Records & Roots: Bristol's David Allen Loggins proved his songwriting prowess

A lad by the name of David Allen Loggins grew up in Bristol's Rice Terrace neighborhood. His lot in life led him to Nashville and eventually nationwide fame as a singer and songwriter.Known for his pop hit "Please Come to Boston," Dave Loggins turns 75 on Nov. 10.Two decades before "Please Come to Boston," Loggins moved from Mountain City to Bristol at the age of 8. He graduated from Bristol Virginia High School in 1965. By then, he had bought an acoustic guitar from a shop on State Street in downtown Bristol. Gradually, he taught himself how to write songs.Loggins attended East Tennessee State University in Johnson City for a time. However, as his music skills mounted, he quit college and moved to Nashville. After several years of scraping by, Loggins scored his first success with "Pieces of April."Look to Loggins' album "Personal Belongings" for his original recording of "Pieces of April," when he was signed to Vanguard Records. Neither the song nor the album made a blip on the radar of the era's pop music scene.Yet pop-rock superstars Three Dog Night noticed. With Chuck Negron on lead vocals, Three Dog Night recorded Loggins' "Pieces of April" in 1972. Issued as a single that fall, it debuted on Billboard's Top 100 pop singles chart on Nov. 18, 1972. A minor hit, the song spent 14 weeks on the chart and peaked at No. 19. It faired better on Billboard's easy listening chart with a peak of No. 6.Loggins earned considerable mileage from "Pieces of April." Andy Williams recorded the song in 1972. Fellow smooth pop singer Johnny Mathis recorded it in the early 2000s.But then Loggins signed to Epic Records, for whom he recorded four albums —the first, "Apprentice (In a Musical Workshop)," released in 1974. Though it peaked on Billboard's Hot 200 albums chart at a mediocre No. 54, the album yielded Loggins' masterpiece.Epic released Loggins' "Please Come to Boston" in late spring 1974. It debuted on Billboard's pop singles chart on June 1, 1974. Adorned with a breezy melody and catchy lyrics, Loggins' plaintive tale of yearning and far-away love became a summer smash in 1974. It spent more than four months on its initial radio run and peaked at No. 5.Loggins occupied America's top 40 alongside some of the world's superstars of music. "Please Come to Boston" was played amid Paul McCartney & Wings' "Band on the Run," Eric Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff" and the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)."But unlike McCartney, Clapton and the Stones, Loggins eventually steered his career into the country field.Country superstar Tammy Wynette became one of the first country singers to record a song written by Dave Loggins. She recorded "Please Come to Boston" in 1974. Subsequent country artists to take their turn with the versatile song include Willie Nelson in 1984, David Allan Coe in 1985, Glen Campbell in 1988, Reba McEntire in 1995 and Kenny Chesney in 2004.Folk legend Joan Baez tried "Please Come to Boston" in 1976. Blues singer Ted Hawkins took his turn with the song in 2001, and then rhythm and blues singer Babyface did likewise in 2007.Two years after Loggins' "Please Come to Boston," country singer Tanya Tucker paired her voice with his song "You've Got Me to Hold On To." Released as a single in the spring of 1976, the song peaked at No. 3. A year earlier, Three Dog Night rode Loggins' "'Til the World Ends" to No. 11 adult contemporary and No. 32 pop on Billboard.It took awhile, but Loggins eventually logged a series of No. 1 country singles as a songwriter. The mid-1980s proved incredibly fruitful. Alabama's rendition of Loggins' "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" struck No. 1 on March 24, 1984. Seven months later, the Oak Ridge Boys peaked at the top with "Everyday," which Loggins wrote with J.D. Martin.More hits came Loggins' way. Alabama struck gold with "She and I" in 1986. Wynonna Judd did likewise in 1992 with "She Is His Only Need."Throughout the years, Loggins has returned home to Bristol many times. His mother lived here. So did at least one brother. He hasn't performed often in Bristol but did during the second annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion in 2002.Now aged 75 and living near Nashville, Dave Loggins was inducted into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995.