The 1985 photo shoot of Kenny Loggins riding a horse on the beach is one of those emblematic pieces of 1980s pop culture iconography. But then again, so is the soundtrack hit that helped cement his place in one of the decade’s most iconic movies.
Released in May 1986 via Columbia Records, Top Gun (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) features a ton of hits, from Loggins’ “Danger Zone” and Cheap Trick’s “Mighty Wings” to Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” and Loverboy’s “Heaven in Your Eyes.” But another track is especially ripe for reflection right now.
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View this post on Instagram“Playing With the Boys,” Loggins’ other Top Gun song, got the single treatment in August 1986, following its feature on the soundtrack. The high-energy pop-rock track was actually the first song Loggins wrote for Tony Scott‘s action film; he co-wrote it with Peter and Ina Wolf, even before he was handed “Danger Zone.”
Loggins later recalled that at least 20 other acts were being considered to write or perform songs for the movie. After seeing an early cut, he and Wolf zeroed in on the volleyball sequence because they figured everyone else would be scrambling to write the main theme, he told The Washington Post.
The result was “Playing With the Boys,” and the scene it soundtracked—which involved stars Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and others shirtless, sweaty, and bouncing through a testosterone-filled game of sand volleyball—became one of the ’80s most iconic scenes ever.
Interestingly, it’s also the scene that almost got Scott fired.
Paramount executives were reportedly furious that Scott burned an entire day filming a scene that was only a paragraph in the script, with production head Charlie McGuire threatening to fire him altogether. In the end, however, the scene survived, and we’re all still talking about it today.
As for the soundtrack, it became the bestselling soundtrack that year and one of the biggest of all time, earning nine-times platinum certification. “Danger Zone,” performed by Loggins, was one of the album’s biggest hits, while Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” went to No. 1. But that doesn’t take away from the magic of “Playing With the Boys.”
The track climbed to No. 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, despite its modest chart performance, it still became deeply associated with the film because of its placement in that unforgettable sequence. The song and scene also developed a substantial parody afterlife, with hilarious homages popping up in Family Guy, Futurama, Hawaii Five-0, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Cougar Town.
Ahead of the long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, Loggins released a new version of “Playing With the Boys” in 2021, this one a male-female duet featuring Australian singer-songwriter Butterfly Boucher, hoping to give the song a new perspective that echoed the sequel’s mix of male and female pilots.
“Over the course of my career, I’ve been fortunate to have a number of my songs included in some memorable movies,” Loggins said, per Grateful Web. “I’m honored that many of the films have since become iconic and I’m thrilled to have these soundtrack hits and the new track with Butterfly Boucher.”
Four decades later, “Playing With the Boys” has earned legend status. Thanks in large part to the sun, sand, and spectacle of the beach sequence that helped turn Top Gun into one of the decade’s greatest blockbusters.
Related: 1979 Rock Song, Overlooked for Decades, Ranked Journey’s No. 1 Greatest Deep Cut
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