Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John, circa 1988
Background information
Born	26 September 1948 (1948-09-26) (age 59) Cambridge, England
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genre(s)	Pop, Country
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actress
Instrument(s)	Vocal, Drum
Years active	1963 – present
Website	olivianewton-john.com

Olivia Newton-John AO OBE (born 26 September 1948) is a Grammy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated English-born Australian pop singer, songwriter and actress. Her highly acclaimed vocal, musical, and acting talents have made her a globally recognized name. She is also a small business entrepreneur, as well as an avid activist in both environmental issues and breast cancer awareness.

Early life

Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England. Her parents were Brinley Newton-John and Irene Born (b. 25 May, 1914). Irene was the eldest child of Max Born, a Lutheran German Nobel prize-winning physicist,^[1] who had fled from Germany with his wife in the 1930s in order to avoid persecution due to his and his wife's part Jewish heritage. Olivia's father, the Cardiff-born son of a publican, was an MI5 officer attached to the Enigma machine project at Bletchley Park, and the officer who took Rudolf Hess into custody when he parachuted into Scotland in May 1941. After World War II, he became a professor of German at the UNSW annex at Tighes Hill in Newcastle, Australia. In 1954, aged five, Newton-John, her parents Brin and Irene, and her older siblings Hugh and Rona, emigrated to Melbourne, Australia,^[2] where her father had taken a job at Melbourne University as the Master of Ormond College.

Career

Early career

At 14, Newton-John formed a short-lived all-girl band, Sol Four, with three classmates. She soon became a regular on local Australian radio and television shows including HSV-7's The Happy Show where she performed as Lovely Livvy. She also appeared on the Go Show where she met her lifelong friends, Pat Carroll and John Farrar. (Carroll and Farrar eventually married.) She entered a talent contest on the television program Sing, Sing, Sing, hosted by 1960s Australian icon Johnny O'Keefe, performing the songs "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses". She won the contest and received a trip to England as the prize. Initially, she was reluctant to go, but her mother encouraged her to broaden her horizons. Newton-John was homesick in England as she missed Australia and her then boyfriend, Ian Turpie with whom she co-starred in an independently produced Australian telefilm Funny Things Happen Down Under. This changed when friend Pat Carroll also moved to England. The two formed a duo and toured nightclubs in Europe until Carroll's visa expired forcing her to return to Australia. Newton-John remained in England to pursue solo work. Newton-John recorded her first single, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" b/w "Forever," for England's Decca Records in 1966. Newton-John was recruited for the group, "Toomorrow" — the brainchild of American producer Don Kirshner, creator of The Monkees. The group recorded an album and starred in a "science fiction musical" both named after the group released in 1970. The project failed and the group was quickly disbanded.

