This day is commonly known as Christmas Day.

Events

274 – Emperor Aurelian makes Sol Invictus to an official cult, it becomes the state religion of Rome.

333 – Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of ''Caesar''.

350 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicated his title (Caesar). Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.

800 – Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.

1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.

1066 – William the Conqueror is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.

1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity.

1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first King of Sicily.

1261 – John IV Lascaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaeologus.

1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeats the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.

1599 – The city of Natal, Brazil is founded.

1691 – Jagannath Temple, Ranchi is built.

1643 – Christmas Island found and named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Company vessel, the ''Royal Mary''.

1776 – George Washington and his army cross the Delaware River to attack the Kingdom of Great Britain's Hessian mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey.

1818 – The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.

1837 – Battle of Lake Okeechobee: United States forces defeated by Seminole Native Americans.

1868 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers.

1914 – World War I: Known as the Christmas truce, German and British troops on the Western Front temporarily cease fire.

1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan dies. His son, Prince Hirohito succeeds him as Emperor Shōwa.

1927 – The Vietnamese Nationalist Party is founded.

1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people.

1941 – Admiral Chester W Nimitz arrives at Pearl Harbor to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet

1941 – World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong.

1946 – The first in Europe artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within Soviet nuclear reactor F-1.

1947 – The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.

1950 – The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951.

1963 – Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.

1965 – The Yemeni Nasserite Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Taiz

1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneouver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.

1968 – 42 Dalits are burned alive in Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit labourers.

1974 – Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory Australia.

1974 – Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff.

1977 – Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat.

1989 – Nicolae Ceauşescu, former communist dictator of Romania and his wife Elena are condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges.

1990 – The first successful trial run of the system which would become the World Wide Web.

1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.

2000 – Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a bill into law that officially establishes a new National Anthem of Russia, with music adopted from the anthem of the Soviet Union that was composed by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov.

2003 – The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.

2004 – Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.

2007 – A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escapes from its enclosure and attacks three people, killing one.

2009 – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempts a terrorist attack against the US while on board a flight to Detroit Metro Airport Northwest Airlines Flight 253

Births

1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine Emperor (d. c. 1305)

1461 – Christina of Saxony, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1521)

1583 – Orlando Gibbons, English composer (d. 1625)

1584 – Margaret of Austria, queen of Spain and Portugal (d. 1611)

1628 – Noël Coypel, French painter (d. 1707)

1642 – Isaac Newton, English scientist (d. 1727)

1652 – Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (d. 1713)

1665 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (d. 1746)

1667 – Ehrengard von der Schulenburg, English royal mistress (d. 1743)

1674 – Thomas Halyburton, Scottish theologian (d. 1712)

1700 – Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (d. 1758)

1711 – Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (d. 1772)

1716 – Johann Jakob Reiske, German scholar and physician (d. 1774)

1730 – Philip Mazzei, Italian physician and friend of Thomas Jefferson (d. 1816)

1742 – Charlotte von Stein, German friend of Goethe (d. 1827)

1745 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges – "Black Mozart", African–French Swordsman, Soldier of Fortune, and Composer (d. 1799)

1757 – Benjamin Pierce, U.S. politician (d. 1839)

1763 – Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (d. 1805)

1771 – Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and sister of William Wordsworth (d. 1855)

1810 – Alexandros Rhizos Rhankaves, Greek poet and statesman (d. 1892)

1821 – Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912)

1829 – Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer (d. 1892)

1856 – Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913)

1856 – Pud Galvin, American professional baseball pitcher (d. 1902)

1860 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese philosopher and social reformer (d. 1921)

1861 – Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d. 1946)

1864 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer coach (d. 1951)

1865 – Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)

1870 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-born American cosmetics industrialist (d. 1965)

1873 – Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-born American dairy educator (d. 1959)

1874 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano (d. 1944)

1875 – Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (d. 1955)

1876 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (d. 1948)

1876 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, Nobel laureate (d. 1959)

1878 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver (d. 1941)

1883 – Hugo Bergmann, German and Israeli Jewish philosopher (d. 1975)

1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967)

1886 – Kid Ory, American musician (d. 1973)

1887 – Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (d. 1979)

1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American magazine publisher (Reader's Digest) (d. 1984)

1890 – Noel Odell, British mountaineer (d. 1987)

1890 – Robert Ripley, collector of odd facts (d. 1949)

1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (d. 1980)

1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957)

1901 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)

1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor (d. 1969)

1904 – Gerhard Herzberg, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)

1906 – Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born film producer (d. 1998)

1906 – Ernst Ruska, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)

1907 – Cab Calloway, American bandleader (d. 1994)

1907 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988)

1907 – Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-born actor (d. 1990)

1908 – Quentin Crisp, English author (d. 1999)

1908 – Jo-Jo Moore, baseball player (d. 2001)

1908 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American automotive engineer (d. 1996)

1908 – Ernest L. Massad, U.S. Army general (d. 1993)

1911 – Louise Bourgeois, French American sculptor (d. 2010)

1912 – Tony Martin, American singer and actor

1912 – Natalino Otto, Italian singer (d. 1969)

1913 – Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966)

1914 – James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand industrialist (d. 2007)

1915 – Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer

1918 – Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, Nobel laureate (d. 1981)

1918 – Ahmed Ben Bella, politician, first President of Algeria

1919 – Naushad Ali, Indian music director (d. 2006)

1919 – Paul David, Canadian cardiologist, founder of the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999)

1919 – Noele Gordon, English actress (d. 1985)

1921 – Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistani journalist (d. 2000)

1923 – Rene Girard, French historian, literary critic and philosopher

1924 – Rod Serling, American television writer (d. 1975)

1924 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India

1925 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born author (d. 1998)

1926 – Enrique Jorrín, Cuban composer and musician (d. 1987)

1927 – Nellie Fox, baseball player (d. 1975)

1927 – Ram Narayan, Indian sarangi player

1928 – Dick Miller, American actor

1929 – Stuart Hall, British radio and television presenter

1929 – Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (d. 1976)

1930 – Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian boxer and father of Andre Agassi

1930 – Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (d. 1986)

1932 – Mabel King, American actress (d. 1999)

1935 – Stephen Barnett, American legal scholar who opposed the Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970 (d. 2009)

1935 – Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American politician (d. 2007)

1935 – Al Jackson, American baseball player

1935 – Sadiq al-Mahdi, Prime Minister of Sudan

1935 – Anne Roiphe, American author and feminist

1936 – HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent

1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer (d. 2005)

1937 – O'Kelly Isley, Jr., American singer (The Isley Brothers) (d. 1986)

1938 – Noel Picard, Quebec ice hockey player

1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter

1939 – Bob James, American composer and musician

1940 – Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist

1940 – Phil Spector, American music producer

1942 – Francoise Durr, French tennis player

1942 – Enrique Morente, Spanish flamenco singer (d. 2010)

1943 – Hanna Schygulla, German actress

1943 – Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian racing driver

1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer

1944 – Kenny Everett, British entertainer (d. 1995)

1944 – Henry Vestine, American musician (d. 1997)

1944 – Nigel Starmer-Smith, English Rugby Union commentator.

1945 – Noel Redding, English musician (d. 2003)

1945 – Rick Berman, Star Trek producer

1945 – Gary Sandy, American actor

1945 – Mike Pringle, Scottish politician

1946 – Jimmy Buffett, American singer and songwriter

1946 – Larry Csonka, American football player

1946 – Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager

1948 – Barbara Mandrell, American singer and actress

1948 – Alia al Hussein, of Jordan (d. 1977)

1948 – Joel Natalino Santana, Brazilian soccer coach

1949 – Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan

1949 – Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Singer and icon of the Brazilian music

1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress

1949 – Joe Louis Walker, American musician

1950 – Peter Boardman, British mountaineer (d. 1982)

1950 – Manny Trillo, baseball player

1950 – Yehuda Poliker, Israeli singer-songwriter

1950 – Karl Rove, former American presidential advisor

1952 – CCH Pounder, Guyana-born actress

1952 – Desireless, French singer

1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer

1954 – Steve Wariner, American country music singer

1955 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer

1957 – Chris Kamara, English footballer and commentator

1957 – Shane MacGowan, Irish musician

1958 – Cheryl Chase, American voice actor

1958 – Hanford Dixon, American football player

1958 – Rickey Henderson, baseball player

1958 – Martin Wiesner, German footballer

1959 – Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (d. 2003)

1960 – Ron Bottitta, British actor

1961 – Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator

1962 – Dean Cameron, American actor

1962 – Darren Wharton, British keyboardist (Thin Lizzy and Dare)

1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer

1964 – Tim Royes – Music Video Director and Editor

1964 – Bob Stanley, English musician (Saint Etienne), filmmaker and journalist

1965 – David Rath, Czech politician

1966 – Toshihiro Arai, Japanese rally driver

1967 – Jason Thirsk, American bass player (d. 1996)

1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model

1968 – Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player

1970 – Emmanuel Amuneke, Nigerian footballer

1971 – Dido, English singer

1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian media personality and politician

1971 – Noel Hogan, Irish musician

1972 – Josh Freese, American drummer

1972 – Mac Powell, American musician, singer/songwriter (Third Day)

1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer

1973 – Chris Harris, American professional wrestler

1973 – Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist

1974 – Nagma, Indian actress

1975 – Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer

1975 – Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player

1975 – Rob Mariano, American reality show contestant

1975 – Choi Sung-Yong, South Korean footballer

1976 – Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist and songwriter (Nightwish)

1976 – Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ & Producer

1977 – Uhm Ji-won, South Korean actress

1977 – Israel Vasquez, Mexican boxer

1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer

1978 – Simon Jones, English cricketer

1979 – Hyun Young-Min, South Korean footballer

1979 – Rob Huff, British racing driver

1980 – Marcus Trufant, American football player

1980 – Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress

1980 – Locó, Angolan footballer

1980 – Laura Sadler, British actress (d. 2003)

1981 – Katie Wright, American actress

1981 – Willy Taveras, baseball player

1981 – Trenesha Biggers, American professional wrestler

1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football player

1982 – Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer

1982 – Shystie, British rapper-songwriter

1982 – Dev, Tollywood Actor

1984 – Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer

1984 – Alastair Cook, English cricketer

1984 – Georgia Moffett, British actress

1984 – The Veronicas, Australian singers (twin sisters)

1985 – Leon Pisani, Welsh singer

1985 – Perdita Weeks, British actress

1986 – Doug Loft, English footballer

1987 – Jorgie Porter, English actress

1987 – Justin Sweeney, Australian rules footballer

1988 – Eric Gordon, American basketball player

1988 – Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player

Deaths

795 – Pope Adrian I

820 – Leo V, Byzantine Emperor (b. 775)

1156 – Peter the Venerable, French Benedictine abbot of Cluny (b. c.1092)

1635 – Samuel de Champlain, French explorer (b. 1567)

1676 – Matthew Hale, English jurist (b. 1609)

1676 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier (b. 1592)

1683 – Kara Mustafa, Ottoman general (b. 1634)

