“Please Come to Boston” singer turned 76

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Dave Loggins, a singer-songwriter who scored an unforgettable chart-topper with 1974’s “Please Come to Boston,” died Wednesday at Alive Hospice in Nashville. He was 76; the cause of death was not given.

Because “Please Come to Boston” was the only hit in his solo discography, Loggins — the second cousin of pop star Kenny Loggins — was sometimes labeled a one-hit wonder. But he also had a hugely successful career as a songwriter, mostly for country artists.

And in a non-quantifiable sense, his biggest “hit” may actually be the theme song he wrote for the Augusta Masters Golf Tournament, which has been played since 1982. An obituary in the Tennessean said the golf theme song was “the longest-running sports theme song in history.”

He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995.

The plaintive “Please Come to Boston,” a song about lovers who can’t – or won’t – overcome the obstacles that keep them living together in the same city, has long been an anthem for music fans who couldn’t manage a long-distance relationship. In 1974, it reached No. 1 on what was then known as the Easy Listening chart (since renamed Adult Contemporary) and No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, the first of his four Grammy nominations.

In total, Loggins released five albums and 13 songs in the 1970s, mostly on Epic Records, but “Boston” remained his only solo recording that was well received by audiences.

However, he found success again in the ’80s when he duetted with Anne Murray on the song “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” which had its origins on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns. Murray and Loggins sang the song on the show. (It was also recorded separately by Jermaine Jackson and a very young Whitney Houston.) The joint recording reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and No. 10 on the Hot AC chart.

In 1985, Murray and Loggins shared the award for Vocal Duo of the Year at the CMA Awards based on the success of “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do.” According to his obituary in the Tennessean newspaper, this made Loggins the only unsigned artist to ever win a CMA Award. The pair were also nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group.

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, “Morning Desire” by Kenny Rogers and “You Make Me Want to Make You MIne” by Juice Newton, reached No. 1 on the country charts.

His theme for the Masters Tournament had a name, “Augusta,” and also a generally unknown text. He wrote it after playing golf on the site in 1981, and the following year it was selected – without text – for use on the network.

In 2019, Loggins told the Associated Press, “I stopped for a minute, looked up at the pines, and the wind down there was just different in some ways. Spiritually, it was different. That course was just a work of art. I looked over at some dogwoods and, man, I just started writing the song in my head, which I always do when I’m inspired. I had the first verse before I even left the course.”

In 2021, he spoke about his career in an “All Things Vocal” podcast interview with Judy Rodman, who called him “a reclusive genius.” He told Rodman that he was influenced by the fingerpicking style of artists like Donovan. “One day I went to Capitol Records (on Nashville’s Music Row) and asked, ‘Does anyone here listen to songs?'” He found a willing listener, and Jerry Crutchfield signed him to a publishing deal at age 22. Folk label Vanguard released his debut album before he moved to Epic.

Loggins leaves behind three sons, Quinn Loggins, Kyle Loggins and Dylan Loggins, and his grandson Braxton Loggins.

At Loggins’ request, there will be no funeral. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Alive Hospice in Nashville.