Jimmy Fallon’s “Classroom Instruments” segment returned with a little extra kick Wednesday night when Kenny Loggins stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, joining Fallon and The Roots for a medley that packed several decades’ worth of radio and soundtrack staples into one segment.
The group ran through “I’m Alright,” “Danger Zone” and “Your Mama Don’t Dance” before getting some help from two very familiar faces on “Footloose.”
The segment opened in classic “Classroom Instruments” fashion, with Questlove counting everyone in before the group launched into a pint-sized version of Loggins’ catalog. But once the medley reached “Footloose,” John Lithgow—who played the dancing-averse Rev. Shaw Moore in the 1984 film—burst into the room to put a stop to it.
“Now, wait a minute. Everybody listen to me,” Lithgow declared. “I object to this kind of music. It’s illegal in this building.”
Fallon protested that they were “just having fun,” at which point Kevin Bacon made his entrance with two of his most famous lines from the film: “Jump back! Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a party.”
From there, Bacon joined Loggins, Fallon and The Roots for a full-on “Footloose” singalong, with the group powering through the chorus on classroom instruments before closing the bit with a brief “Celebrate Me Home” coda.
The appearance doubled as a celebration of Loggins’ Songwriters Hall of Fame induction and the 40th anniversary of “Danger Zone,” his Top Gun soundtrack staple.
Fallon has been producing “Classroom Instruments” segments since his Late Night days, when he and The Roots first launched the concept by performing “Call Me Maybe” with Carly Rae Jepsen in 2012. The series has since become one of Fallon’s signature music franchises, with past participants ranging from Adele and Metallica to Gwen Stefani and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Watch Loggins’ full “Classroom Instruments” medley with Fallon, The Roots, John Lithgow, and Kevin Bacon at the top of this post.