1758 – James Hervey, English clergyman (b. 1714)

1763 – Suraj Mal, Sinsiwar Jat ruler of Bharatpur (b. 1707)

1765 – Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist (b. 1698)

1784 – Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b. 1716)

1824 – Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (b. 1764)

1868 – Linus Yale, Jr., American mechanical engineer and inventor (b. 1821)

1875 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1851)

1880 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss jurist (b. 1828)

1916 – St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic saint (b. 1845)

1921 – Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (b. 1853)

1925 – Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b. 1877)

1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan (b. 1879)

1933 – Francesc Macià i Llussà, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859)

1935 – Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic (b. 1852)

1938 – Karel Čapek, Czech author (b. 1890)

1940 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)

1944 – George Steer, British journalist (b. 1909)

1946 – W. C. Fields, American comedian (b. 1880)

1947 – Gaspar G. Bacon, American politician (b. 1886)

1949 – Leon Schlesinger, American film producer (b. 1884)

1950 – Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903)

1952 – Margrethe Mather, photographer (b. 1886)

1953 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1865)

1954 – Johnny Ace, American singer (b. 1929)

1956 – Robert Walser, Swiss writer (b. 1878)

1957 – Charles Pathé, French pioneer of film and record industries (b. 1863)

1961 – Otto Loewi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873)

1961 – Owen Brewster, American politician (b. 1888)

1963 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian writer (b. 1896)

1973 – İsmet İnönü, Turkish statesman (b. 1884)

1973 – Gabriel Voisin, French aviator (b. 1880)

1975 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (b. 1881)

1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and film director (b. 1889)

1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress (b. 1906)

1979 – Jordi Bonet, Quebec muralist and sculptor (b. 1932)

1983 – Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b. 1893)

1988 – Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b. 1909)

1988 – Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (b. 1920)

1989 – Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (executed in revolution) (b. 1918)

1989 – Elena Ceauşescu, Romanian politician (executed in revolution) (b. 1916)

1989 – Billy Martin, American baseball manager (b. 1928)

1992 – Monica Dickens, British writer (b. 1915)

1993 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)

1994 – Zail Singh, President of India (b. 1916)

1995 – Dean Martin, American singer (b. 1917)

1995 – Emmanuel Levinas, French philosopher (b. 1906)

1996 – JonBenét Ramsey, American beauty queen and murder victim (b. 1990)

1996 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1928)

1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer (b. 1958)

1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)

1998 – Bryan MacLean, American musician and songwriter (Love) (b. 1946)

1998 – John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926)

1999 – Peter Jeffrey, English actor (b. 1929)

2000 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1939)

2000 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b. 1908)

2002 – William T. Orr, American television producer (b. 1917)

2003 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)

2004 – Gennady Strekalov, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1940)

2005 – Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (b. 1930)

2005 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish opera singer (b. 1918)

2005 – Robert Barbers, Philippine senator (b. 1944)

2006 – James Brown, American singer (b. 1933)

2006 – Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)

2007 – Desmond Barrick, English Cricketer (b. 1927)

2007 – Mighty King Kong, Kenyan reggae musician (b. 1973)

2007 – Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player (b. 1939)

2008 – Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (b. 1927)

2009 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer and songwriter (b. 1964)

2010 – Carlos Andrés Pérez, former President of Venezuela (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:

*Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)

*December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christmas Day, Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. (International)

Constitution Day (Taiwan)

Malkh-Festival (Nakh peoples of Chechenya and Ingushetia)

Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:December

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name	Steven Adler
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Michael Coletti
born	January 22, 1965Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
instrument	Drums, percussion, guitar
genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
occupation	Musician
years active	1983–present
label	Geffen, UZI Suicide, Shrapnel
associated acts	Guns N' Roses, Adler's Appetite, Road Crew, Hollywood Rose, BulletBoys
notable instruments	Rockett Drum Works drumsPaiste cymbals }}

Steven Adler (born Michael Coletti; January 22, 1965) is an American musician. He is best known as the former drummer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s. Adler was fired from Guns N' Roses over his heroin addiction in 1990, following which he reformed his old band Road Crew and briefly joined BulletBoys, which both proved unsuccessful. Since 2003, Adler has been the drummer and frontman of the band Adler's Appetite. He appeared on the second and fifth seasons of the reality TV show ''Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew'', as well as on the first season of its spin-off ''Sober House''.

Life and career

1965–1984: Early life and career

Adler was born Michael Coletti in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of an Italian-American father and a Jewish American mother. His father soon left, after which his mother, Deanna, moved the family to Los Angeles, California. Adler grew up in the San Fernando Valley until the age of 13, when he was sent to live with his grandparents in Hollywood due to his bad behavior. At Bancroft Junior High, Adler befriended Saul Hudson, later known as Slash; they met when Adler had a skateboarding accident and Slash stopped to help him. After ninth grade, Adler returned to his parents' house in the Valley for the remainder of high school, during which he learned to play drums.

Soon after his return to Hollywood, in 1983, Adler auditioned for Sunset Strip staple London. When the audition proved unsuccessful, he formed the band Road Crew—named for the Motörhead song "(We Are) The Road Crew"—with his childhood friend Slash. They placed an advertisement in a newspaper looking for a bassist, and received a response from Duff McKagan. They auditioned a number of singers, including one-time Black Flag vocalist Ron Reyes, and worked on material that included the main riff of what would become the Guns N' Roses song "Rocket Queen". Slash disbanded the group the following year due to them not being able to find a singer, as well as Adler's lack of work ethic compared to himself and McKagan. Adler then briefly joined a local band known as Hollywood Rose, which featured singer Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin.

1985–1990: Guns N' Roses era

In June 1985, Adler joined Guns N' Roses, which was newly founded by Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, and several members of L.A. Guns. His former Road Crew band mates Slash and Duff McKagan completed the line-up. They played nightclubs—such as the Whisky a Go Go, The Roxy, and The Troubadour—and opened for larger acts throughout 1985 and 1986. It was during this period that the band wrote most of its classic material, including "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child o' Mine", and "Paradise City". After being scouted by several major record labels, the band signed with Geffen Records in March 1986.

In July 1987, Guns N' Roses released its debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'', which to date has sold over 28 million copies worldwide, 18 million of which in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the US. In December, during a tour with Alice Cooper, an intoxicated Adler broke his hand when he punched a streetlight after a barroom brawl; Fred Coury of Cinderella was brought in as his substitute for several shows until he recovered. In November 1988, Guns N' Roses released ''G N' R Lies'', which sold over five million copies in the US alone, despite containing only eight tracks, four of which were included on the previously released EP ''Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide''.

Adler was again absent during a performance at the American Music Awards in January 1989; Don Henley filled in for him on drums. His absence was originally attributed to a case of the flu, but it was later revealed that Adler had been in a drug rehabilitation program at the time. The following October, during a show as opening act for the Rolling Stones, Axl Rose threatened to leave the band if certain members of the band didn't stop "dancing with Mr. Brownstone", a reference to their song of the same name about heroin use. Adler was among those who promised to clean up, but he continued to struggle with his addiction.

Adler was briefly fired from the band over his drug use in early 1990, but he was reinstated after signing a contract in which he vowed to stop taking drugs. However, by the time the band entered the studio to record the song "Civil War", his addiction had become so severe that he was unable to perform. By Adler's own admission, he tried to play the song "20, maybe 30 times." The song's drum track had to be heavily edited just for his band mates to be able to play along with it. When problems in the studio continued, causing recording sessions to abort for several days at a time, Adler was formally fired from Guns N' Roses on July 11, 1990. He had played his final show with the band on April 7 at Farm Aid IV. Izzy Stradlin, who left the band in November 1991, later stated that Adler's firing had had a big impact on the band's sound. In response to an interviewer's suggestion that replacing Adler with Matt Sorum of The Cult had turned Guns N' Roses from a rock 'n' roll band into a heavy metal one, Stradlin reponded, "Yeah, a big musical difference . . [Adler's] sense of swing was the push and pull that give the songs their feel. When that was gone, it was just... unbelievable, weird. Nothing worked."

1991–2002: Post-Guns N' Roses troubles and hiatus

In July 1991, Adler filed a lawsuit against his former Guns N' Roses band mates, contending that he was fired because the opiate-blocking drug he had been taking to aid his detox interfered with his concentration. He also alleged that the contract he had been made to sign took away his financial interest in the band, stating, "I was told that every time I did heroin, the band would fine me $2,000....What these contracts actually said was that the band were paying me $2,000 to leave. They were taking my royalties, all my writing credits. They didn't like me any more and just wanted me gone." The case was settled out of court in 1993; Adler received a back-payment check of $2,250,000 and was granted 15% of the royalties for everything he recorded prior to his departure.

Following his departure from Guns N' Roses, Adler reformed Road Crew with a new line-up, consisting of former Vain singer Davy Vain, guitarists Shawn Rorie and Jamie Scott, and bassist Ashley Mitchell. They recorded an album and attracted attention from a major label, but due to Adler's persistent drug problems, the group disbanded shortly thereafter. Adler then entered a prolonged, self-imposed exile from the music industry; he later recalled, "I wish I could say that I did a lot of traveling or self-improvement, but all I actually did was sit on the couch and get high—while the TV watched me. It was a very, very hard time."

In 1996, Adler suffered a stroke and was briefly comatose after taking a particularly potent speedball—a cocktail of heroin and cocaine used intravenously—which caused a temporary paralysis of the left side of his face, resulting in a speech impediment. The following year, he pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace in relation to a domestic violence charge involving a woman with whom he had been living; he was sentenced to four days in jail, three years probation, and mandatory drug counseling.

In June 1998, Adler joined the newly reformed hard rock band BulletBoys, along with future Guns N' Roses guitarist DJ Ashba. The group recorded an album and announced a US summer tour with Faster Pussycat, Bang Tango and Enuff Z'nuff. However, Adler's return to music was cut short the following September, when he pleaded no contest to two counts of battery stemming from attacks on two other women in separate domestic violence incidents. He was sentenced to a 150-day term in prison and three years probation, with the condition of undergoing a year of domestic violence counseling and a ban on using illegal drugs.

2003–present: Adler's Appetite and reality TV

In 2003, Adler formed the band Suki Jones, later renamed Adler's Appetite, with Ratt singer Jizzy Pearl, former Slash's Snakepit guitarist Keri Kelli, Faster Pussycat guitarist Brent Muscat, and former Ratt bassist Robbie Crane. With an ever-changing line-up due to members' previous commitments, the band toured the US and Europe throughout 2003 and 2004, playing mostly songs off Guns N' Roses' debut album ''Appetite for Destruction'', as well as material by Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and Queen. In September 2003, Adler's Appetite performed a show at the Key Club in Hollywood, where they were joined on stage by Adler's former Guns N' Roses band mates Slash and Izzy Stradlin, for renditions of "Mr. Brownstone", "Paradise City", and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".

