OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (1948 - 2022)

I am very sad to hear that Olivia Newton-John, who I consider to be one of our greatest pop singers, has passed away at the age of seventy-three. The British-born, Australian-raised performer was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and had been bravely been battling against this disease ever since yet sadly succumbed on August 8th.

Performing professionally as a singer since she was a teenager, Newton-John had first joined an all-girl singing group, Sol-Four with some of her fellow classmates which lead to becoming a regular on "The Happy Show", an Australian children's program, where she was billed as "Lovely 'Livvy". It was during her appearance on another television show, "The Go Show" where Olivia met two people who would become very important to her career; Pat Carroll, who would become her singing partner and John Farrar who later became the writer/producer of much of her music. 

Newton-John and Carroll went to England and became the singing act, "Pat and Olivia" in 1967 and toured the country. Yet when Carroll's work visa expired, she had to return to Australia and Newton-John reluctantly decided to stay in Britain to continue her music career. It eventually paid off when she met American producer, Don Kirshner in 1970 who hired her to join his band, Toomorrow he created and to star in a sci-fi musical movie featuring the group, much like he had done co-creating the television series, "The Monkees". This film nor the singing group was much of a success yet it did lead to Newton-John being signed to as a solo artist.

Newton-John's debut album, "If Not For You" was released in 1971, a collection of cover songs by contemporary artists of the day. The title track (which was originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan) became Newton-John's first breakthrough single, reaching the top-forty on the US pop and number one on the adult-contemporary chart. This was just the beginning of an extraordinary career with many hits songs on the country, AC and pop charts with "Let Me Be There", "If You Love Me, Let Me Know", "Please Mr. Please", "Have You Ever Been Mellow?", "Something Better to Do", "Sam" and "I Honestly Love You" which became her first number one song in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.

Then her career soared even further after she was cast in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical, "Grease" in 1978. This musical became the biggest box-office hit of the year and the soundtrack spent twelve non-consecutive weeks at number one and featured three top-five singles; "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Summer Nights" and "You're the One That I Want", a duet with co-star, John Travolta. She made another movie, "Xanadu", a musical-fantasy in 1980 that was the last feature film appearance by dance legend, Gene Kelly. Despite this movie becoming a major flop, the soundtrack for "Xanadu" was a huge smash with the title track (with Electric Light Orchestra), "Magic" and "Suddenly" with Cliff Richard, the popular British pop star who became a friend and mentor of Newton-John's early in her career.

The following year, Newton-John released the album and single that would become the biggest seller in her career as a solo artist. "Physical" would spend ten weeks at the top of the US pop chart and with "Make a Move On Me" reaching the top-five, the album, "Physical" went on to sell over two million copies. The sexually suggestive song was enhanced by a playful music video that was set in a gym with a funny twist ending. Other hit songs followed with "Heart Attack", "Twist of Fate" (from the soundtrack of "Two of a Kind", a disastrous 1983 movie that reteamed Newton-John and Travolta) and "Soul Kiss" before her popularity on the pop charts cooled down by 1989.

But Newton-John did not slow down, continuing to work over the years with recordings, television appearances, movie roles (including playing a lesbian ex-con country singer in "Sordid Lives" in 2000), tours and a Las Vegas residency. The last single Newton-John released was in January 2021 with "Window in the Wall", a duet with her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.

Olivia Newton-John may not have ever been a critic's darling as she wrote very little of own material. But no one could deny her amazing gifts as a vocalist and interpreter of songs. Newton-John was an universally adored hitmaker whose voice was warm, nimble and versatile, explaining why she had achieved such outstanding success back and forth between pop, country and easy listening. Always radiating positive energy and a good spirit, Olivia Newton-John was a special and unique presence in popular music with her loss will be deeply missed forever.

BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART

I finally got around to watching the HBO documentary on the Gibb brothers, "Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and it's truly wonderful. The film by director Frank Marshall explores this Australian musical family trio from their early beginning singing tight harmonies as children before venturing to Britain to become considered the second coming of The Beatles and then making a name for themselves in the 1970's with their unique falsetto driven dance music.

