The Works of Olivia Newton-John

 

Well, I knew that Dame Olivia Newton-John had been battling cancer for some time but it was still a shock to read on the news ticker tape on my local channel here in Toronto that she finally succumbed at the age of 73 earlier today. Not surprisingly, the televised tributes have been hitting the airwaves for the past few hours and all of them have featured "You're the One That I Want", her duet with John Travolta in "Grease" (1978).

For this article, I'm pretty much combining the personal Creator, Author's Picks and Reminiscings of Youth labels for Newton-John who had first stepped into show business a couple of years before I was even born. But it was on the radio in the early 1970s that I first heard about her. When I think about her discography, I have to say that I was never a big fan of her country music but there was that one ballad which stood out, "Have You Never Been Mellow" from January 1975.

I think that it could have been one of the big crossover hits from that time period...not just country but also soft rock or baroque pop. Written and composed by John Farrar who created many of Newton-John's hits, there was something of the Carpenters in "Have You Never Been Mellow". Listening to it again after so long while typing these two paragraphs has kinda put a thrill up my back since there isn't only the obvious softness in the vocals and arrangement, but when the refrain arrives, I also sense some strength and optimism emerging. "Have You Never Been Mellow" not only hit No. 1 in the United States and Canada but it was also nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the Grammys. The single was also released in Japan under the title "Soyokaze no Yuuwaku"（そよ風の誘惑...Temptation of a Breeze） and it also did decently on Oricon by placing in at No. 26.

The first OJN Reminiscings of Youth article I did was for the beautiful 50s ballad "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from "Grease" and since I have already mentioned "You're the One That I Want", I'll bypass the movie and go further ahead into her discography (plus I can mention it in a future ROY). It was at this time that Newton-John jumped over to the pop and disco circuit, and one of my favourites by her was "Magic", her May 1980 single from the movie "Xanadu". Despite how badly the movie fared, this song, another Farrar creation, has stuck with me all these decades because it actually brings together the disco and the sentimentality of a pop love song. I can actually imagine someone soaring into the night sky like Peter Pan as I listen to this. 

"Magic" was another chart-topper in the USA and Canada, and it didn't too badly in Japan either as it peaked at No. 43. The song was the trigger for me to finally pick up that "Xanadu" soundtrack.

I'd like to make two quips here: Sandy is all grown-up and horny now! Welcome to the MTV generation, Olivia! Yeah, I guess that music video for "Physical" was perhaps controversial for its day although now it just seems like the goofiest and most 80s media phenomenon. But there's no doubt that "Physical" was another hit and another touchstone OJN tune for me.

This came out as a massive hit single in September 1981 which may not have garnered any music awards nominations but "Physical" was another chart-topper in America and Canada, spending 10 weeks straight at No. 1 in the USA and breaking the 2-million barrier in sales there. It ultimately became Newton-John's biggest hit. I remember my high school mates coming over to my place since one of them had just bought the album "Physical", and he just played it over and over again until I threatened to get physical with him...in a damaging way.😖 I mean, the song was catchy, but even so...

One more song that I'll mention is the New Wave "Twist of Fate", another hit song from a soundtrack to a failed movie "Two of a Kind". OJN and John Travolta joined up once more for the flick but I remember the music video far more than "Two of a Kind" to the extent that the first few times that I watched the former, I'd assumed that the scenes from the movie were actually just part of the heavy-rotation video with Travolta coming in as a special guest performer. I also remember the video for the fact that the singer had apparently decided to go full bore into 1980s supermodel cosmetics and even she mentioned in an interview that the lip gloss was fairly troweled on.

David Foster was the producer for "Twist of Fate" which was an October 1983 single that hit No. 4 and No. 5 in Canada and the USA respectively. In Japan, it was released under the title "Unmei no Itazura"（運命のいたずら）which is a direct translation. It peaked at No. 73 on Oricon.

The music world lost one lovely lady today. My condolences to her family and friends.