In January 2005, Adler's Appetite—minus Brent Muscat, who had departed the band—released through their official website a self-titled EP, which featured four original songs and the covers "Hollywood" by Thin Lizzy and "Draw the Line" by Aerosmith. The release was followed by a tour of the US, Europe, Japan, and Argentina. Later that year, the band announced plans to release a full-length album through Shrapnel Records, but it failed to materialize. In July 2007, the group played another show at the Key Club, as part of their tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of ''Appetite for Destruction'', during which they were joined on stage by former Guns N' Roses members Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan. Although Slash was also in attendance, he did not join the band on stage, stating that he did not want to encourage the notion of a Guns N' Roses reunion.

In 2008, Adler participated in the second season of the reality TV show ''Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew''. The show's resident medical expert, Dr. Drew Pinsky, regarded Adler as the "problem child" of the group; he described his behavior as "suicidal" and revealed that Adler had to be committed to a psychiatric hospital for two weeks prior to entering rehab. Adler also participated in the first season of the ''Celebrity Rehab'' spin-off ''Sober House''. During the show's filming in July, an intoxicated Adler became so aggressive towards his cast mates that he was arrested at the ''Sober House'' premises. He was convicted of being under the influence of a controlled substance and sentenced to community service. The following January, he was arrested again for failure to complete his community service in the time frame stipulated by the judge.

In 2010, Adler collaborated with his former Guns N' Roses band mate Slash on the latter's self-titled debut solo album, which was released in April. He appeared on the track "Baby Can't Drive", along with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Alice Cooper, and Nicole Scherzinger. The song was featured on an expanded edition of the album released by ''Classic Rock''. The following July, Adler's Appetite—consisting of Adler, singer Rick Stitch, guitarists Michael Thomas and Alex Grossi, and bassist Chip Z'nuff—released the single "Alive", in conjunction with the release of Adler's autobiography ''My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses''. In December, the band released two more singles, entitled "Stardog" and "Fading". In 2011, following another relapse, Adler participated in the fifth season of ''Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew''.

Discography

With Guns N' Roses

;Studio albums

''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987)

''G N' R Lies'' (1988)

''Use Your Illusion II'' (1991; "Civil War" only)

;Extended Plays

''Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide'' (1986)

''Live from the Jungle'' (1988)

''The "Civil War" EP'' (1993; "Civil War" only)

;Live albums

''Live Era: '87-'93'' (1999)

;Singles

"It's So Easy" (1987)

"Welcome to the Jungle" (1987)

"Sweet Child o' Mine" (1988)

"Paradise City" (1988)

"Patience" (1989)

"Nightrain" (1989)

"Civil War" (1993)

With Adler's Appetite

;Extended Plays

''Adler's Appetite'' (2005)

;Singles

"Alive" (2010)

"Stardog" (2010)

"Fading" (2010)

Session recordings

;With Slash

''Slash'' (2010; "Baby Can't Drive" only)

Notes

References

External links

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Musicians from Ohio Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Jewish American musicians

Category:American rock drummers Category:American heavy metal drummers Category:Guns N' Roses members Category:Adler's Appetite members Category:Hollywood Rose members Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers

bs:Steven Adler ca:Steven Adler cs:Steven Adler da:Steven Adler de:Steven Adler es:Steven Adler fr:Steven Adler hr:Steven Adler it:Steven Adler hu:Steven Adler nl:Steven Adler ja:スティーヴン・アドラー no:Steven Adler pl:Steven Adler pt:Steven Adler ru:Адлер, Стивен sq:Steven Adler sk:Steven Adler sl:Steven Adler fi:Steven Adler sv:Steven Adler

name	Big Star
alt	Prominent in the foreground, two guitarists concentrate on their playing, while the drummer, a little behind them to their left, toils away.
background	group_or_band
origin	Memphis, Tennessee, United States
genre	Rock, power pop
years active	1971–1974, 1993–2010
associated acts	The Box Tops, The Posies
website	bigstarband.com
past members	Alex ChiltonJody StephensAndy HummelChris BellJohn LightmanJon AuerKen Stringfellow }}

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the work of British Invasion groups including The Beatles and The Kinks, as well as The Byrds, The Beach Boys, and other U.S. acts. To the resulting power pop, Big Star added dark, nihilistic themes, and produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before it broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" in the words of ''Rolling Stone'', earning recognition decades later, according to Allmusic, as the "quintessential American power pop band" and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll".

Big Star's first album—1972's ''#1 Record''—met with enthusiastic reviews, but ineffective marketing by Stax Records and limited distribution stunted commercial success. Frustration took its toll on band relations and by the time a second album was completed in January 1974, both Bell and Hummel had left. Like ''#1 Record'', ''Radio City'' received excellent reviews, but record company problems again thwarted sales—Columbia Records, which had assumed control of the Stax catalog, effectively vetoed its distribution. After a third album was deemed too uncommercial for release and shelved before receiving a title, the band broke up late in 1974. Four years later, the first two Big Star LPs were released together as a double album. The band's third album was finally issued soon afterward; titled ''Third/Sister Lovers'', it found limited commercial success. Shortly thereafter, Chris Bell was killed in a car accident at the age of 27.

The Big Star discography drew renewed attention in the 1980s when R.E.M. and other popular bands acknowledged its influence. In 1992, further interest was stimulated by Rykodisc's reissues of the band's albums, complemented by a collection of Bell's solo work. In 1993, Chilton and Stephens reformed Big Star with recruits Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, and gave a concert at the University of Missouri. The band remained active, performing tours in Europe and Japan, and released a new studio album, ''In Space'', in 2005. Chilton died on March 17, 2010, after being admitted to a New Orleans hospital with heart problems. Hummel, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, died on July 19, 2010. These deaths leave Stephens as the sole surviving founding member.

First era: 1971 to 1974

Formation of the band

Alex Chilton was the lead singer for the blue-eyed soul group The Box Tops from 1967 to 1970 when the band had a #1 hit with the song "The Letter". At the age of sixteen, Alex Chilton recorded a solo studio album. He was offered the role of lead vocalist for Blood, Sweat & Tears, but turned the offer down as "too commercial". Chilton had known Chris Bell for some time: both lived in Memphis, each had spent time recording music at Ardent Studios, and each, when aged 13, had been struck by the music of The Beatles during the band's 1964 debut U.S. tour. A song Chilton wrote nearly six years after he first witnessed a Beatles performance, "Thirteen", referred to the event with the line "Rock 'n' roll is here to stay". Chilton asked Bell to work with him as a duo modeled on Simon & Garfunkel; Bell declined, but invited Chilton to a performance by his own band, Icewater, comprising Bell, drummer Jody Stephens, and bassist Andy Hummel. Attracted by Icewater's music, Chilton showed the three his new song "Watch The Sunrise", and was asked to join the band. Both "Watch the Sunrise" and "Thirteen" were subsequently included on Big Star's first album, ''#1 Record''. The now four-piece band adopted the name Big Star when one member was given the idea from a grocery store often visited for snacks during recording sessions. One of many Big Star Markets outlets in the Memphis region at the time, it had a logo consisting of a five-pointed star enclosing the words "Big Star"; as well as the store's name, the band used its logo but without the word "Star" to avoid infringing copyright.

''#1 Record''

Although all four members contributed to songwriting and vocals on the first album, Chilton and Bell dominated as a duo intentionally modeled on John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The album was recorded by Ardent founder John Fry, with Terry Manning contributing occasional backing vocals and keyboards. The title ''#1 Record'' was decided towards the end of the recording sessions and evinced, albeit as a playful hope rather than a serious expectation, the chart position to be achieved by a big star. Although Fry—at the band's insistence—was credited as "executive producer", publicly he insisted that "the band themselves really produced these records". Fry recalled how Ardent, one of the first recording studios to use a sixteen-track tape machine, worked experimentally with the band members: "We started recording the songs with the intent that if it turned out OK we'd put it out [...] I wound up being the one that primarily worked on it: I recorded all the tracks and then they would often come late at night and do overdubs. One by one, they all learned enough engineering."

Describing the mix of musical styles present on ''#1 Record'', ''Rolling Stone'''s Bud Scoppa notes that the album includes "reflective and acoustic" numbers, saying that "even the prettiest tunes have tension and subtle energy to them, and the rockers reverberate with power". Scoppa finds that in each mode, "the guitar sound is sharp-edged and full".''#1 Record'' was released in June 1972, and quickly received strong reviews. ''Billboard'' went as far as to say, "Every cut could be a single". ''Rolling Stone'' judged the album "exceptionally good", while ''Cashbox'' stated, "This album is one of those red-letter days when everything falls together as a total sound", and called it "an important record that should go to the top with proper handling". Proper handling, however, was not forthcoming: Stax Records proved unable to either promote or distribute the record with any degree of success, and even when the band's own efforts to get airplay generated interest, fans were unable to buy it as Stax could not make it available in many stores. Stax, in an effort to improve its catalog's availability, signed a deal with Columbia Records, already successful distributors in the U.S., making Columbia responsible for the entire Stax catalog. But Columbia had no interest in dealing with the independent distributors previously used by Stax and removed even the existing copies of ''#1 Record'' from the stores.

''Radio City''

The frustration at ''#1 Record'''s obstructed sales contributed to tension within the band. There was physical fighting between members: Bell, after being punched in the face by Hummel, retaliated by smashing Hummel's new bass guitar to pieces against the wall. Hummel took revenge at a later date: finding Bell's acoustic guitar in the latter's unattended car, he repeatedly punched it with a screwdriver. In November 1972, Bell quit the band. When work continued on songs for a second album, Bell rejoined, but further conflict soon erupted. A master tape of the new songs inexplicably went missing, and Bell, whose heavy drug intake was affecting his judgment, attacked Fry's parked car. In late 1972, struggling with severe depression, Bell quit the band once more, and by the end of the year Big Star disbanded.

After a few months Chilton, Stephens and Hummel decided to reform Big Star, and the three resumed work on the second album. The title chosen, ''Radio City'', continued the play on the theme of a big star's popularity and success, expressing what biographer Robert Gordon calls the band's "romantic expectation". As Hummel put it, Stephens recalled: "''Radio City'', for me, was just an amazing record. Being a three-piece really opened things up for me in terms of playing drums. Drums take on a different role in a three-piece band, so it was a lot of fun. [...] ''Radio City'' was really more spontaneous, and the performances were pretty close to live performances."

Although uncredited, Bell contributed to the writing of some of the album's songs, including "O My Soul" and "Back of a Car". Shortly before the album's release, Hummel left the band: judging that it would not last, and in his final year at college, he elected to concentrate on his studies and live a more normal life.