There is a new interview with Barry, the last surviving member of the group that was made-up with the twins, Maurice (who died in 2003) and Robin (who passed away in 2012), who discusses in the film how they struggled with their fame and success which also put a great strain on their relationships with each other.

With archival footage and vintage interviews, the documentary covers the young brothers initially singing for pocket money before attracting enough attention to become professional. A planned move to Britain lead to Brian Epstein, who managed the Beatles, passing their demos on to Robert Stigwood in 1967. The flamboyant, Australian-born manager/producer took on Bee Gees as clients and helped guide them to charting success in the UK and America with the songs, "New York Mining Disaster 1941", "Holiday", "Massachusetts", "Words" and "To Love Somebody" which had been originally written by the brothers for Otis Redding.

In 1975, Stigwood encouraged Bee Gees to move towards the hot new sound in music, disco. During recording in Miami, Barry discovered his falsetto which would create the distinctive sound heard on the songs, "Jive Talkin'", "Nights on Broadway" and "You Should Be Dancing". Stigwood, who had moved in to film production, got Bee Gees to do work on the soundtrack for an upcoming John Travolta movie, "Saturday Night Fever". Although they were only supposed to do one song, Bee Gees ended up working on the entire album. The soundtrack became one of the best-selling albums of all-time with forty million copies sold and the singles written by the Gibb brothers, "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "How Deep Is Your Love" and "If I Can't Have You" (performed by Yvonne Elliman) all reaching number one in the US. And while Bee Gees became one of the major performers riding the disco wave, finding incredible acclaim and pop chart success, they were stunned by the extreme backlash to their music and rapid decline in popularity near the beginning of the 1980's. 

"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" is a fascinating film (which also touches on the brief yet substantial music career of their younger brother, Andy who died in 1988 at the age of thirty after years of substance abuse) that covers the brilliant highs and tragic lows of a group that I don't believe has ever been fully appreciated for their contributions to popular music. While watching the doc, you listen to one amazing song after another that highlights the astonishing songwriting craft of the Gibb brothers, leaving no doubt about the importance and enduring legacy of the Bee Gees.



And the now seventy-four year old, Barry Gibb has released a new album, "Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1". This first collection features eleven classic Bee Gees songs that have been reimagined as country numbers. Gibb has recruited several musicians to join him for duets of these tunes like Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town, Jason Isbell and fellow Aussies, Keith Urban and Olivia Newton-John. Have a listen to a few of the tracks:

XANADU

After her acting debut in the incredibly successful film adaption of the Broadway musical "Grease", Olivia Newton-John became an in-demand commodity in cinema. The Australian singer was the Taylor Swift of her day, having transitioned from popular country crooner to a major pop performer and now had become a freshly anointed movie star. Newton-John had her choice of projects and decided to accept a role in another musical, "Xanadu" which was loosely based on the 1947 Rita Hayworth musical comedy, "Down To Earth". Michael Beck, hot off of his role in "The Warriors", and screen legend, Gene Kelly filled out the rest of the cast in this movie about a mythological muse who helps a frustrated artist and a former big-band clarinetist open a roller disco.

It was not a good sign when Universal Studios cancelled the press screening for "Xanadu" before it was released in 1980 and the film would ultimately become a notable critical and commercial flop. This would effectively bring an end to Newton-John's burgeoning movie career, cool down Beck's rise as a film star and would sadly be Kelly's final appearance on screen. And "Xanadu" (along with another screen musical that came out that year, the completely unwatchable, "Can't Stop The Music" which starred the Village People) would become the inspiration for the creation of the Golden Raspberry Awards (or as they would later be known as the Razzies) which are given for "failure in cinematic achievements".

But there would be one bright spot and that was the soundtrack for the movie. Part of the record featured ONJ with songs written by her long-time producer, John Farrar with the British art-rock group, Electric Light Orchestra filling out the rest of the album. With the release of Newton-John's singles, "Magic" (which went to number one in the US for four weeks), "Suddenly" (a duet with Cliff Richard) and Electric Light Orchestra's "I'm Alive", "All Over The World" and the title track (which ONJ and ELO teamed-up), these popular songs helped the soundtrack become a best-selling sensation, with millions of copies sold across the globe.

