OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

Grease

SUMMER DAYS DRIFTING AWAY:

REMEMBERING OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

By Adam Kluger

livia Newton-John left us far too soon in August. O

A talented British-Australian singer and actress, Olivia Newton-John teamed up with John Travolta in 1978 to create a big screen version of the Broadway musical Grease that smashed the box office and offered audiences memorable songs like, You're The One That I

Want,(one of the best selling singles of all time), Summer Nights, and Hopelessly Devoted to You. The combination of the two stars dancing and singing together on the silver screen was... electrifying.

Families lined up around the block at local movie theaters to see

Grease over and over again. When asked about the reasons why Grease was such a success, Olivia Newton-John replied, "I think the songs are timeless. They're fun and have great energy. The '50s-feel music has always been popular, and it's nostalgic for my generation, and then the young kids are rediscovering it every 10 years or so, it seems. People buying the album was a way for them to remember those feelings of watching the movie and feelings of that time period. I feel very grateful to be a part of this movie that's still loved so much."

According to IMDB, Olivia Newton-John grew up in both England and Australia. In 1954 (at age 5), her family moved to Australia but she returned to live in England more than a decade later after

winning a talent contest. In 1975, she moved to the United States where she had already become wellestablished as a pop and country singer. Best known as a singer, she had over 25 "Top 40" singles, more than half of which went "Top 10" on the US Billboard charts, including five #1 hits -- "I Honestly Love You" (1974), "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "You're the One That I Want" (1978), "Magic" (1980) and "Physical" (1981). Well-known songs include "If Not for You", "If You Love Me, Let Me Know", "Let Me Be There", "I Honestly Love You", "Heart Attack", "Have You Never Been Mellow", "Summer Nights", "You're The One That I Want", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Magic", "Xanadu", "Physical" and "Twist of Fate". When MTV launched in the early '80's Olivia Newton-John scored her biggest hit with "Physical", which featured Newton-John in sexy workout attire putting oiled-up muscle men through their paces. "Physical" sold over two million copies and spent 10 consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100.

The four-time Grammy Award Winner was a platinum recording hit-maker who had global record sales of over 100 Million records. Newton-John, who battled breast cancer three times, was a tireless advocate for breast cancer research. She was also an activist for various environmental and animal rights causes. Newton-John was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2020 for services to charity, cancer research, and entertainment.

Olivia Newton-John's death brought immediate reaction throughout the music industry, Dolly Parton tweeted,"So sad to have lost my special friend Olivia Newton-John...So happy that our lives crossed paths. I know her voice is singing beautifully with the angels."

Pop Star Mariah Carey tweeted, "I first fell in love with Olivia's voice when I was a little girl and heard 'I Honestly Love You... Songs like 'Magic,' 'Suddenly' and 'Have You Never Been Mellow' showcased her beautiful airy tone and signature sound. And THEN there was GREASE. I was obsessed. I dressed up as Bad Sandy for Halloween in 5th grade and thought I was everything."

Hollywood's Suzanne Somers told the Daily Mail, “Everyone would want an Olivia Newton-John in their life... Olivia taught me not to be afraid when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. … Olivia provided great comfort for me when diagnosed 25 years ago. Her fight was my fight, as she won, I won.”

John Travolta paid tribute to his beloved Grease co-star after learning news of her passing — “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John.”

Photography by Matt Licari