''Rolling Stone'''s Ken Barnes, describing the musical style of ''Radio City'', opens by noting as a backdrop that the band's debut, ''#1 Record'', established it as "one of the leading new American bands working in the mid-Sixties pop and rock vein". ''Radio City'', Barnes finds, has "plenty of shimmering pop delights", although "the opening tune, 'O My Soul,' is a foreboding, sprawling funk affair"; Barnes concludes that "Sometimes they sound like the Byrds, sometimes like the early Who, but usually like their own indescribable selves". ''Radio City'' was released in January 1974 and, like ''#1 Record'', received excellent reviews. ''Record World'' reported, "The sound is stimulating, the musicianship superb, and the result is tight and rollickingly rhythmic." ''Billboard'' judged it "a highly commercial set". ''Rolling Stone'''s Bud Scoppa, then with ''Phonograph Record'', affirmed, "Alex Chilton has now emerged as a major talent, and he'll be heard from again". ''Cashbox'' called it "a collection of excellent material that hopefully will break this deserving band in a big way". But just as ''#1 Record'' had fallen victim to poor marketing, so too did ''Radio City''. Columbia, now in complete control of the Stax catalog, refused to process it following a disagreement. Without a distributor, sales of ''Radio City'', though far greater than those of ''#1 Record'', were minimal at only around 20,000 copies.

''Third/Sister Lovers''

In September 1974, eight months after the release of ''Radio City'', the two remaining members of Big Star returned to Ardent Studios to work on a third album. Chilton and Stephens were assisted by producer Jim Dickinson and an assortment of musicians including drummer Richard Rosebrough, and Lesa Aldridge, Chilton's girlfriend, who contributed on vocals. The sessions and mixing were completed in early 1975, and 250 copies of the album were pressed with plain labels for promotional use.

Parke Putterbaugh of ''Rolling Stone'' described ''Third/Sister Lovers'' as "extraordinary". It is, he wrote, "Chilton's untidy masterpiece. [...] beautiful and disturbing"; "vehemently original"; of "haunting brilliance":

To listen to it is to be "plunged into a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. Songs are drenched in strings and sweet sentiment one minute, starkly played and downcast the next. No pop song has ever bottomed out more than "Holocaust", an anguished plaint sung at a snail's pace over discordant slide-guitar fragments and moaning cello [...] On the up side, there's the delicious pop minuet "Stroke It Noel," the anticipatory magic of "Nightime" ("Caught a glance in your eyes and fell through the skies," Chilton rhapsodizes) [...] Big Star's baroque, guitar-driven pop reaches its apotheosis on songs like "Kizza Me," "Thank You Friends" and "O, Dana". [...] Without question, ''Third'' is one of the most idiosyncratic, deeply felt and fully realized albums in the pop idiom.

Fry and Dickinson flew to New York with promotional copies and met employees of a number of record labels, but could not generate interest in the album. When a similar promotion attempt failed in California, the album was shelved as it was considered not commercial enough for release. Fry recalled, "We'd go in and play it and these guys would look at us like we were crazy". In late 1974, before the album was even named, the band broke up, bringing Big Star's first era to its end. Dickinson later said that he was "nailed for indulging Alex on Big Star ''Third'', but I think it is important that the artist is enabled to perform with integrity. What I did for Alex was literally remove the yoke of oppressive production that he had been under since the first time he ever uttered a word into a microphone, for good or ill.

Since quitting the band in 1972, Bell had spent time in several different countries trying to develop his solo career. In 1978, after his return to Memphis, the first two Big Star albums were released together in the UK as a double album, drawing enthusiastic reviews and interest from fans. Soon afterwards Big Star's recognition grew further when, four years after its completion, the third album too was released in both the U.S. and the UK. By now, the hitherto untitled ''Third/Sister Lovers'' had become known by several unofficial names including ''Third'' (reflecting its position in the discography), ''Beale Street Green'' (acknowledging the legendary site nearby, once a focal point for Memphis blues musicians) and ''Sister Lovers'' (because during the album's recording sessions, Chilton and Stephens were dating sisters Lesa and Holliday Aldridge).

Not long after the release of ''Third/Sister Lovers'', Bell died in a car accident. He apparently lost control of his car while driving alone and was killed when he struck a lamp post after hitting the curb a hundred feet before. A blood test found that he was not drunk at the time, and no drugs were found on him other than a bottle of vitamins. Bell is believed to have either fallen asleep at the wheel or become distracted.

Second era: 1993 to 2011

Big Star returned in 1993 with a new line-up when guitarist Jon Auer and bassist Ken Stringfellow joined Chilton and Stephens. Auer and Stringfellow remain members of The Posies, founded by the pair in 1986. Stringfellow is also known for his work with R.E.M. and The Minus 5. First-era material dominates Big Star's performances, with the occasional addition of a song from the 2005 album ''In Space''; Stringfellow recalled that during the 1990s, "We were working out the set list and we went to this little cafe. Little did I know we'd be playing that set for the next ten years". The resurrected band made its debut at the 1993 University of Missouri spring music festival. A recording of the performance was issued on CD by Zoo Records as ''Columbia: Live at Missouri University''. The concert was followed by tours of Europe and Japan, as well as an appearance on ''The Tonight Show''.

''In Space'' was released on September 27, 2005 on the Rykodisc label. Recorded during 2004, the album consists of new material mostly co-written by Chilton, Stephens, Auer and Stringfellow. Reviewing ''In Space'', ''Rolling Stone'''s David Fricke first points out the context for its release: "a world expecting that American Beatles ideal all over again" from a band that "achieved its power-pop perfection when no one else was looking". In Fricke's estimation, the seemingly unrealistic expectation is in part met: "It's here—in the jangly longing and ice-wall harmonies of 'Lady Sweet'"; Fricke finds though that such songs are interleaved with "the eccentric R&B; and demo-quality glam rock that have made Chilton's solo records a mixed blessing", and that "'A Whole New Thing' starts out like old T.Rex, then goes nowhere special". Warming nevertheless to "the rough sunshine" of "Best Chance", Fricke says in conclusion: "''In Space'' is no ''#1 Record'', but at its brightest, it is Big Star in every way".

The band appeared at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium on October 20, 2007. San Francisco-based band Oranger, performed as opening act. Big Star performed at the 2008 Rhythm Festival, staged from 29–31 August in Bedfordshire, UK. On June 16, 2009, the ''#1 Record''/''Radio City'' double album was reissued in remastered form. The same month, it was announced that a film of Big Star's history, based on biographer Rob Jovanovic's book ''Big Star: The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band'', is in pre-production. On July 1, 2009, Big Star performed at a concert in Hyde Park, London, UK. On September 15, 2009, Rhino Records issued a four-CD box set containing 98 recordings made between 1968 and 1975. ''Keep An Eye On The Sky'' includes live and demo versions of Big Star songs, solo work, and material from Bell's earlier bands Rock City and Icewater.

Chilton died on March 17, 2010 after being admitted to hospital with heart problems. He had been scheduled to perform with Big Star in Memphis, Tennessee three days later. The remaining members, joined by special guests original bassist Andy Hummel, M. Ward, Evan Dando, R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, and Chris Stamey, staged the concert as a tribute to him. Hummel, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, died on July 19, 2010. Asked about the band's future plans, Stephens told Billboard, "It's music we all really love to play, and we love to play it together, so we're trying to figure out a way forward where we can keep doing it."

After the EP ''Live Tribute to Alex Chilton'' was released in June 2011, Stephens wrote on the Ardent blog that the tribute performance in May 2010 was the last performance for Big Star as a band.

Musical style and influences

Bell took up guitar when twelve or thirteen, but only on hearing the first Beatles records was he motivated to play the instrument regularly. He acted as lead and rhythm guitarist and vocalist for a sequence of bands, performing songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Zombies and The Animals. Chilton's first awareness of music came at the age of six when his brother repeatedly played a record by The Coasters. His father's liking for jazz then exposed him over the next few years to the music of Glenn Miller, Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck. Chilton's enthusiasm for music took hold when at age thirteen he first heard Beatles records; he recalled having known of 1950s rock and roll but "by 1959 Elvis was syrup and Jerry Lee was pretty much gone, and the rockabilly thing was sort of over so I didn't get really caught up in the rock scene until the Beatles came along".

Chilton took up electric guitar at thirteen, playing along with Beatles songs, later saying, "I really loved the mid-sixties British pop music [...] all two and a half minutes or three minutes long, really appealing songs. So I've always aspired to that same format, that's what I like. Not to mention the rhythm and blues and the Stax stuff, too". Chilton abandoned his guitar-playing when with The Box Tops, then took up the instrument again; he met Roger McGuinn, guitarist for The Byrds, and developed particular interest in electric guitar and acoustic folk. Stephens enjoyed the music of Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers, The Who, The Kinks and, in particular, The Beatles. He first played drums at home with his brother, then with a handful of bands in the years before Big Star formed. Hummel likewise was a member of more than one band during his early musical years, again influenced by The Beatles and other British Invasion acts. The bassist also played acoustic guitar for personal enjoyment, following the styles of Simon & Garfunkel and Joni Mitchell and using finger-picking techniques to play folk and bluegrass. Most songs on the first three albums are credited to either Bell/Chilton or Chilton, but some credit Hummel, Stephens and others, as either writer or co-writer. At the only seven live performances in the original era, the last of which took place before the second album's release, all four members contributed vocally.

While primarily inspired by the music of The Beatles and other British Invasion bands, acknowledging too the jangle pop and power pop of the period, Big Star also incorporated dark, nihilistic themes to produce a striking blend of musical and lyrical styles. The body of work resulting from the first era was a precursor of the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s, at the same time yielding material today considered an outstanding example of power pop. The stylistic range is evident from modern day critiques. Bogdanov et al., commenting on ''#1 Record'' in their ''All Music Guide to Rock'', perceive in "The Ballad of El Goodo" a "luminous, melancholy ballad", whereas John Borack's ''Ultimate Power Pop Guide'' singles out ''Radio City'''s "September Gurls" as a "glorious, glittering jewel" of power pop. Borack notes too that ''Third/Sister Lovers'' is "slower, darker and a good deal weirder" than the first two albums, identifying "Holocaust" as "Alex Chilton at his haunting best", yet finds "Thank You Friends" exemplifying "left-field gems" also present in which "the hooks are every bit as undeniable" as before. Jovanovic writes that when recording what Peter Buckley in his ''Rough Guide to Rock'' terms the "snarling guitar rock" of the first album's "Don't Lie To Me", the band, deeming conventional instruments inadequate for the task, wheeled two Norton Commando motorcycles into the studio and gunned the engines to intensify the song's bridge. Bogdanov et al. reserve "snarl" for a ''Radio City'' song, "Mod Lang"; here Buckley writes that "the power of the performance and the erratic mix gave a sense of chaos which only added to the thrill".

Legacy and influence

Although Big Star's first era came to an end in 1974, the band acquired a cult following in the 1980s when new acts began to acknowledge the early material's significance. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck admitted, "We've sort of flirted with greatness, but we've yet to make a record as good as ''Revolver'' or ''Highway 61 Revisited'' or ''Exile on Main Street'' or Big Star's ''Third''. I don't know what it'll take to push us on to that level, but I think we've got it in us." Chilton, however, told an interviewer in 1992, "I'm constantly surprised that people fall for Big Star the way they do... People say Big Star made some of the best rock 'n roll albums ever. And I say they're wrong."

