Dave Loggins, who wrote beloved Masters theme music, dies at 76

In 2019, Dave Loggins told the Associated Press about a round of golf that he enjoyed at Augusta National Golf Club in the spring of 1981. That one day inspired him to write what has become one of the most familiar and enduring sports theme songs in history.

”I stopped for a minute, looked up at the pine trees and the wind down there was just different in some regards,” Loggins said. “Spiritually, it was different. That course was just a piece of art. I looked over at some dogwoods and, man, I just started writing the song in my head, which is what I do when I get inspired. I had the first verse before I even got off the course.”

He would write the song, titled “Augusta” later that year, replete with lyrics, and in 1982 CBS Sports golf producer Frank Chirkinian picked up an instrumental version for the network’s coverage of the Masters. That song is reportedly the longest running sports theme in television history.

Loggins died Wednesday at a hospice facility in Nashville, Tenn., at the age of 76. No cause of death was given. He is survived by his three sons, Quinn, Kyle and Dylan Loggins, as well as a grandson, Braxton Loggins.

Born Nov. 10, 1947, in Shady Valley, Tenn., Loggins worked as a draftsman and an insurance salesman until he moved to Nashville to try his hand as a songwriter in 1970. His soft acoustic style was inspired by James Taylor and Dan Fogelberg, and he released the first of five solo albums, “Personal Belongings,” in 1972.

He would have only one chart-topping song, “Please Come to Boston,” which he recorded in 1974, but the second cousin of pop recording star Kenny Loggins was a prolific songwriter whose works were recorded by the likes of Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Ray Charles, Tanya Tucker, Toby Keith, Reba McEntire, Alabama, Wynonna Judd, Johnny Cash, Smokey Robinson, Three Dog Night and Crystal Gayle. In 1984, Loggins scored a No. 1 country hit with Anne Murray on the duet, “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do.”. The recording earned Loggins and Murray a 1985 Country Music Award for Vocal Duo of the Year.

It was an attorney friend who hosted Loggins for that fateful round at Augusta National in 1981, and the story goes that he introduced Loggins to Chirkinian later that year. They began talking about Chirkinian’s quest to find a theme song for coverage of the Masters, and Loggins said to the legendary producer, “Well, I’m the person to write it.’” He then sent Chirkinian a demo. He recorded the song in Nashville with a band that included a 12-piece string ensemble while Loggins played guitar and sang vocals.

In early 1982 he took the recording to Augusta, Ga., to play it for Chirkinian. Loggins said that Chirkinian told him, “You did good, son. You did real good.”

“Coming from him, the head of CBS Sports? That was great,” Loggins said.

Loggins was inducted in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995.

Here are the lyrics to “Augusta,” which many of today’s golf fans might never have heard:

Well, it’s springtime in the valley on Magnolia Lane
It’s the Augusta National and the master of the game
Who’ll wear that green coat on Sunday afternoon?
Who’ll walk the 18th fairway singing this tune?
Augusta, your dogwoods and pines
They play on my mind like a song
Augusta, it’s you that I love
And it’s you that I’ll miss when I’m gone.
It’s Watson, Byron Nelson, Demaret, Player and Snead
It’s Amen Corner and it’s Hogan’s perfect swing
It’s Sarazen’s double eagle at the 15 in ’35
And the spirit of Clifford Roberts that keeps it alive
Augusta, your dogwoods and pines
They play on my mind like a song
Augusta, it’s you that I love
And it’s you that I miss when I’m gone.
It’s the legions of Arnie’s Army and the Golden Bear’s throngs
And the wooden-shafted legend of Bobby Jones.