Kenny Loggins

The soft, fingerpicked intro of "Danny's Song," the scat-like "chickity-pah, chickity-pah" that opens "This is It," those brassy synthesizer notes that steel the listener for the fury of "Danger Zone" — Kenny Loggins certainly knows how to set the mood. Loggins has come full-circle in his 35-year career, from his folk-rock adolescence with Loggins & Messina to his bushy, bearded and brash days as a solo rocker to, finally, a veteran performer whose live shows split the difference between both personas. The genetic coding for guitar-playing, smooth vocals and facial hair is clearly ingrained in the Loggins lineage as well: His son Crosby, the winner of the recent MTV reality train wreck Rock the Cradle, beat out other scions of rock royalty by subtly tweaking his father's formula of soulful vocals with soft-touch musicianship.