Today, critics cite Big Star's first three albums as a profound influence on subsequent musicians. ''Rolling Stone'' notes that Big Star "created a seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations of rockers, from the power-pop revivalists of the late 1970s to alternative rockers at the end of the century to the indie rock nation in the new millennium". Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, identifies Big Star as "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll", whose "impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground". Ankeny describes Big Star's second album, ''Radio City'', as "their masterpiece—ragged and raw guitar-pop infused with remarkable intensity and spontaneity".

In 1992, Rykodisc generated further interest in the band when it reissued ''Third/Sister Lovers'' and released a posthumous compilation of Bell's solo material, ''I Am The Cosmos''. In his 2007 book ''Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide'', John Borack ranks the ''#1 Record''/''Radio City'' double album at #2 in his chart "The 200 Greatest Power Pop Albums". ''Rolling Stone'' includes ''#1 Record'', ''Radio City'' and ''Third/Sister Lovers'' in ''The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time'' and "September Gurls" and "Thirteen" in ''The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time''. In addition to R.E.M., artists including Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements, Primal Scream, the Posies, and Bill Lloyd and the dB's cite Big Star as an inspiration, and the band's influence on Game Theory, Matthew Sweet and Velvet Crush is also acknowledged.

Big Star's "I'm In Love With A Girl" from ''Radio City'' features in the soundtrack of the 2009 film "Adventureland". The 2006 tribute album ''Big Star, Small World'' includes Big Star covers by The Posies, Teenage Fanclub, Gin Blossoms, Wilco, Afghan Whigs, Whiskeytown and others. The 1987 tribute song "Alex Chilton", co-written by three members of The Replacements, was released as a single from the album ''Pleased to Meet Me'' and contains the lyric "I never travel far without a little Big Star". In 1998, ''#1 Record'''s "In the Street" was used as the theme song for the sitcom ''That '70s Show'', and in 1999, a new version titled "That '70s Song (In the Street)" was recorded by Cheap Trick for the show. "That '70s Song" and Big Star's own "September Gurls" are included on the 1999 album ''That '70s Album (Rockin')'' released by the television program's producers. "September Gurls", Borack says, "was and is the sine qua non of power pop, a glorious, glittering jewel with every facet cut and shined to absolute perfection. [...] a peerless, aching distillation of love and longing. 'September Gurls' may not actually be the greatest song ever recorded, but for the duration of its 2:47 running time, you can be forgiven for believing it is."

Personnel

Alex Chilton – guitars, piano, vocals (1971–1975, 1993–2010)

Jody Stephens – drums, vocals (1971–1975, 1993–2010)

Chris Bell – guitars, vocals (1971–1972)

Andy Hummel – bass, vocals (1971–1973)

John Lightman – bass, backing vocals (1974)

Jon Auer – guitar, vocals (1993–2010)

Ken Stringfellow – bass, vocals (1993–2010)

Discography

;Studio albums

''#1 Record'' (Ardent/Stax, 1972)

''Radio City'' (Ardent/Stax, 1974)

''Third/Sister Lovers'' (PVC, 1978)

''In Space'' (Rykodisc, 2005)

''Third [Test Pressing Edition]'' (Omnivore Recordings, 2011)

;Live albums

''Live'' (Rykodisc, 1992)

''Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93'' (Zoo, 1993)

''Nobody Can Dance'' (Norton, 1999) – rehearsals and live recordings

;Compilations

''Biggest'' (Line Records, 1994) – greatest hits

''The Best Of'' (Ace Records, 1999) – greatest hits

''Big Star Story'' (Rykodisc, 2003) – greatest hits with one new track

''Keep an Eye on the Sky'' (Rhino, 2009) – box set with a live disc

Notes

References

Ankeny, Jason. [ Big Star Biography]. Allmusic.com. Accessed June 29, 2009.

Bogdanov, Vladimir, Woodstra, Chris, Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. ''All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul''. Backbeat Books, 2002. ISBN 978-0-87930-653-3.

Borack, John M. ''Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide''. Shake Some Action — PowerPop, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9797714-0-8.

Buckley, Peter. ''The Rough Guide to Rock''. Rough Guides, 2003. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.

Eaton, Bruce. ''Big Star's "Radio City" (33 1/3)''. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8264-2898-1.

Gordon, Robert. ''It Came From Memphis''. New York: Pocket Books, 1995. ISBN 0-7434-1045-9.

Jovanovic, Rob. ''Big Star: The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band''. London: Fourth Estate, 2004. ISBN 0-00-714908-5.

External links

Official site

Category:American power pop groups Category:Musical groups established in 1971 Category:Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Musical quartets Category:Musical trios Category:Norton Records artists Category:Pre-punk groups Category:Rock music groups from Tennessee Category:Rykodisc artists Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1974 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 1993 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2011

de:Big Star es:Big Star fr:Big Star gl:Big Star it:Big Star he:ביג סטאר pt:Big Star ru:Big Star sv:Big Star uk:Big Star

name	R.K.Laxman
birth date	October 23, 1924
birth place	Mysore, India
occupation	Cartoonist, Illustrator }}

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Laxman (born October 23, 1924, Mysore, India) is an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He is widely regarded as India's greatest-ever cartoonist and is best known for his creation ''The Common Man''.

Birth and childhood

R. K. Laxman was born in Mysore. His father was a headmaster and Laxman was the youngest of six boys. One of his elder brothers, R.K. Narayan, went on to become one of India's best known English language novelists.

Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as ''Strand Magazine'', ''Punch'', ''Bystander'', ''Wide World'' and ''Tit-Bits'', even before he could read. Soon he was drawing on his own, on the floors, walls and doors of his house and doodling caricatures of his teachers at school; praised by a teacher for his drawing of a peepal leaf, he began to think of himself as an artist in the making. Another early influence on Laxman were the cartoons of the world-renowned British cartoonist, Sir David Low (whose signature he misread as "cow" for a long time) that appeared now and then in ''The Hindu''. Laxman notes in his autobiography, ''The Tunnel of Time'': }} Laxman was the captain of his local "Rough and Tough and Jolly" cricket team and his antics inspired the stories "Dodu the money maker" and "The Regal Cricket Club" written by his brother, Narayan. Laxman's idyllic childhood was shaken for a while when his father suffered a paralytic stroke and died around a year later, but the elders at home bore most of the increased responsibility, while Laxman continued with his schooling.

After high school, Laxman applied to the JJ School of Arts, Bombay hoping to concentrate on his lifelong interests of drawing and painting, but the dean of the school wrote to him that his drawings lacked, "the kind of talent to qualify for enrollment in our institution as a student", and refused admission. He finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mysore. In the meantime he continued his freelance artistic activities and contributed cartoons to ''Swarajya'' and an animated film based on the mythological character, Narada.

Career

Beginning

Laxman's earliest work was for newspapers & magazines such as ''Swarajya'' and ''Blitz''. While still at the Maharaja's College of Mysore, he began to illustrate his elder brother R K Narayan's stories in ''The Hindu'', and he drew political cartoons for the local newspapers and for the ''Swatantra''. Laxman also drew cartoons, for the Kannada humour magazine, Koravanji. Incidentally, Koravanji was founded in 1942 by Dr M Shivaram who was a MBBS doctor and had a clinic around Majestic area in Bangalore. He started this monthly magazine, dedicating it to hilarious/satirical articles and cartoons. Dr Shivaram himself was an eminent humourist in Kannada. He encouraged Laxman quite a lot. He held a summer job at the Gemini Studios, Madras. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the ''Free Press Journal''. Prominent Shiv Sena politician Bal Thackeray, was also an employee at the newspaper at that time. Laxman later joined ''The Times of India'', beginning a career that has spanned for over fifty years.

Other creations

Among his other works, Laxman is known for his distinctive illustrations in several books, most notably for the Malgudi stories written by his elder brother R.K. Narayan, which was later made as a serial directed by Shankar Nag. He also created a popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called ''Gattu''. Laxman has also penned a few novels. His cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as ''Mr. and Mrs. 55'' and a Tamil Film "KAMARAJ".

R K Laxman Chair at Symbiosis International University

Symbiosis International University inaugurated a chair to honour R K Laxman, called the R K Laxman Chair, for research and studies in media and communication, to focus on thought leadership, guiding research and policy formation in media and communication.

Personal life

He was first married to Bharatanatyam dancer and movie actress Kamala Laxman (also known before marriage as Baby Kamala and Kumari Kamala). After a divorce, he married again and his second wife's (a children's book writer) name was also Kamala. He lives both in Mumbai and Pune. In a cartoon series named "The star I never met" in film magazine ''Filmfare'' he painted a cartoon of Kamala Laxman, with the title "The star I only met!".

In September 2003, Laxman was affected by a stroke which left him paralysed on his left side. He has partly recovered from its effects. On the evening of June 20, 2010, Laxman was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after being transported by an air ambulance from Pune. His condition was said to be stable.

Awards

B.D. Goenka Award - The Indian Express

Durga Ratan Gold Medal - Hindustan Times

Padma Bhushan - Govt. of India

Padma Vibhushan - Govt. of India

Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts - 1984

Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism - CNN IBN TV18, 29 January 2008.

Bibliography

The Eloquent Brush: A Selection of Cartoons from Nehru to Rajiv

50 Years of Independence through the eyes of R.K.Laxman

The Best of Laxman series

Hotel Riviera

The Messenger

Servants of India

''The Tunnel of Time'' (autobiography)

His autobiography ''Lakshmanrekha'' is published in Marathi.

The Reel World [cartoons]published by Marwah Studios

Brushing Up The Years- A Cartoonist's History of India- 1947 to the Present- Penguin Books

Multi-media

India Through The Eyes of R. K. Laxman - Then To Now (CD-ROM).

Laxman Rekhas-A TOI Publication

Quotation

When the American cartoonist Ranan Lurie asked him who the best Indian cartoonist was, Laxman flashed back, "I am." The second, third, fourth, fifth best man on the job? Laxman continued to repeat, "I am."

Notes

References

Laxman's-eye view Frontline Magazine - July 18–31, 1998

Category:Indian Hindus Category:Living people Category:1924 births Category:Indian cartoonists

hi:आर के लक्ष्मण ml:ആർ.കെ. ലക്ഷ്മൺ mr:आर.के. लक्ष्मण ta:ஆர். கே. லட்சுமண் te:ఆర్.కె.లక్ష్మణ్

background	solo_singer
born	September 26, 1948Cambridge, England
origin	Melbourne, Australia
instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, recorder
genre	Pop, country, soft rock
occupation	Singer, actress, songwriter, entrepreneur
years active	1963–present
label	MCA, EMI, Pye, Festival
associated acts	Cliff Richard, John Travolta, Electric Light Orchestra, John Farrar, Helen Reddy, Bruce Welch
website	olivianewton-john.com
spouse	Amazon John Easterling (2008–present)Matt Lattanzi (1984–95) (divorced) 1 child }}

Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an English-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and 14 of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. Her music has been successful in multiple formats including pop, country and adult contemporary and has sold an estimated over 100 million albums worldwide. She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, ''Grease,'' which featured one of the most successful film soundtracks in Hollywood history.

Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues. Since surviving breast cancer in 1992, she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.

Newton-John has been married twice. She currently lives with her second husband, John Easterling, in Jupiter Inlet Colony, Florida. She is the mother of one daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, with her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi.

Life and career

Early life and beginnings

Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, to a Welsh father, Brinley ("Bryn") Newton-John, and a German-born mother, Irene Born, the eldest child of the Nobel prize-winning atomic physicist Max Born. Her mother's family had left Germany before World War II to avoid the Nazi regime (Newton-John's maternal grandfather was Jewish, and her maternal grandmother was of paternal Jewish ancestry). Her maternal great-grandfather was jurist Victor Ehrenberg and her matrilineal great-grandmother's father was German jurist Rudolf von Jhering. Newton-John is the youngest of three children, following brother Hugh, a doctor, and sister Rona, an actress who was married to ''Grease'' co-star Jeff Conaway from 1980 until their divorce in 1985. Newton-John's father was an MI.5 officer on the Enigma project at Bletchley Park who took Rudolf Hess into custody during World War II. In 1954 Newton-John's family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where her father worked as a professor of German and as Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne.

At 14, Newton-John formed a short-lived all-girl band, Sol Four, with three classmates often performing in a coffee shop owned by her brother-in-law. She became a regular on local Australian radio and television shows including HSV-7's ''The Happy Show'' where she performed as "Lovely Livvy." She also appeared on the ''Go Show'' where she met future duet partner, Pat Carroll, and future music producer John Farrar. (Carroll and Farrar would later marry.) She entered and won a talent contest on the television program ''Sing, Sing, Sing,'' hosted by 1960s Australian icon Johnny O'Keefe, performing the songs "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Newton-John was initially reluctant to use the prize she had won, a trip to England, but travelled there nearly a year later after her mother encouraged her to broaden her horizons.

Newton-John recorded her first single, ''Till You Say You'll Be Mine'' b/w ''Forever,'' in England for Decca Records in 1966. Newton-John was homesick in England for her then-boyfriend, Ian Turpie, with whom she had co-starred in the Australian telefilm, ''Funny Things Happen Down Under.'' Newton-John would repeatedly book trips back to Australia that her mother would subsequently cancel. Newton-John's outlook changed when Pat Carroll also moved to England. The two formed a duo called "Pat and Olivia" and toured nightclubs in Europe. (In one incident, they were booked at Paul Raymond's Revue in Soho, London. Dressed primly in frilly, high-collared dresses, they were unaware that this was a strip club until they began to perform onstage.) After Carroll's visa expired forcing her to return to Australia, Newton-John remained in England to pursue solo work until 1975. She became engaged to The Shadows' guitarist Bruce Welch, but they never married.

Newton-John was recruited for the group Toomorrow formed by American producer Don Kirshner who was also the music consultant for the earliest recordings of The Monkees. In 1970, the group starred in a "science fiction musical" film and recorded an accompanying soundtrack album both named after the group. The project bombed and the group disbanded.

Early success

Newton-John released her first solo album, ''If Not For You'' (No. 158 Pop), in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan and previously recorded by Beatle George Harrison for his 1970 album, ''All Things Must Pass,'' was her first international hit (No. 25 Pop, No. 1 AC). Her follow-up single, "Banks of the Ohio," was a Top 10 hit in England and Australia. She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine ''Record Mirror.'' She made frequent appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show, ''It's Cliff Richard,'' and starred with him in the telefilm, ''The Case.''

In 1974, Newton-John represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song, "Long Live Love". The song was chosen for Newton-John by the British public out of six possible entries. (Newton-John later admitted that she disliked the song.) Newton-John placed fourth at the contest held in Brighton behind ABBA's winning ''Waterloo.'' All six Eurovision contest song candidates were recorded by Newton-John and included on her ''Long Live Love'' album, her first for the EMI Records label.

In the United States, Newton-John's career floundered after ''If Not For You.'' Subsequent singles including "Banks of the Ohio" (No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC) and remakes of George Harrison's "What Is Life" (No. 34 AC) and John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (No. 119 Pop) made minimal chart impact until the release of "Let Me Be There" in 1973. The song reached the American Top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7), and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female and an Academy of Country Music award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. The album, ''Let Me Be There,'' charted No. 1 on Country Albums for two weeks as well as No. 54 on the Billboard 200.

The ''Long Live Love'' album was released in the United States as ''If You Love Me, Let Me Know'' with the six Eurovision songs dropped for four different, more country-oriented tracks intended to capitalize on the success of "Let Me Be There." The title track was the first single reaching No. 5 Pop, No. 2 Country (her best country placement to date) and No. 2 AC. The next single, "I Honestly Love You," became Newton-John's signature song. Written and composed by Jeff Barry and Peter Allen, the ballad became her first No. 1 Pop (two weeks), second No. 1 AC (three weeks) and third Top 10 Country (No. 6) hit and earned Newton-John two more Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female. The success of both singles helped the album reach No. 1 on both the Pop (one week) and Country (eight weeks) Albums charts.

Newton-John's country success sparked a debate among purists who believed a foreigner singing country-flavored pop music did not belong in country music. In addition to her Grammy for "Let Me Be There," 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). Newton-John was eventually supported by the country music community. Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, recorded "Ode To Olivia" and Newton-John recorded her 1976 album, ''Don't Stop Believin','' in Nashville.

Encouraged by expatriate Australian singer Helen Reddy, Newton-John left England and moved to the United States. Newton-John topped the Pop (one week) and Country (six weeks) Albums charts with her next album, ''Have You Never Been Mellow.'' The album generated two singles – the John Farrar penned title track (No. 1 Pop, No. 3 Country, No. 1 AC) and "Please Mr. Please" (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). Newton-John's pop career cooled with the release of her next album, ''Clearly Love.'' Her streak of five consecutive gold Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 ended when the album's first single, "Something Better To Do," stopped at No. 13 (also No. 19 Country and No. 1 AC). Although her albums still achieved gold status, she did not return to the Top 10 on the Hot 100 or Billboard 200 charts again until 1978.

Newton-John's singles continued to easily top the AC chart, where she ultimately amassed ten No. 1 singles including a record seven consecutively:

"I Honestly Love You" (1974) – 3 weeks

"Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975) – 1 week

"Please Mr. Please" (1975) – 3 weeks

"Something Better to Do" (1975) – 3 weeks

"Let It Shine"/"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (1976) – 2 weeks

"Come on Over" (1976) – 1 week

"Don't Stop Believin'" (1976) – 1 week

She also provided a prominent, but uncredited, vocal on John Denver's "Fly Away" single which was succeeded by her own single, "Let It Shine"/"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," at No. 1 on the AC chart. ("Fly Away" returned to No. 1 after the two week reign of "Let It Shine".) Newton-John also continued to reach the Country Top 10 where she tallied seven Top 10 singles through 1976's "Come on Over" (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC) and six consecutive (of a career nine total) Top 10 albums through 1976's ''Don't Stop Believin''' (No. 30 Pop, No. 7 Country). She headlined her first U.S. television special, ''A Special Olivia Newton-John,'' in November 1976.

By mid-1977, Newton-John's AC and country success also began to wane. Her ''Making a Good Thing Better'' album (No. 34 Pop, No. 13 Country) failed to be certified gold, and its only single, the title track (No. 87 Pop, No. 20 AC), did not reach even the AC Top 10 or the Country chart. Later that year, ''Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits'' (No. 13 Pop, No. 7 Country) became her first platinum album as she prepared to launch a new phase in her career.

''Grease''

Newton-John'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. Burned by her ''Toomorrow'' experience and concerned that she was too old to play a high school senior (she turned 29 during the latter 1977 filming), Newton-John insisted on a screen test with the film's co-star, John Travolta. The film accommodated Newton-John's Australian accent by recasting her character from the play's original American Sandy Dumbrowski to Sandy Olsson, an Australian who vacations and then moves with her family to the United States. Newton-John previewed some of the film's soundtrack during her second American network television special, ''Olivia,'' featuring guests ABBA and Andy Gibb.

''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 for Newton-John: the platinum "You're The One That I Want" (No. 1 Pop, No. 23 AC) with John Travolta, the gold "Hopelessly Devoted To You" (No. 3 Pop, No. 20 Country, No. 7 AC) and the gold "Summer Nights" (No. 5 Pop, No. 21 AC) with John Travolta and the film's cast. The former two songs were written and composed by Newton-John's long-time music producer, John Farrar, specifically for the film. ("Summer Nights" was from the original play written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey.) Newton-John became the second female (after Linda Ronstadt in 1977) to have two singles – "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights" – in the Billboard Top 5 simultaneously. Newton-John's performance earned her a People's Choice award for Favorite Motion Picture Actress. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical and performed the Oscar-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted To You" at the 1979 Academy Awards.

The film's popularity has endured through the years. It was re-released for its 20th anniversary in 1998 and ranked as the second highest grossing film behind ''Titanic'' in its opening weekend. It was most recently re-released in July 2010 as a sing-along version in select American theatres. The soundtrack still sells strongly enough to often appear on ''Billboard's'' Top Soundtracks chart.

New image

Newton-John's transformation in ''Grease'' from goody-goody "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2" emboldened Newton-John 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 (No. 7) album since ''Have You Never Been Mellow.'' Dressed on the cover all in leather, the album's singles "A Little More Love" (No. 3 Pop, No. 94 Country, No. 4 AC), "Deeper Than The Night" (No. 11 Pop, No. 87 Country, No. 4 AC), and the title track (No. 52 Pop) all demonstrated a more aggressive and uptempo sound for Newton-John. Although the album de-emphasized country, it still reached No. 4 on the Country Albums chart. Newton-John released the B-side, "Dancin' 'Round And 'Round," of the "Totally Hot" single to Country radio peaking at No. 29 (as well as No. 82 Pop and No. 25 AC), becoming her last charted solo Country airplay single to date.

Newton-John began 1980 by releasing ''I Can't Help It'' (No. 12 Pop, No. 8 AC), a duet with Andy Gibb from his ''After Dark'' album, and by starring in her third television special, ''Hollywood Nights.'' Later that year, she appeared in her first film since ''Grease'' starring in the musical ''Xanadu'' with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. Although the movie was a critical failure, its soundtrack (No. 4 Pop) was certified double platinum boasting five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Newton-John charted with ''Magic'' (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), ''Suddenly'' with Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC) and the title song 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 Newton-John'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. (A successful international tour of the show followed.)

In 1981, Newton-John 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, matching the then record of most weeks spent at No. 1 in the rock era held by Debby Boone's ''You Light Up My Life.'' The single 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 Newton-John 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'' (No. 5 Pop, No. 6 AC) and ''Landslide'' (No. 52 Pop).

