House at Pooh Corner

Album: Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy (1970)
Charted: 53
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Songfacts®:

  • This was one of the first songs Kenny Loggins wrote, and his first charting single as a songwriter. In 1968, the 20-year-old Loggins took a job as a staff songwriter at ABC/Wingate publishing, where he was able to pitch his songs to major artists. "House at Pooh Corner" went to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who took it to #53 on the Hot 100. It was released on their 1970 album Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy.

    In 1971, Loggins recorded it with Jim Messina for the Loggins & Messina album Sittin' In.
  • Along with "Danny's Song," this was the tune that inspired Jim Messina to produce what was to be Loggins' first solo outing, but Messina ended up writing several songs for the album and Sittin' In became the first release for Loggins & Messina. Jim Messina was a member of the group Poco before joining CBS as a staff producer.
  • Years later when his third son was born, Loggins rewrote this as "Return To Pooh Corner." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Sara - Silver Spring, MD, for all above
  • The House At Pooh Corner is a popular children's book by A. A. Milne following the adventures of his character Winnie The Pooh. The song is based on this book. "(I was) going on graduation in high school, and for some reason, I was thinking about that last chapter in The House at Pooh Corner," Loggins explained to The Tennessean. "It was the first book I ever read."

    "The last chapter is where Christopher Robin is leaving the Hundred Acre Wood, and he's telling everybody goodbye," he continued. "I felt like that was akin to what I was going through in high school. Some part of me knew that I was leaving my childhood behind. I didn't really think it through like that. It just sort of came through."
  • The song nearly didn't get recorded because of copyright issues. Loggins explained: "I was 17, and I didn't really have any awareness that I wasn't allowed to write a song about Winnie the Pooh, and that there were people who owned that copyright. In those days, as a songwriter, you'd go around to different parties, much like what's happening here in Nashville where you have writers in the round."

    Loggins showed up at a party where a couple of members from an up-and-coming act called The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were also in attendance. They heard the song and loved it and told the teenage songwriter they wanted the tune for their album. "I was really excited, and I'd never had a song recorded," Loggins recalled. "About a month later, I got a phone call from John McEuen, who at the time seemed to be the leader of the Dirt Band. He says, 'Kenny, I'm really sorry, but we won't be able to record that song. We've been inundated with phone calls from Disney lawyers for the last few weeks, telling us that we're not allowed to record a song about Winnie the Pooh.'"

    "I was going on a date that night, and I mentioned to my girlfriend, 'I'm kinda bummed tonight because I thought I had my first song recorded, and it's not gonna happen. The Disney lawyers put the kibosh on it,'" he continued. "She looked at me and says, 'Disney lawyers? Let me to talk to Daddy about that.' I did not know that I was dating the daughter of the CEO of the Disney corporation."

Comments: 11

  • Jennifur Suni feel like the Lone stranger because I never heard of Pooh until I heard this song never grew up with or read the book. Love totally love this song though ever since the first time i ever heard it if you all have never seen it, catch the interview Kenny did with Dan Rather
  • Aj Jones from Springfield Mo.My 9 month old granddaughter loves music so I sing to her
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn November 29, 1979, Kenny Loggins performed "House at Pooh Corner" on the Philadelphia-based syndicated television program, 'The Mike Douglas Show'...
    Eight years earlier in 1971 the song was track two of side two on the 'Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In' album, the album peaked at #70 on Billboard's Pop albums chart...
    Also in 1971 the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band covered the song, on April 18th their version entered Billboard's Top 100 chart at position #89, nine weeks later it would peak at #53 {for 2 weeks} and it spent thirteen weeks on the Top 100...
    In 1994 Kenny Loggins released "Return to Pooh Corner", it would reached #25 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Track chart...
    Kenneth Clark Loggins will celebrate his 70th birthday in two months on January 7th {2018} and James Melvin Messina turns 70 in six days on December 5th {2017}.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 14th 1926, 'Winnie-the-Pooh' by A.A. {Alan Alexander} Milne was published in London, England; and two years later in 1928 the 2nd Winnie-the-Poop book, 'The House at Pooh Cornet', was released...
    R.I.P. A. A. Milne {1882 - 1956} and Christopher Robin Milne {1920 - 1996}.
  • Esskayess from Dallas, TxGrant returned to Pooh Corner, but not to Gary Chapman.
  • Dale from Santa Fe, NmReturn to Pooh Corner features Amy Grant
  • Sara from Silver Spring, Mdthis belongs in the category "Songs originally recorded by other artists" same with "What a Fool Believes".
  • Troy from East Greenwich, RiThis song is amazing, deffinate favourite of mine when growing up!
  • Sara from Silver Spring, MdKenny also did a song for Disney's "The Tigger Movie" co-written with Richard and Robert Sherman
    who did the songs for the original Pooh cartoons.
    In concert he always gets the audience to sing
    along with.
  • Ben from Chelsea, MeLoved this song growing up.
  • Guy from Woodinville, WaFor those of us raised on the delightful Winnie-the-Pooh (before it was bastardized by Walt Disney), Loggins did a masterful job of capturing with wistful gentleness of Pooh's and Christopher Robin's world. Bringing it full circle by Returning to Pooh Corner as an adult with a child was a stroke of genius!
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