1971-1977

Newton-John released her first solo album, If Not For You, in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan, was her first international hit (No. 25 Pop, No. 1 Adult Contemporary [hereafter AC]). Her follow-up, Banks Of The Ohio, was a Top 10 hit in England and Australia, but faltered in the US (No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC). She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine Record Mirror. She made frequent appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show, It's Cliff Richard, and starred with him in the telefilm The Case. In the United States, Newton-John's career floundered after If Not For You until the release of Let Me Be There in 1973. The song reached the American Top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7) and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female. The song also propelled the album Let Me Be There to No. 1 on the Country Albums chart for two weeks. In 1974, Newton-John represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with Long Live Love, a song voted for by the British public that she disliked.^[3] Newton-John placed fourth at the contest in Brighton behind ABBA's winning Waterloo. All six song candidates for the contest were recorded by Newton-John and included on her Long Live Love album, her first for the EMI label. In North America, this album was released by MCA as If You Love Me, Let Me Know with the six Eurovision songs dropped for four different, more country-oriented tracks to capitalize on the success of Let Me Be There. The title track was the first single reaching No. 5 Pop, No. 2 Country (her best country placement ever) and No. 2 AC. The next single, I Honestly Love You, has become Newton-John's signature song. Written by Jeff Barry and Peter Allen, the ballad became her first No. 1 Pop (two weeks) and second No. 1 AC (three weeks) hit and earned Newton-John two more Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Female. The success of both singles helped the album reach No. 1 on both the Pop (one week) and Country (eight weeks) Albums charts. Newton-John's country success was reviled by purists who believed a foreigner singing country flavored pop music did not belong in country music. Besides her Grammy for Let Me Be There, Newton-John was also named the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year in 1974 defeating nominees Loretta Lynn, Canadian Anne Murray, Dolly Parton and Tanya Tucker. Newton-John's win outraged many country artists leading to the formation of the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers (ACE). Newton-John was eventually supported by most in the country music community. Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, recorded Ode To Olivia and Newton-John recorded her 1976 album, Don't Stop Believin', in Nashville. Encouraged by expatriate Australian singer Helen Reddy, Newton-John left England and moved to the United States. Newton-John topped the Pop (one week) and Country (six weeks) Albums charts with her next album, Have You Never Been Mellow. The album generated two singles - the title track (No. 1 Pop, No. 3 Country, No. 1 AC) and Please Mr. Please (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). Newton-John's pop career cooled with the release of her next album, Clearly Love. Her streak of five consecutive gold Top 10 singles ended when the album's first single, Something Better To Do, stopped at No. 13 (also No. 19 Country and No. 1 AC). Although her albums still achieved gold status and usually charted in the Top 10 on the Country Albums chart, she did not return to the Top 10 on the Hot 100 or Pop Albums charts again until 1978. Newton-John's singles continued to easily top the AC chart where she ultimately amassed ten No. 1 singles including seven consecutively - from 1974's I Honestly Love You through 1976's Don't Stop Believin'. She also continued to reach the Country Top 10 where she tallied seven Top 10 hits through 1976's Come On Over (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). By mid-1977, Olivia's AC and country success also began to wane. Her Making a Good Thing Better album (No. 34 Pop, No. 13 Country) failed to be certified gold and its only single, the title track, did not even reach the AC Top 10. Although the release that same year of Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits became her first platinum album, Newton-John was ready to move her career in new directions.

1978-1979

Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson in Grease.

The single cover of one of Olivia's biggest international hits, "You're The One That I Want" a duo with John Travolta, from the 1978 film Grease

Newton-John's career soared after starring in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease in 1978. She was offered the lead role of Sandy after a chance meeting with producer Allan Carr at a dinner party held by Helen Reddy in her Los Angeles home. Burned by her Toomorrow experience and concerned that she was too old to play a high school senior (she turned 29 during the latter 1977 filming), Newton-John insisted on a screen test with the film's co-star, John Travolta. The film accommodated Newton-John's Australian accent by recasting her character from the play's original American Sandy Dumbrowski to Sandy Olsson - an Australian who vacations and then moves with her family to the United States.

The film was the biggest box office hit of 1978^[4] and remained popular enough that it was re-released in theaters on its 20th anniversary in 1998. The soundtrack spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John: the No. 1 You're The One That I Want (with John Travolta), the No. 3 Hopelessly Devoted to You and the No. 5 Summer Nights (with John Travolta and the film's cast). The former two songs were both written by Newton-John's long-time producer, John Farrar, specifically for the film. Newton-John became the second female (after Linda Ronstadt in 1977) to have two singles, Hopelessly Devoted to You and Summer Nights, in the Billboard Top 5 simultaneously. She was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical and performed the Oscar-nominated Hopelessly Devoted to You at the 1979 Academy Awards. To this day, the soundtrack still sells several thousand copies per week and often appears on Billboard's Soundtracks chart. Newton-John's transformation in the film from goody-goody "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2" emboldened Newton-John to do the same with her music career. In November 1978, she released the pop album, Totally Hot, which became her first solo Top 10 (No. 7) album since Have You Never Been Mellow. Dressed on the cover all in leather, the album's singles A Little More Love (No. 3 Pop, No. 94 Country, No. 4 AC), Deeper Than The Night (No. 11 Pop, No. 87 Country, No. 4 AC) and the title track (No. 52 Pop) all demonstrated a more aggressive and uptempo sound for Newton-John. Although the album clearly de-emphasized country, it still reached No. 4 on the Country Albums chart. Newton-John released the B-side, Dancin' 'Round And 'Round, of the Totally Hot single to Country radio where it peaked at No. 29 (as well as No. 82 Pop and No. 25 AC) becoming her last charted solo Country airplay single to date.

