror. p. 17.
  8. ↑ Holden, Stephen (February 7, 1980). "Album reviews: Keep the Fire". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  9. ↑ Niester, Alan (December 29, 1979). "Keep the Fire Kenny Loggins". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.
  10. ↑ Rice, Jake. Keep the Fire (A/V stream). Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 179. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs. Volume 33, Issue 3 (1980-04-12)". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Kenny Loggins Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2026.