Dave Loggins, ‘Please Come to Boston’ Singer and Masters Theme Composer, Dies at 76

Dave Loggins, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter best known for his 1974 hit “Please Come to Boston,” died Wednesday (July 10) at Alive Hospice in Nashville. He was 76 years old.

No cause of death was disclosed.

Loggins, born in Shady Valley, Tenn., and raised in Bristol, Tenn., moved to Nashville where he became one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation.

He crafted five decades’ worth of hit songs for a long list of artists, including Three Dog Night, Joan Baez, Toby Keith, Johnny Cash, Wynonna Judd, Smokey Robinson, Ray Charles, Reba McEntire, Tanya Tucker, Kenny Rogers, and Willie Nelson.

Loggins, a cousin of pop star Kenny Loggins, achieved fame with “Please Come to Boston,” which topped the Easy Listening chart and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The song earned him a Grammy nomination for best pop male vocal performance, marking the first of his four Grammy nods.

In 1986, Loggins made history by winning a CMA Award for vocal duo of the year with Anne Murray for their duet “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” making him the only artist to receive the award without being signed to a major label.

One of Loggins’ most enduring contributions to music is “Augusta”, the theme song for the Augusta Masters Golf Tournament. Since 1982, the Tennessean hailed it as “the longest-running sports theme in history.”

Reflecting on the inspiration for “Augusta” in a 2019 interview with the Associated Press, Loggins said, “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.”

Loggins discussed his career on the All Things Vocal podcast in 2021, with Judy Rodman calling him “a reclusive genius.”

He shared how he was influenced by the finger-picking style of artists like Donovan and recounted how he landed his first publishing deal at age 22 with Jerry Crutchfield at Capitol Records. In recognition of his contributions, Loggins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1995.

Loggins is survived by his three sons, Quinn, Kyle, and Dylan, and his grandson, Braxton. In accordance with his wishes, there will be no funeral.

Donations in his memory can be made to Alive Hospice in Nashville.