1980s

Newton-John began 1980 by releasing I Can't Help It (No. 12 Pop, No. 8 AC), a duet with Andy Gibb from his After Dark album. Later that year, she appeared in her first film since Grease, starring in the musical Xanadu with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. While the movie was a critical failure, it was ultimately profitable and its soundtrack was certified double platinum. The soundtrack boasted five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including Newton-John's Magic (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), Suddenly with Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC) and the title-song with ELO (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC). The film has since become a cult classic and the basis for a well-reviewed Broadway show in 2007. In 1981, Newton-John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her career. She then released her most successful studio album, the double platinum Physical. The title track, written by Steve Kipner and Terry Shaddick, spent ten weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, matching the then record of most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist held by Debby Boone's You Light Up My Life. The single was certified platinum and ultimately ranked as the biggest song of the decade. The song even earned Newton-John her only placement ever on the R&B Singles (No. 28) and Albums (No. 32) chart. The Physical album spawned two more singles, Make A Move On Me (No. 5 Pop, No. 6 AC) and Landslide (No. 52 Pop). To counter the overtly suggestive tone of the title track, Newton-John filmed an exercise-themed video that turned the song into an aerobics anthem (and made headbands a fashion accessory outside the gym). Newton-John became a pioneer in the nascent music video industry by recording a video album for Physical featuring videos of all the album's tracks as well as three of her older hits. The video album earned her a fourth Grammy and was aired as an ABC prime time special, Let's Get Physical, becoming a Top 10 Nielsen hit. The success of Physical led to an international tour and the release of her second hits collection, the double platinum Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2, which yielded two more Top 40 singles: Heart Attack (No. 3 Pop) and Tied Up (No. 38 Pop). The tour was filmed for her Olivia In Concert television special, which premiered on HBO in January 1983. The special was subsequently released to video earning Newton-John another Grammy nomination. Newton-John re-teamed with Travolta in 1983 for the critically and commercially unsuccessful Two of a Kind, redeemed by its platinum soundtrack featuring Twist Of Fate (No. 5 Pop), Livin' In Desperate Times (No. 31 Pop) and a new duet with Travolta, Take A Chance (No. 3 AC). Newton-John released another video package, the Grammy-nominated Twist Of Fate, featuring videos of her four songs on the Two of a Kind soundtrack and the two new singles from Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2. The same year, Newton-John and Pat Farrar founded Koala Blue. The store was originally for Australian imports, but evolved into a chain of women's clothing boutiques. The chain was initially successful, but declared bankruptcy and closed in 1992. Newton-John and Farrar would later license the brand name for a line of Australian produced wines and confections. Newton-John married long-time boyfriend Matt Lattanzi in December 1984. The couple had met four years earlier while filming Xanadu. (They divorced in 1995.) Newton-John resumed recording in 1985 with the release of the gold Soul Kiss (No. 29 Pop). By this point, fans were tiring of Newton-John's raunchier image. The album's only charted single was the title track (No. 20 Pop, No. 20 AC). Newton-John's pregnancy with daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi (b. January 1986) limited her publicity for the album. The video album for Soul Kiss featured videos of only five of the album's ten tracks and the album's second single, Toughen Up, failed to even chart. After a three year hiatus to raise Chloe, Newton-John returned with 1988's The Rumour. The album was promoted by an HBO special, Olivia Down Under, and its first single, the title track, was written and produced by Elton John. Both the single (No. 62 Pop, No. 33 AC) and album (No. 67 Pop) fizzled as the nearly 40 year-old Newton-John seemed "old" when compared to the teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany ruling the charts at that time. The second single, Can't We Talk It Over In Bed, did not chart. (The song was remade the following year by Grayson Hugh as Talk It Over becoming his only Top 20 hit.) A year later, Newton-John recorded her "self-indulgent" album, Warm and Tender, featuring lullabies and love songs for parents and their children. This album also did not revive her recording career struggling to No. 124 Pop.

