Celeste Thomas

For some people, living a normal life might sound boring. But after a life on the road performing with pop singer Kenny Loggins, Guy Thomas said that he’s more than ready for a normal life.

Growing Up

Guy Thomas was born in the town of Livonia, Mich. He was a child prodigy and at the age of seven, he performed in front of thousands at a YMCA in his hometown. He made newspaper headlines all over town that talked about the young, self-taught musician and his incredible talent.

His father was a salesman, so the family never stayed in one place for very long. Because of it, he attended three different high schools, but he found music wherever he went. Graduating school in Youngstown, Ohio, RCA Records, an American record label owned by Sony Music, signed him immediately. He was flying back and forth from it’s headquarters in New York, creating new songs and working with his new manager, but things began to unravel.

“The guy that signed me had me thinking I’d be writing and producing rock music – my music,” Guy said. “But my “finished songs” were produced to disco-pop and I just couldn’t stand it. I told him I didn’t want them released, and went back home.”

The Start of his Career

He grew restless at home and began to road-trip across the country to California. Unable to settle in one place, he kept road-tripping and ended up in Colorado where he created a band with a few people he met. After a while, they all collectively decided they needed to go back to California to test their chances.

The second move to California jumpstarted his career. He started making great money with this band and wanted to go bigger. He auditioned for rock star Kenny Loggins as they were looking for a new lead guitarist. He didn’t make the cut at first, but one full year later, he got a personal call from Kenny.

“I remember looking at the phone, random number, and I picked it up to hear that it was Kenny Loggins personally calling me,” Guy recalled. “He said that he remembered my audition and really wanted me to come play, so I did. I stuck with him for over 12 years.”

Life on the Road

He started traveling all over the United States performing at the biggest venues like the Grand Canyon, Madison Square Garden, etc. and even began traveling to Taiwan, Japan, Canada, etc. He was Kenny’s front man – always playing lead wherever they went. The road got to be a bit crazy, so he took a few months off, and then he met his future wife.

“My friend and I went to our first ever Loggins show and we were sitting next to this guy by himself conversing with us about everything other than the fact that he actually played for Kenny,” Jen said recalling how she met Guy. “At the end of the show, Kenny gave a shout out to his lead guitarist saying that he missed him – talking him up. The spotlight shined down on me and in my confusion, I realized it was shining right on him. He got up, put VIP passes on our laps and told us to come backstage after the show.”

Jen encouraged him to follow his passion and go back on the road, and he did. In those last few years, Guy peaked. He got to perform with huge artists, including Michael McDonald (featured member of the Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan), Don Henley (featured member of the Eagles and Steely Dan), Sheryl Crow, Smokey Robinson, Randy Jackson, and more.

He and Kenny co-wrote the album, Leap of Faith, which featured hit songs including “I’m Alright” “Leap of Faith” and “Now or Never.” The most renowned song on the album came to be “Conviction of the Heart” which, during Bill Clinton’s presidency, Vice President at the time, Al Gore, said that it’d become the environmental movement anthem of the United States. The band performed the song for Earth Day at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1995. The title song went on to even win an Emmy. 

“I came to Guy’s apartment one day when he had this song he had to show me. Guy wrote these incredible lyrics and I immediately fell in love with it, ” commented Loggins. “We pieced together a melody and finished the whole song that day. We released it in ’91 and what came from it was pretty incredible.”

To check out out more on Guy Thomas, click on the link to his personal website down below.

To check out other songs Guy has co-written or been featured on, click on the link below.