Olivia Newton-John bio, Grease, John Travolta, videos

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BORN: September 26, 1948, Cambridge, England

Olivia Newton-John skillfully made the transition from popular country-pop singer to popular mainstream soft-rock singer, becoming one of the most successful vocalists of the '70s in the process. The transition itself wasn't much of a stretch -- her early '70s hits "I Honestly Love You" and "Have You Never Been Mellow" were country only in the loosest sense -- yet the extent of her success in both fields was remarkable. As a country singer, her first five charting singles all went Top 10 in the US; as a pop singer, she had no lest than 15 Top 10 hits, including five number one singles, highlighted by "Physical," which spent 10 weeks at number one in 1981-82. Newton-John's sweet voice suited both country-pop and soft-rock perfectly, which is what kept her at the top of the charts until the mid-'80s. After 1984, she was no longer able to reach the Top 40, partially because of shifting musical tastes and partially because she was unable to successfully record sexy dance-pop, no matter how hard she tried. Nevertheless, her '70s and '80s hits remained soft-rock and adult contemporary staples into the '90s, when she was no longer recording frequently

Although she was born in Cambridge, England, Olivia Newton-John was raised in Melbourne Australia, where her father was the headmaster of Ormond College (her grandfather, Max Born, won the Nobel Prize for physics). She tenatively entered show business at the age of 12, when she won a local Haley Mills-lookalike contest. A few years later, she formed an all-female vocal group called the Sol Four with three school friends. Once the Sol Four disbanded, Newton-John entered a television talent contest, winning the grand prize of a trip to London, England. Once in London, she formed a duo with Pat Carroll, another Australian-based vocalist, and tried to work her way into the music industry.

Though her partenership with Carrol was short-lived -- Pat was sent back to Australia once her visa expired -- Olivia was making inroads in the business. Following Carrol's departure, Newton-John recorded and released her first single, a version of Jackie DeShannon's "Till You Say You'll Be Mine." Shortly afterward, she became a member of Toomorrow, a bubblegum group assembled by Don Kirshner in hopes of creating a British version of the Monkees. Toomorrow appeared in a science-fiction movie of the same name and had one minor British hit single, "I Could Never Live Without Your Love," in early 1970 before the group quietly disbanded.

Following the failure of Toomorrow, Newton-John became part of Cliff Richard's touring show, appearing both as an opening act at his concerts and on his British television series, It's Cliff!. The exposure as a singer and comedienne on the show helped Olivia's career immersurably, and her first single for Uni Records, a version of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You" became a Top 10 hit in the UK in the spring of 1971; in America, it was surprisingly successful, spending three weeks at the top of the Adult Contemporary charts and peaking at number 25 on the pop charts.

For the next two years, Newton-John's success was primarily contained in Britain, where she had a string of lesser hits with covers of George Harrison's "What Is Life" and John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads." In America, her career was stalled -- her followup single, "Banks of the Ohio," barely scraped the lower reaches of the Top 100. On the other hand, she didn't release a full-length album in the US until 1973, when Let Me Be There appeared. The title track from the record became a huge hit, going gold in early 1974 and peaking in the Top 10 country and pop charts. "Let Me Be There" was so successful it won the Grammy award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female, much to the consternation of many members of Nashville's music industry."Let Me Be There" was followed by four other Top Ten hits -- "If You Love Me (Let Me Know)" (#2 country, #5 pop, 1974), "I Honestly Love You" (#6 country, #1 pop, 1974), "Have You Never Been Mellow" (#3 country, #1 pop, 1975), and "Please Mr. Please" (#5 country, #3 pop, 1975).

Newton-John moved to Los Angeles late in 1974, and early the following year, she won the Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Country Music Association. As a protest, several members of the CMA quit the organization. Ironically, Olivia Newton-John was already planning to move away from country. During 1976 and 1977, she had a number of minor hits with soft-rock songs. Though none of these were big pop successes, they began to establish her as a pop singer, not a country-pop singer.