Breast Cancer Survivor and Health Advocate

Newton-John was primed for another comeback in 1992 when she compiled her third hits collection, Back To Basics - The Essential Collection 1971-1992, and planned her first tour since her Physical trek ten years earlier. Shortly after the album's release, Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer forcing her to cancel all publicity for the album including the tour. (Newton-John received her diagnosis the same weekend her father passed away.) Newton-John recovered and has since become a tireless advocate of breast cancer awareness and research. She has been a product spokesperson for the Liv-Kit, a breast self-examination product. She is currently raising funds to build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia which will include a three-week long walk along the Great Wall of China in April 2008. Newton-John will join Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst as a co-host of the PBS health and well-being series, Healing Quest, also in 2008. Newton-John's cancer diagnosis affected the type of music she recorded. In 1994, she released Gaia: One Woman's Journey, which chronicled her ordeal. This was the first album on which Newton-John wrote all of the songs encouraging her to become more active as a songwriter thereafter. In 2005, she released Stronger Than Before sold exclusively in the United States by Hallmark. Proceeds from the album's sales benefited breast cancer research. The album featured the song Phenomenal Woman based on the poem by Maya Angelou that featured guest vocals from Diahann Carroll, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Delta Goodrem, Amy Holland, Patti LaBelle and Mindy Smith who were all cancer survivors or whose lives were affected by the disease. The following year, Newton-John released a healing CD, Grace And Gratitude. The album was sold exclusively by Walgreens also benefitting various charities and was the "heart" of their "Body - Heart - Spirit" Wellness Collection. The collection also featured a re-branded Liv-Kit and breast health dietary supplements. Newton-John's spirituality also extended to the release of several Christmas albums. In 2000, she teamed with Vince Gill and the London Symphony Orchestra for 'Tis The Season sold exclusively through Hallmark. The following year, she released The Christmas Collection which compiled seasonal music previously recorded for her Hallmark Christmas album, her appearance on Kenny Loggins' 1999 TNN Christmas special and her contributions to the Mother And Child and Spirit Of Christmas multi-artist collections. In 2007, she re-teamed with her Grace And Gratitude producer Amy Sky for Christmas Wish which was sold exclusively by Target.

Later career

Newton-John's spiritual, contemplative music was complemented by her pop-oriented releases. In 1998, she returned to Nashville to record Back With A Heart. The album returned her to the Top 10 (No. 9) on the Country Albums chart. Its only single was a remake of I Honestly Love You produced by David Foster and featuring Babyface on background vocals that charted Pop (No. 67) and AC (No. 18). Country radio dismissed the song, although it did peak at No. 16 on the Country Sales chart. The album track, Love Is A Gift, won Newton-John a 1999 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song after being featured on the daytime serial, As The World Turns. Newton-John resumed touring annually beginning in 1999. Newton-John's subsequent albums were all released overseas primarily in Australia. Newton-John, John Farnham and Anthony Warlow toured Australia as The Main Event. The live album won an ARIA Award for Highest Selling Australian CD and was also nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album. She and Farnham performed Dare To Dream at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 2002, Newton-John released (2), a duets album featuring mostly Australian artists including Darren Hayes, Tina Arena, Jimmy Little, Billy Thorpe and Johnny O'Keefe as well as a heartfelt "duet" with the deceased Peter Allen. The same year, Newton-John was inducted into Australia's ARIA Hall of Fame. 2004 brought the release of Indigo: Women of Song, a tribute album covering songs by The Carpenters, Minnie Riperton, Doris Day, Nina Simone, Joan Baez and others. Newton-John dedicated the album to her mother who died the previous year. Newton-John acted occasionally since Two of a Kind. She appeared in a supporting role in the 1996 AIDS drama, It's My Party - her first feature film since Two Of A Kind. In 2000, she appeared in a dramatically different role as Bitsy Mae Harling, a lesbian ex-con country singer, in Del Shores' Sordid Lives. (Newton-John will reprise this role in 2008 for Sordid Lives - The Series on the LOGO television network.) Newton-John's television work included starring in two Christmas movies, A Mom For Christmas (1990) and A Christmas Romance (1994) - both Top 10 Nielsen hits. Her daughter, Chloe, starred as one of her children in both A Christmas Romance and in the 2001 Showtime film The Wilde Girls. Newton-John guest-starred as herself in the sitcoms Ned and Stacey, Murphy Brown and Bette. In Australia, Newton-John hosted Wild Life, a show about animals and nature - two major interests for Newton-John. She also guest starred as Joanna on two episodes of the Australian series The Man From Snowy River. After her 1995 divorce from Matt Lattanzi, Newton-John met gaffer/cameraman Patrick McDermott the following year. The couple dated on and off for nine years until he went missing following a 2005 fishing trip off the California coast. Various theories have abounded regarding his disappearance ranging from his death by accident or foul play to McDermott staging his disappearance to avoid child support payments to his ex-wife, actress Yvette Nipar. To date, there have been no credible leads and he remains missing. Newton-John, who was in Australia at her self-owned Gaia Retreat & Spa at the time of his disappearance, was never a suspect ^[5] and has refused to comment on any speculation. Newton-John returned to the tabloid headlines again in 2007 when it was revealed that her daughter was recovering from anorexia. Newton-John will release a new concert DVD, Olivia Newton-John and the Sydney Symphony: Live at the Sydney Opera House, and a companion CD, Olivia's Live Hits, on January 15, 2008. An edited version of the DVD premiered on PBS station, WLIW (Garden City, New York), in October 2007 and subsequently aired nationally during the network's fund-raising pledge drives. This is Newton-John's third live album after the 1981 Japanese release, Love Performance, and her 2000 Australian release, One Woman's Live Journey.

