Olivia Newton-John dead: Iconic pop star and ‘Grease’ actress was 73
08.08.2022 - 23:05
/ nypost.com
A post shared by John Travolta (@johntravolta)Newton-John was born in England in 1948, before relocating to Australia at the age of 14. She began singing in the late 1960s, eventually releasing her first solo album, “If Not for You,” in 1971, with the title track originally written by Bob Dylan and recorded by George Harrison. The song hit No.
1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart and No. 25 on the pop charts, but Olivia Newton-John didn’t crack the US until her casting opposite John Travolta in 1978’s movie musical “Grease”. The film adaptation of the Broadway hit had the character Sandy changed to an Australian Sandy Olsson from American Sandy Dumbrowski, in part to accommodate Olivia’s accent.It was the biggest blockbuster of 1978, with Olivia’s duet with co-star John Travolta “You’re the One That I Want” topping the pop charts and “Summer Nights” hitting No.
5. Olivia’s big solo ballad, “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” climbed to No. 3.The movie transformed Newton-John into one of the world’s biggest stars, with her next solo album, titled “Totally Hot,” racing up the charts later that same year.
In 1980, Newton-John tried her hand at a second movie musical hit with “Xanadu,” but the film flopped with critics and didn’t resonate with audiences. The soundtrack, however, was a success, going double platinum and cementing Newton-John’s status as a pop superstar. Then, in 1981, the blonde scored her biggest with the sexually-charged anthem “Physical”, which track spent 10 weeks at No.
1 on the Billboard pop charts. The track — which was accompanied by a steamy aerobics video clip — was eventually named the biggest song of the 1980s. The provocative lyrics led two Utah stations to ban the track, with Newton-John later telling
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