Olivia Totally Hot

Olivia released her first solo album, If Not For You (No. 158 Pop), in 1971.  The title track, was written by Bob Dylan and was her first international hit - No. 25 Pop and No. 1 Adult Contemporary (AC).  Let Me Be There, released in 1973, reached the American Top 10 on the Pop, Country and AC charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female and an Academy of Country Music Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.  The next single, I Honestly Love You, became her signature song. and earned Olivia two more Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female. Olivia's country success sparked a debate among purists who believed a foreigner singing country-flavoured pop music did not belong in country music.  In addition to her Grammy, Newton-John was also named the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year in 1974, defeating more established nominees Loretta Lynn, Canadian Anne Murray, Dolly Parton and Tanya Tucker.  This outrage led to the formation of the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers (ACE).  Olivia was eventually supported by the country music community.  Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, recorded Ode to Olivia and Olivia recorded her 1976 album, Don't Stop Believin', in Nashville. Moving to the USA in 1975, Olivia continued to dominate American Country Music with a string of hits: Have You Ever Been Mellow, Please Mr Please, Something Better to Do, He Ain't Heavy, Come on Over and Don't Stop Believin'.  However, by mid-1977, Olivia's AC and country success began to wane.  Her Making a Good Thing Better album failed to be certified gold, and its only single, the title track, did not reach even the AC Top 10 or the Country chart.  Later that year, Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits became her first platinum album as she prepared to launch a new phase in her career.

0livia'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 meeting producer Allan Carr at a dinner party at Helen Reddy's home.  Grease became the biggest box-office hit of 1978.  The soundtrack album spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles: the platinum You're The One That I Want with John Travolta, the gold winning Hopelessly Devoted to You and Summer Nights with John Travolta and the film's cast. Olivia's transformation in Grease from goody-goody Sandy to the cigarette smoking, spandex-clad vamp emboldened Olivia to do the same with her music career.  In November 1978, she released her next studio album, Totally Hot, which became her first solo Top 10 album since Have You Never Been Mellow.  Dressed on the cover all in leather, the album's singles A Little More Love, Deeper than the Night, and the title track all demonstrated a more aggressive and uptempo sound for Olivia. Olivia's second movie Xanadu (1980) with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck was a critical failure.  Howerver, its soundtrack was certified double platinum boasting five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.  Olivia charted with Magic (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), Suddenly with Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC) and the title song, Xanadu, with the Electric Light Orchestra (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC).  The Electric Light Orchestra also charted with I'm Alive (No. 16 Pop, No. 48 AC) and All Over the World (No. 13 Pop, No. 46 AC).  Magic was Olivia's biggest Pop hit to that point (four weeks at No. 1) and still ranks as the biggest AC hit of her career (five weeks at No. 1).  The film has since become a cult classic and the basis for a well-reviewed Broadway show that ran for more than 500 performances beginning in 2007 and was nominated for four Tony Awards including best musical.

In 1981, Olivia 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, was certified platinum and it ultimately ranked as the biggest song of the decade.  In 2008, Billboard ranked the song No. 6 among all songs that charted in the 50-year history of the Hot 100.  Physical even earned Olivia 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 and Landslide. The provocative lyrics of the title track prompted two Utah radio stations to ban the single from their playlists.  In 2010, Billboard magazine ranked this as the most popular single ever about sex.  To counter its overtly suggestive tone, Olivia filmed an exercise-themed video that turned the song into an aerobics anthem and made headbands a fashion accessory outside the gym.  Olivia became a pioneer in the nascent music video industry by recording a video album for Physical featuring videos of all the album's tracks and 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. An unscessful third movie Two Of A Kind (1983), back again with Johm Travolta, produced the hit single Twist Of Fate.  Soul Kiss released in 1985 had a hit with the title track and interesting songs in Culture Shock, Emotional Tangle and Moth To A flame.  After a 3 year hiatus (marriage and motherhood) Olivia released The Rumour in 1988.  A critical success with praise for its mature themes addressing topics such as AIDS - Love And Let Live, the environment - Let's Talk About Tomorrow and single-parent households - It's Not Heaven.  However, it was unsuccessful commercially as the nearly 40-year-old Newton-John seemed "old" when compared with the teen queens Debbie Gibson and Tiffany ruling the Pop charts at that time.  Precious Love from the 1998 CD release Back With A Heart closes out this jukebox compiltation.

Wanderin' Spirit
January, 2013
"Olivia Totally Hot"

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