Honors

In 1979, Newton-John was appointed an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2002, she was inducted into the Australian Music Hall of Fame by the Australian Recording Industry Association. In 2006, she was named an Officer (AO) in the Order of Australia for "service to the entertainment industry as a singer and actor, and to the community through organisations supporting breast cancer treatment, education, training and research, and the environment".

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilations

Grammy Awards

Wins:

• 1973 - BEST COUNTRY PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "Let Me Be There"
• 1974 - RECORD OF THE YEAR: "I Honestly Love You"
• 1974 - BEST POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "I Honestly Love You"
• 1982 - VIDEO OF THE YEAR: "Olivia Physical"

Nominations:

• 1975 - BEST POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "Have You Never Been Mellow"
• 1978 - ALBUM OF THE YEAR: Grease
• 1978 - BEST POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "Hopelessly Devoted to You"
• 1980 - BEST POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "Magic"
• 1981 - BEST POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "Physical"
• 1982 - BEST POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE FEMALE: "Heart Attack"
• 1983 - BEST VIDEO ALBUM: Olivia In Concert
• 1984 - BEST VIDEO; SHORT FORM: Twist Of Fate

Filmography

• Funny Things Happen Down Under (1965)
• Toomorrow (1970)
• Grease (1978)
  • Golden Globe Nominee: Best Actress - Comedy or Musical
  • People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Actress
• Xanadu (1980)
• Two of a Kind (1983)
• She's Having a Baby (1988) (cameo)
• A Mom For Christmas (1990 - TV Movie)
• Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) (documentary)
• A Christmas Romance (1994 - TV Movie)
• It's My Party (1996)
• Sordid Lives (2000)
• The Wilde Girls (2001 - TV Movie)

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Newton-John unofficially had two successive No. 1 singles on Billboard's AC chart. She provided a prominent, but uncredited, vocal on John Denver's single, "Fly Away" (No. 13 Pop, No. 12 Country), which spent one week atop the AC chart. "Fly Away" was succeeded at No. 1 by Newton-John's double-sided single "Let It Shine/He Ain't Heavy...He's My Brother" which led the AC chart for two weeks before being replaced by "Fly Away" for its second non-consecutive week at No. 1.
• A contestant on an episode of Deal or No Deal was a huge fan of Grease, claiming to have seen it over 300 times. During the game, the producers called Newton-John who spoke with the contestant.
• In the popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) World of Warcraft, the Stormwind bankers are named Olivia, Newton and John.
• On January 28, 2007, she was a guest judge on the reality television series Grease: You're the One that I Want!.
• Olivia was a huge part of the plot in "The Orkly Kid"
• On January 31, 2007, she was a guest judge on American Idol.
• She owns a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
• Olivia turned down the lead role in Can't Stop the Music as well as the chance to reprise her role as Sandy in Grease 2.
• Olivia was originally considered for the leading role in the movie version of "Evita" which eventually starred Madonna
• Despite some Internet rumors, she is not related to Elton John, whose birthname is Reginald Kenneth Dwight.
• On 11th December 2007 Olivia visited the Max-Born Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., to participate in the 125th anniversary of the birth of her grandfather, the great physicist, Max Born.

See also

• List of notable Melburnians
• List of best-selling music artists
• List of artists who reached number one in Ireland

References

• Wood, Gerry. (1998). "Olivia Newton-John". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 380-1.
• American chart data can be verified by Joel Whitburn's reference books: Top Pop Albums, Top Country Albums, Top R&B Albums, Top Pop Singles, Top Country Singles, Top Adult Contemporary Singles, Top R&B Singles
• American record certifications per riaa.org

External links

• Official website
• Only Olivia fan club
• Fan website
• Gaia Retreat & Spa Retreat Australia
• More Than Physical ONJ Blog Site
• The Retrospectator: Olivia Newton-John
• Olivia Newton-John at the Internet Movie Database