CONVERSATIONS try to include every organization that would be of benefit to the town or in actuality, to the tri-counties. Then I met Bob Smith, who owned and ran KEYT, and he loved the idea and gave us a whole telethon. We
L
oggins has raised two families here in Montecito, and has two ex-wives, both of whom live in Santa Barbara and who remain friends. He’s fathered five children,
only two of which still live in town.
created the whole thing around that. How thrilled were you when Crosby won the TV reality show Rock And you still play every year?
The Cradle, about the offspring of stars making it on their own, which
I do it, yeah. I help out every now and then. I certainly try to do
was 10 years ago already?
the telethon, and if I’m not in town, I’ll pre-tape my pieces. But looks like I’ll be around this year, so I’ll probably do the telethon.
I was really proud at the time, of course. But I was also worried about him. I knew that that’s where he wanted to go, and I knew he had talent, but I also saw that the music business was getting really shaky. It
It still seems to matter to you.
was going to be a rough road for him. Then when he came to me and
It’s still, in my opinion, the one-stop shopping of those who want
told me he was quitting being a singer-songwriter. He was crying as he
to be helpful and help those in need. You know, books, toys, clothing,
told me, “I don’t want your life.” I said, “You don’t have to have it!” I was
food – you can do it all, and it’s really well done. Barbara has done an
really happy for him. He started an IT company in town and Crosby’s
incredible job of keeping the vision of the organization on track, and
become the darling of Montecito. It’s doing really, really well and because
they still struggle to stay alive every year.
he grew up here and he knows all these people personally; they enjoy working with him and he’s really good at what he does.
Even beyond Unity, it seems clear that you love this place, you don’t just live here, you’re a real part of the community. You seem to really enjoy showing up and doing these shows locally and just having fun with local people. I like to say – and I’ve never done this in an article – I like to say that my life is like living in a Jimmy Stewart movie. Wherever I go, people say, “Hey, Kenny! How’s it going? How’s Crosby doing?” or something like that. And I go, “Hey, Bob, how’s things at the bank?” So, it’s very much a It’s a Wonderful Life kind of thing. Santa Barbara can be that kind of community, if you want it to be. People here have always been very friendly to me. Now, I guess it’s because I’ve been around so long that I’ve reached this so-called iconic stage in my career, and I’m not as active as I used to be, when I was 150 dates a year or more. I still tour a little bit – it’s down to 22 this year – but I’m very much more of a Santa Barbara guy than I used to be.
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