Olivia Newton-John's transformation into a mildly sexy pop singer was complete in 1978, when she starred in the movie version of the popular Broadway musical Grease. Also starring John Travolta, Grease was an international hit and it spawned three huge hit singles -- "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want; " the latter two were duets between Newton-John and Travolta. "You're The One That I Want," in particular, was a massive success, reaching number one in both America and Britain; in the UK, it spent a staggering nine weeks at number one.

During 1979, Olivia released the Totally Hot album, which boasted a mixture of soft rock and light disco. The record was another hit, with the first single "A Little More Love" peaking at number three on the US pop charts and going gold. Early in 1980, Newton-John starred in the roller-disco fantasy film Xanadu. While the movie was an unqualified bomb, the soundtrack was a huge hit. "Magic" spent four weeks at the top of the US pop charts, while the ELO duet "Xanadu" reached number eight and her duet with Cliff Richard, "Suddenly," peaked at number 20.With her next album, Physical, Newton-John continued to rework her image, re-inventing herself as a sexy aerobics fanatic.

The first single from the record, the suggestive "Physical," was a huge hit, spending ten weeks at number one during the fall and winter of 1981-82. Physical spawned another Top Ten hit -- "Make a Move On Me" -- and became her most successful record. Following the album's success, she was awareded with an Order of the British Empire. In 1983, Newton-John again starred with Travolta, this time in the comedy Two of a Kind. The movie was a bomb, but a song she recorded for the soundtrack, "Twist of Fate," became a Top Ten hit in early 1984. By the end of 1984, Newton-John had married actor Matt Lattanzi . The following year, she released the Physical clone Soul Kiss, which produced only one minor hit with its title track.

In 1986, she had a daughter named Chloe and opened a clothing store chain called Koala Blue. Newton-John attempted to launch a comeback in 1988 with The Rumour, but the album was ignored. She signed with Geffen the following year, releasing the children's album Warm and Tender. During the late '80s and '90s, she devoted herself to her family and business, as well as several environmental activist organizations. In 1992, Koala Blue folded and Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the next year, she successfully underwent treatment for the disease. In 1994, she returned to recording with the indepently-released and self-produced album Gaia. Back with a Heart, a return to Nashville, followed in 1998. One Woman's Live Journey was issued two years later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Video Biography

Olivia Newton-John was an extremely popular country/ pop singer during the seventies whose best known songs include If You Love Me (Let Me know), Have You Never Been Mellow, and I Honestly Love You. Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England but raised in Australia. As a singer she got her start as a teenager performing in England. When she first burst onto the U.S. scene, she was known as a country singer, but soon crossed-over into pop. Newton-John went on to earn numerous gold records and won many awards, including the Grammy. In 1981, she had her biggest hit with Physical. In 1978, she broadened her horizons and became an actress, starring in the smash-hit film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease. Following the success of that film, she starred in the musical fantasy Xanadu and bombed at the box-office. Still, as did Grease, which provided her with hits such as Hopelessly Devoted to You and the duet with co-star John Travolta You're the One That I Want, the Xanadu soundtrack provided her a hit with the title song, Magic. Her next film Two of a Kind, again co-starring Travolta, also bombed. As an actress she later appeared in a few episodes of Timeless Tales from Hallmark. In 1983, Newton-John returned to Australia because she was being stalked by a killer. Following his arrest, she returned to Hollywood and opened a chain of clothing stores, Koala Blue, in which she served interesting health drinks and Australian clothing. The chain went bankrupt in the early '90s. Newton-John was preparing to jump-start her music career in 1992 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer (her father had died of cancer just two weeks before her own diagnosis).She underwent a partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction. Newton-John returned to film, making a cameo appearance in the 1996 AIDS melodrama It's My Party. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Olivia Newton-John bio, Grease, John Travolta, videos

Olivia Newton John

OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN : Son ex serait toujours en vie

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Olivia Newton John