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, Newton-John filmed an exercise-themed video that turned the song into an aerobics anthem and made headbands a fashion accessory outside the gym. Newton-John 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. The success of ''Physical'' led to an international tour and the release of her second hits collection, the double platinum ''Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' (No. 16 Pop), which yielded two more Top 40 singles: ''Heart Attack'' (No. 3 Pop) and ''Tied Up'' (No. 38 Pop). The tour was filmed for her ''Olivia In Concert'' television special which premiered on HBO in January 1983. The special was subsequently released to video earning Newton-John another Grammy nomination.

Newton-John re-teamed with Travolta in 1983 for the critically and commercially unsuccessful ''Two of a Kind,'' redeemed by its platinum soundtrack (No. 26 Pop) featuring ''Twist Of Fate'' (No. 5 Pop), ''Livin' In Desperate Times'' (No. 31 Pop), and a new duet with Travolta, ''Take A Chance'' (No. 3 AC). Newton-John released another video package, the Grammy-nominated ''Twist Of Fate,'' featuring videos of her four songs on the ''Two of a Kind'' soundtrack and the two new singles from ''Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2.''

The same year, Newton-John and Pat Carroll founded ''Koala Blue.'' The store, originally for Australian imports, evolved into a chain of women's clothing boutiques. The chain was initially successful, but it eventually declared bankruptcy and closed in 1992. Newton-John and Farrar would later license the brand name for a line of Australian produced wines, confections, and bed/bath products. Newton-John married her long-time boyfriend, actor Matt Lattanzi, in December 1984. The couple had met four years earlier while filming ''Xanadu.'' Their daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, was born in January 1986. (They divorced in 1995.)

Newton-John's music career cooled again with the release of her next studio album, the gold ''Soul Kiss'' (No. 29 Pop), in 1985. The album's only charted single was the title track (No. 20 Pop, No. 20 AC). Due to her pregnancy, Newton-John limited her publicity for the album. The video album for ''Soul Kiss'' featured only five of the album's ten tracks (concept videos for the album's singles ''Soul Kiss'' and ''Toughen Up'' as well as performance videos of the tracks ''Culture Shock'', ''Emotional Tangle'' and ''The Right Moment'').

Motherhood and advocacy

After a nearly three-year hiatus following the birth of Chloe, Newton-John resumed her recording career with the 1988 album, ''The Rumour.'' The album was promoted by an HBO special, ''Olivia Down Under,'' and its first single, the title track, was written and produced by Elton John. Both the single (No. 62 Pop, No. 33 AC) and the album (No. 67 Pop) fizzled 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. (Ironically, this album was praised by critics as more mature with Newton-John addressing topics such as AIDS, the environment and single parent households.) The second single, ''Can't We Talk It Over In Bed,'' did not chart, but was released in 1989 by Grayson Hugh, the song's arranger, as ''Talk It Over'' becoming a Top 20 Pop hit. A year later, Newton-John recorded her self-described "self-indulgent" album, ''Warm and Tender.'' Inspired by her daughter, who appeared on the album cover, the album featured lullabies and love songs for parents and their children. This album, the last one produced by John Farrar, also failed to revive her recording career struggling to No. 124 Pop.

Newton-John was primed for another comeback in 1992 when she compiled her third hits collection, ''Back To Basics – The Essential Collection 1971–1992'', and planned her first tour since her ''Physical'' trek ten years earlier. Shortly after the album's release, Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer forcing her to cancel all publicity for the album including the tour. (Newton-John received her diagnosis the same weekend her father died.) Newton-John recovered and since became a tireless advocate for breast cancer research and other health issues. She is a product spokesperson for the Liv-Kit, a breast self-examination product. She is also partial owner of the Gaia Retreat and Spa in Byron Bay, Australia advertised as "the ideal place to renew, refresh, and restore your mind, body and soul."

Newton-John's advocacy for health issues was presaged by her prior involvement with many humanitarian causes. Newton-John cancelled a 1978 concert tour of Japan to protest the slaughter of dolphins caught in tuna fishing nets. (She subsequently rescheduled the tour when the Japanese government assured her the matter was being addressed.) She was a performer on the 1979 Music for UNICEF Concert for the UN' International Year of the Child televised worldwide. During the concert, artists performed songs for which they donated their royalties, some in perpetuity, to benefit the cause. She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme. In 1991, she became the National Spokesperson for the Colette Chuda Environmental Fund/CHEC (Children’s Health Environmental Coalition) following the death of four year old Colette Chuda, a family friend, from cancer. (Chuda was featured along with Newton-John and daughter Chloe on the cover of Newton-John's ''Warm and Tender'' album.)

Newton-John's cancer diagnosis also affected the type of music she recorded. In 1994, she released ''Gaia: One Woman's Journey'' which chronicled her ordeal. This was the first album on which Newton-John wrote all of the songs encouraging her to become more active as a songwriter thereafter. In 2005, she released ''Stronger Than Before,'' sold exclusively in the United States by Hallmark. Proceeds from the album's sales benefited breast cancer research. The album featured the song ''Phenomenal Woman'' based on the poem by Maya Angelou that featured guest vocals from Diahann Carroll, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Delta Goodrem, Amy Holland, Patti LaBelle, and Mindy Smith – all survivors of or affected by cancer.

The following year, Newton-John released a healing CD, ''Grace And Gratitude.'' The album was sold exclusively by Walgreens also benefitting various charities including Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization. The CD was the "heart" of their "Body – Heart – Spirit" Wellness Collection which also featured a re-branded Liv-Kit and breast-health dietary supplements. Newton-John re-recorded some tracks from ''Grace And Gratitude'' in 2010 and re-released the album as ''Grace And Gratitude Renewed'' on the Green Hill music label. The ''Renewed'' CD includes a new track, "Help Me To Heal," not featured on the original album. The ''Renewed'' CD yielded Newton-John's first appearances on the Billboard Christian Albums (No. 36), Christian & Gospel Albums (No. 54) and New Age Albums (No. 2) charts.

In 2008, Newton-John raised funds to help build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, Australia. She led a three-week, 228 km. walk along the Great Wall of China during April joined by various celebrities and cancer survivors throughout her trek. The walk symbolized the steps cancer patients must take on their road to recovery. Newton-John released a companion CD, ''A Celebration In Song,'' the following month in Australia and later worldwide featuring new and previously recorded duets by "Olivia Newton-John & Friends." Her "Friends" included Jann Arden, Jimmy Barnes, John Farrar, Barry Gibb, Delta Goodrem, Sun Ho, Richard Marx, Cliff Richard, Melinda Schneider, Amy Sky and Keith Urban. (The album was re-released by Green Hill Records with different artwork in 2011.) In October, Newton-John helped launch the www.liv.com website and teamed with fitness franchise Curves to distribute one million Liv-Aid breast self-examination aids for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Newton-John collaborated with producer David Foster to record ''Hope Is Always Here'' for the November 2009 television special, ''Kaleidoscope.'' The song was written and composed for the show's performance by another breast cancer survivor, figure skater Dorothy Hamill. The song was released as a digital single after the show aired.

Newton-John was featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docu-drama, ''1 a Minute,'' released in October 2010. The documentary was made by actress Namrata Singh Gujral and featured other celebrities who survived breast cancer or were affected by the disease. During the same month, Bluewater Productions released a comic book featuring Newton-John to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Later career

Newton-John continued to record and perform pop-oriented music as well. In 1998, she returned to Nashville to record ''Back With A Heart'' (No. 59 Pop). The album returned her to the Top 10 (No. 9) on the Country Albums chart. Its first single was a re-recording of ''I Honestly Love You'' produced by David Foster and featuring Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds on background vocals that charted Pop (No. 67) and AC (No. 18). Country radio dismissed the song, though it did peak at No. 16 on the Country Sales chart. The album track, ''Love Is A Gift,'' won Newton-John a 1999 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song after being featured on the daytime serial, ''As The World Turns.''

Newton-John's subsequent secular albums were released primarily in Australia. Newton-John, John Farnham and Anthony Warlow toured Australia as ''The Main Event.'' The live album won an ARIA Award for Highest Selling Australian CD and was also nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album. She and Farnham performed ''Dare To Dream'' at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 2002, Newton-John released ''(2),'' a duets album featuring mostly Australian artists (Tina Arena, Darren Hayes, Jimmy Little, Johnny O'Keefe, Billy Thorpe, Keith Urban) as well as a heartfelt "duet" with the deceased Peter Allen. The same year, Newton-John was inducted into Australia's ARIA Hall of Fame. ''Indigo: Women of Song,'' a tribute album covering songs by female artists such as Joan Baez, The Carpenters, Doris Day, Nina Simone, Minnie Riperton and others, was released in 2004. Newton-John dedicated the album to her mother, who had died the previous year.

Newton-John also released several Christmas albums. In 2000, she teamed with Vince Gill and the London Symphony Orchestra for '''Tis The Season'' sold exclusively through Hallmark. The following year, she released ''The Christmas Collection'' which compiled seasonal music previously recorded for her Hallmark Christmas album, her appearance on Kenny Loggins' 1999 TNN Christmas special and her contributions to the ''Mother And Child'' and ''Spirit Of Christmas'' multi-artist collections. (Green Hill Records re-released this album with different artwork in 2010.) In 2007, she re-teamed with her ''Grace And Gratitude'' producer, Amy Sky, for ''Christmas Wish'' (No. 187 Pop) which was sold exclusively by Target in its first year of release.

Newton-John acted occasionally since ''Two of a Kind''. She appeared in a supporting role in the 1996 AIDS drama, ''It's My Party''. In 2000, she appeared in a dramatically different role as Bitsy Mae Harling, a lesbian ex-con country singer, in Del Shores' ''Sordid Lives.'' Newton-John reprised her role for ''Sordid Lives: The Series'' which aired one season on the LOGO television network. The series featured five original songs written and composed by Newton-John specifically for the show. In 2010, Newton-John starred in the film ''Score: A Hockey Musical,'' released in Canada. Newton-John portrayed Hope Gordon, the mother of a home-schooled hockey prodigy. The film opened the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

Newton-John's television work included starring in two Christmas movies, ''A Mom For Christmas'' (1990) and ''A Christmas Romance'' (1994) – both Top 10 Nielsen hits. Her daughter, Chloe, starred as one of her children in both ''A Christmas Romance'' and in the 2001 Showtime film ''The Wilde Girls.'' Newton-John guest-starred as herself in the sitcoms ''Ned and Stacey,'' ''Murphy Brown,'' and ''Bette,'' and made two appearances as herself on ''Glee.'' For her first ''Glee'' appearance, Newton-John re-created her "Physical" video with series regular Jane Lynch. The performance was released as a digital single, returning Newton-John to the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 89) for the first time since her 1998 re-release of ''I Honestly Love You.'' In Australia, Newton-John hosted the animal and nature series ''Wild Life'' and guest starred as Joanna on two episodes of the Australian series ''The Man From Snowy River.''