Now I would never say that "Xanadu" was actually a good film but I did find moments of  blissful joy in some of it's silly musical numbers and appealing cast. And many others eventually did as well with "Xanadu" over time becoming a crowd-pleasing, cult classic. This lead to "Xanadu" inspiring a stage musical in 2007 that was a fun parody of the movie, earning Tony Award nominations for Best Musical and Book. Enjoy some highlight clips from "Xanadu" which perfectly displays how these numbers work better as a music video and far less than a part of an entire movie:

FOCUS ON: OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

When people think of Olivia Newton-John, they tend to think of a pretty, blonde and wholesome vocalist who sang sunny pop songs. While this is certainly a fairly accurate description, you can also see there was much more to her than simply that. Like Sandy, the character she played in film musical, "Grease", Olivia could musically go from sweet and tender to sexy and rough and make it all feel believable. I don't think she is truly appreciated as an artist due to her very good looks and her ability to make it all seem effortless but Olivia Newton-John is an amazing, gifted talent and one of the best pop singers in history.

She was born in Cambridge, England in 1948, the youngest of three children of Brinley and Irene Newton-John. In 1954, the family moved to Melbourne, Australia as her father got a job teaching at the University of Melbourne.

At the age of fourteen, Olivia joined an all-girl singing group, Sol-Four, made up of her fellow classmates. She soon became a regular on "The Happy Show", a local children's program, where she was billed as "Lovely 'Livvy". Later, she joined another program, "The Go Show" and it was here where Olivia met two people who would become very important to her career; Pat Carroll, who became her singing partner and John Farrar who would later become the writer/producer of much of her music.

Olivia entered a singing competition on the TV show, "Sing, Sing, Sing" and won. The prize was a trip to London to record a single and in 1966, she released, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" on Decca Records. While in England, Olivia became homesick and wanted to return home but decided to stay when her friend, Pat Carroll arrived to start her own music career. The two decided to form an act called Pat & Olivia and they performed across Europe. After Pat's visa expired, she had to return to Australia but Olivia stayed to pursue work.

In 1970, Olivia joined a group, Toomorrow which was formed by American producer, Don Kirshner. He put together a musical film built around the group and released a soundtrack but the project was not much of a success and Toomorrow disbanded.

The following year, Olivia released her first solo album, "If Not For You". The album was country-flavored and the title track, written and originally performed by Bob Dylan, became a top-ten hit for her in Britain and Australia and reached the top-forty in the U.S. The follow-up, "Banks Of Ohio" also reached the top-ten which lead to her being voted "Best Female Vocalist" two years in a row by Record Mirror Magazine. During this time, she made regular appearances on singer Cliff Richard's hit television show, "It's Cliff Richard".

In the United States, Olivia was not nearly as popular. None of her singles or albums after "If Not For You" made any impact until 1973 when her country-pop song, "Let Me Be There" hit the top-ten; number six on the pop charts and number two on the country. The song would win her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocalist.

After this success, a 1974 U.S. only album, "If You Love Me, Let Me Know" was assembled using two albums unreleased in America; "Olivia", her second album in 1972 and "Long Live Love" in 1974. The two new songs for the album, the title track and "I Honestly Love You" became top-ten hits on the U.S. pop and country charts. The album sold over two million copies and won her two more Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Record Of The Year for "I Honestly Love You".

Although Olivia achieved much success in the U.S. but the country music community did not welcome her with open arms due to the fact that they saw her as a foreigner singing their music although she still managed to win the CMA Award in 1974 for Female Vocalist Of The Year.

Another fellow Aussie, Helen Reddy had become a pop superstar in America and was living here, so Olivia decided to leave England and give the U.S. a try. She soon became a top musical act herself with many more chart-toppers including "Have You Ever Been Mellow", "Please Mr. Please" and "Something Better To Do" but by 1977 the hits had slowed down.

In 1978, Olivia was offered a lead role in the film adaption of the hit Broadway musical, "Grease" which would co-star John Travolta. The film became the biggest box-office hit of 1978 with the soundtrack also becoming a major smash, ultimately selling over twenty-eight million copies world-wide. There were five singles released with her duet with Travolta, "You're The One That I Want" reaching number one in eight countries.