Newton-John met gaffer/cameraman Patrick McDermott a year after her 1995 divorce from Matt Lattanzi. The couple dated on and off for nine years. McDermott disappeared following a 2005 fishing trip off the California coast. Various theories abounded regarding his disappearance ranging from his death by accident or foul play to McDermott staging his disappearance to avoid child support payments to his ex-wife, actress Yvette Nipar. Newton-John, who was in Australia at her Gaia Retreat & Spa at the time of his disappearance, was never a suspect in McDermott's disappearance and has refused to comment on any speculation. A US Coast Guard investigation released in 2008 "suggest[ed] McDermott was lost at sea," although some have claimed contact with McDermott since his disappearance.

Newton-John returned to the tabloid headlines again in 2007 when it was revealed that her daughter Chloe was recovering from anorexia.

Newton-John released another concert DVD, ''Olivia Newton-John and the Sydney Symphony: Live at the Sydney Opera House,'' and a companion CD, ''Olivia's Live Hits,'' in January 2008. An edited version of the DVD premiered on PBS station, WLIW (Garden City, New York), in October 2007 and subsequently aired nationally during the network's fund-raising pledge drives. This was Newton-John's third live album after the 1981 Japanese release, ''Love Performance,'' and her 2000 Australian release, ''One Woman's Live Journey.''

In June 2008, Newton-John secretly wed John ("Amazon John") Easterling, founder and president of natural remedy firm, Amazon Herb Company. The couple had first met 15 years earlier, but they only became romantically involved in 2007. (Like Newton-John, this was Easterling's second marriage.) The couple married alone in a private Incan spiritual ceremony in Cuzco, Peru on June 21 followed nine days later by a legal ceremony on the Jupiter Island beachfront in Florida. There were no guests at either service since the couple preferred to marry simply and privately. Only Newton-John's daughter, Chloe, was aware of the nuptials. The couple did not announce their marriage until a 4 July barbecue at Newton-John's Malibu, California home, where guests were surprised with the news. The wedding was confirmed thereafter by ''HELLO!'' Magazine which published exclusive pictures of both weddings. In June 2009, the Easterlings purchased a new $4.1 million home in Jupiter Inlet, and Newton-John sold her home in Malibu, California.

Current activities

Newton-John still occasionally tours. Most of her recent public performances have been at charitable functions or to promote products such as Zamu, produced by Amazon Herb, a company founded by John Easterling. Her tour schedule can be found at http://olivianewton-john.com/tour.html.

Newton-John joined Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst as co-host of the health and well-being series ''Healing Quest'', currently airing on PBS.

In January 2011, Newton-John began filming "A Few Best Men" in Australia with director Stephan Elliott in the role of mother of the groom played by (Xavier Samuel).

Ten of Newton-John's albums were re-released separately and combined as a box set in October 2010 by Universal Music Japan. The albums include ''Long Live Love,'' ''Clearly Love,'' ''Come On Over,'' ''Don't Stop Believin','' ''Making A Good Thing Better,'' ''Totally Hot,'' ''Physical,'' ''Soul Kiss'', and ''The Rumour''. Each studio album featured two additional bonus tracks not included on the original releases of each album. On the same day, Universal Music Japan also released a "40/40" compilation that included 40 of Newton-John's hits as voted for by her Japanese fans as well as a previously unreleased bonus track, "Come on Home". Newton-John promoted these re-releases with a five-date tour of Japan.

On 12 February 2011, the BBC website reported that Newton-John was keen to join the 'Hetton Thunderer' project, a collaboration between musicians and the Hetton-le-Hole Historical Musical Society to re-invent forgotten musical instruments. Newton-John wished to keep the project under-wraps until demonstrations of the remodelled musical instruments were made public.

Discography and videography

;Studio albums

''Olivia Newton John'' (1971)

''If Not For You'' (1971)

''Olivia'' (1972)

''Music Makes My Day'' (1973)

''Let Me Be There'' (1973) [US compilation]

''Long Live Love'' (1974)

''If You Love Me, Let Me Know'' (1974) [US compilation]

''Have You Never Been Mellow'' (1975)

''Clearly Love'' (1975)

''Come On Over'' (1976)

''Don't Stop Believin''' (1976)

''Making a Good Thing Better'' (1977)

''Totally Hot'' (1978)

''Physical'' (1981)

''Soul Kiss'' (1985)

''The Rumour'' (1988)

''Warm and Tender'' (1989)

''Gaia'' (1994)

''Back With a Heart'' (1998)

'''Tis the Season'' (2000)

''The Christmas Collection (Olivia Newton-John album)'' (2001)

''(2)'' (2002)

''Indigo: Women of Song'' (2004)

''Stronger Than Before'' (2005)

''Grace and Gratitude'' (2006)

''Christmas Wish'' (2007)

''A Celebration in Song'' (2008)

''Grace And Gratitude Renewed'' (2010)

;Main compilation albums

''First Impressions'' (1975) (EMI/Festival compilation)

''Greatest Hits'' (1977)

''Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' (1982)

''Back to Basics: The Essential Collection 1971–1992'' (1992)

;Live albums

''Love Performance'' (1981)

''Highlights from The Main Event'' (1998)

''One Woman's Live Journey'' (2000)

''Olivia's Live Hits'' (2008)

;Soundtracks

''Toomorrow'' (1970)

''Grease'' (1978)

''Xanadu'' (1980)

''Two of a Kind'' (1983)

''Sordid Lives'' (2000)

''Sordid Lives: The Series'' (2008)

;DVDs/Laserdisc(12")/VHS/Betamax

''Olivia Physical'' (1982)

''Olivia in Concert'' (1983)

''Twist of Fate'' (1983)

''Soul Kiss'' (1985)

''Olivia Down Under'' (1988)

''Live at the Sydney Opera House'' (2008)

''Video Gold 1'' (2005)

''Video Gold 2'' (2005)

Filmography

''Toomorrow (film) ''The Case'' ''A Special Olivia Newton-John'' ''Only Olivia'' ''Olivia'' ''Xanadu (film) ''Two of a Kind (1983 film) ''She's Having a Baby'' ''Mothers & Others'' ''A Mom for Christmas'' ''A Christmas Romance'' ''It's My Party (film) ''Sordid Lives'' ''The Wilde Girls'' ''A Night with Olivia'' ''Live in Japan '03'' ''Sordid Lives: The Series'' ''Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List'' ''1 a Minute'' ''A Few Best Men''

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1965	''Funny Things Happen Down Under''	Olivia
1970	Toomorrow'' ||	Olivia	Lead role
1972	|	Herself	BBC2 TV special w/Cliff Richard & Tim Brooke-Taylor
1976	|	Herself	TV special
1977	|	Herself	TV special
rowspan="2"	1978	|	Herself	TV special
''Grease (film)	Grease''	Sandy Olsson
rowspan="2"	1980	Xanadu'' ||	Terpsichore>Kira	Lead role
''Hollywood Nights''	Herself
1983	Two of a Kind'' ||	Debbie	Lead role
1988	|	Herself	Cameo
1989	|	Herself	TV special
1990	|	Amy Miller	Lead role in television film
rowspan="2"	1991	|	Julia Stonecypher	Lead role in television film
''Madonna: Truth or Dare''	Herself
1996	It's My Party'' ||	Lina Bingham	Supporting role
2000	|	Bitsy Mae Harling	Supporting role
2001	|	Jasmine Wilde	Lead role in television film
2002	|	Herself	TV special
2003	|	Herself	TV special
2008	|	Bitsy Mae Harling	Supporting role in TV Series
2009	|	Herself	Guest appearance
rowspan="3"	2010	|	Herself	Documentary
''Glee (TV series)	Glee''	Herself
''Score: A Hockey Musical''	Hope Gordon
2011	|	Mother-in-Law	Supporting role

Tours

''If Not For You Tour'' (1972)

''Cliff Richard Japan tour w/Pat Carroll'' (1972)

''Clearly Love Tour'' (1975)

''Love Performance Tour'' (1976)

''Totally Hot World Tour'' (1978)

''Physical World Tour'' (1982)

''The Main Event Tour'' (1998)

''Greatest Hits Tour'' (1999)

''One Woman's Live Journey Tour'' (1999)

''Millennium Tour'' (2000)

''30 Musical Years Tour'' (2001)

''Heartstrings World Tour'' (2002)

''Japan 2006 Tour'' (2006)

''Live at the Sydney Opera House Tour'' (2006)

''Grace and Gratitude Tour'' (2006)

''Body Heart & Spirit Tour'' (2007)

''Verona-Canadian 2007 Tour'' (2007)

''United States 2009 Tour'' (2009)

Awards and honours

{| class=wikitable |- style="background:#ccc;" !Year !Category !Genre !Recording !Result |- style="background:#ddd;" | colspan="5" style="text-align:center;"| Grammy Awards |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1973 |Best Female Country Vocal Performance |Country |"Let Me Be There" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1974 |Record of the Year |General |"I Honestly Love You" | |- align=left |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"I Honestly Love You" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1975 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Have You Never Been Mellow" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1978 |Album of the Year |General |"Grease" (Soundtrack) | |- align=left |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Hopelessly Devoted to You" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1980 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Magic" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1981 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Physical" | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"|1982 |Best Female Pop Vocal Performance |Pop |"Heart Attack" | |- align=left |Video of the Year |General |''Olivia Physical'' | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1983 |Best Long Form Music Video |General |''Olivia in Concert'' | |- align=left | style="text-align:left;"|1984 |Best Short Form Music Video |General |''Twist of Fate'' | |}

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

List of songs by Australian artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA)

List of songs by British artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA)

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart

References

Bibliography

Olivia (The Biography of Olivia Newton-John), Tim Ewbank. (2008). Piatkus books. ISBN 978-0-7499-0983-3.

Wood, Gerry. (1998). "Olivia Newton-John." In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music.'' Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 380–1.

The Story of the Shadows by Mike Read. 1983. Elm Tree books. ISBN 0-241-10861-6.

Rock 'n' Roll, I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life – A Life In The Shadows by Bruce Welch ISBN 0-670-82705-3 (Penguin Books).

External links

Olivia Newton-John

Gaia Retreat

Great Walk To Beijing

ON-J Cancer Centre Appeal

Breast Health

Newton-John, Olivia (1948–) National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Olivia Newton-John

Category:1948 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Living people Category:Actors from Melbourne Category:ARIA Award winners Category:ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Australian country singers Category:Australian dance musicians Category:Australian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Australian female singers Category:Australian film actors Category:Australian people of English descent Category:Australian people of German descent Category:Australian people of Welsh descent Category:Australian pop singers Category:Australian television actors Category:Breast cancer survivors Category:British Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:English country singers Category:English dance musicians Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English female singers Category:English film actors Category:English emigrants to Australia Category:English pop singers Category:English people of German descent Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:English television actors Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1974 Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Naturalised citizens of Australia Category:Officers of the Order of Australia Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Cambridge Category:Singers from Melbourne

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