With the help of the film, Olivia's image changed from the sweet girl next door to the sexier chick down the block and she decided to change her musical direction as well to less country and focus more on a pop-rock sound. She released "Totally Hot" later in '78 and it was a major success with the single, "A Little More Love" bringing her back to the U.S. top-ten as a solo artist.

She made a follow-up film, "Xanadu" in 1980 which featured the last screen appearance of film musical legend, Gene Kelly. The movie was a disappointment but the soundtrack still managed to become a huge hit. It featured music from Newton-John and the rock band, ELO and it sold over two million copies with five hit singles including Olivia's number one song, "Magic".

The next year, Olivia released the album, "Physical" that would become the most successful studio album of her career, selling over two million copies. The title track became one of her biggest hits, with it staying at the top of the pop charts for ten weeks and it was so popular that the song even managed to land on the r&b chart. The song did have some controversy as "Physical" contained some provocative lyrics (at that time) and was even banned on some radio stations but to counter this, a humorous, work-out themed music video was created.

She re-teamed with John Travolta to make the film, "Two of A Kind" in 1983. This was nowhere near the success of their last cinematic pairing but the soundtrack did very well with the single,"Twist Of Fate" being her last top-ten hit to date, reaching number five. Also that year, Newton-John and Pat Carroll opened a retail store called Koala Blue. It intially sold Australian imports but later became a chain of women's clothing. The company closed in 1992.

Olivia has released several albums over the following years, even recording another country album, "Back With A Heart" in 1998 but none of them reached the heights she acheived during her peak years. Overall, she has recorded twenty-seven studio albums, had five number one singles, a total of fifteen top-ten pop hits and has sold well over one hundred million albums across the globe. Olivia still makes occasional live performances as well as taking on film and television roles including a recent turn on the hit show, "Glee".

Olivia Newton-John married Matt Lattanzi, a dancer she met on the set of the film, "Xanadu" in 1984 and they had a daughter, Chloe in 1986. The couple divorced in 1995. She married John Easterling, the founder of the Amazon Herb Company in 2008.

Here are just a few of my favorites tunes from Ms. Newton-John:

"I Honestly Love You" - Olivia Newton-John (1974)

 "A Little More Love" - Olivia Newton-John (1978)

 "Totally Hot" - Olivia Newton-John (1978)

 "Suddenly" - Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard (1980)

 "Xanadu" - Olivia Newton-John & ELO (1980)

This is Olivia performing her first big hit single on an Australian Television program:

 

Finally, here is the infamous music video for "Physical":

 

MUSIC AND THE MOVIES: PART ONE

I heard the theme song from "Flashdance...What A Feeling" on the radio a little while ago and it made me wonder:

"When was the last time a song from a film became a hit and made it on the pop charts?"

I was struggling to come up with something and I think it might have been Eminem and his rap song, "Lose Yourself" from his film, "8 Mile" (which actually won the Oscar for Best Original Song) but that was eight years ago.

The right piece of music could be an important part of a film that helped create the perfect mood or feeling as well as being just a great song you want to listen to. There is an obvious hunger for this type of music considering the success of the television shows like, "High School Musical" and "Glee" and their multiple soundtracks.

Unfortunately, there is no longer much thought put into creating a distinguishable song for a movie anymore and the songs that are used today tend to be something you would never want to listen to again. It's too bad but maybe this will make a comeback.

For this post, I'm going to focus on movie songs from the 1960's and 1970's. I think this was the golden age of songs created specifically for a film and a time when people actually loved the music enough to buy the movie's soundtrack. These songs were played regularly on the radio and became pop hits.

Let's go back and enjoy a few of the tunes that became just as memorable as the films they were used in:

Alfie - Dionne Warwick (1966)

Theme From "Valley Of The Dolls" -  Dionne Warwick (1967)

Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel (1967)

Theme From "Mahogany" (Do You Know Where You're Going To?) - Diana Ross (1975)

Night Fever - Bee Gees (1977)

"You're The One That I Want" - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (1978)

And here is a selection of the theme songs from the James Bond, agent 007 films:

Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey (1971)

Live And Let Die - Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)

Nobody Does It Better - Carly Simon (1977)