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RSO Records was a record label, formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood in 1973.^[1] The "RSO" stands for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. The company's main headquarters were at 67 Brook Street, in London's Mayfair. It underwent four distribution stages: first by Atlantic Records, then as an independent label, then by Polydor Records, and finally by Polygram Records.

RSO managed the careers of several superstars (Bee Gees, Yvonne Elliman, Eric Clapton, Andy Gibb), and, as a record label, released the soundtracks to Fame, Sparkle, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Times Square, Grease (over 25 million copies sold worldwide), and Saturday Night Fever (over 30 million copies sold worldwide). The release of the latter two albums made RSO one of the most financially successful labels of the 1970s.

As successful as the label was financially, the independent label produced successes on the pop charts never before seen by the recording industry. By one point in 1978, the label boasted an unprecedented 6th consecutive #1 single on the Billboard (US) pop charts, holding the top spot for 21 consecutive weeks. With singles releases from the Grease album ("You're The One That I Want", and the title track) and another huge Andy Gibb smash ("Shadow Dancing"), RSO would log a further 10 weeks at the #1 position, giving the label a record nine in one calendar year. This feat remains unduplicated by any record label to date.

As high as the label was flying in 1978, the disastrous commercial and critical failure of RSO's movie version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band crippled the company. The woes of this failure were only somewhat offset by the middle of 1979, as the Bee Gees album, Spirits Having Flown, went on to eventually sell nearly 20 million copies (with the album producing three further #1 singles that each sold more than 1 million copies in their own right).

In 1980, the label's most famous act, the Bee Gees, filed a $200 million lawsuit against both RSO and Stigwood, claiming mismanagement. The lawsuit was subsequently settled for an undisclosed amount, and after a public reconciliation, the band remained with the label until its dissolution.

By 1981, Stigwood had ended his involvement with the label, which was absorbed into Polygram a few years later. All previous RSO releases were later re-released under Polydor's label. The Star Wars soundtracks would pass through several hands before ultimately ending up with Sony Classical in the 90's, and the Bee Gees catalog reverted back to the Gibb family, who set up a new distribution arrangement with Warner Music's Rhino Records division, who has reissued their albums and the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack on the Reprise label.

The logo[link]

Stigwood explained the inspiration for RSO Records' red cow logo in a 2001 interview for Billboard:

Label variations[link]

• Atlantic-owned label: Tan label with small logo
• Independently owned label: Tan label with larger logo
• Polydor-owned label: Tan label with large logo, Polydor logo at bottom perimeter of label
• Polygram-owned label: Silver label with large logo
• RSO Top Line reissue label: White label with gold or silver star, very small logo at top of label between TOP and LINE

In popular culture[link]

The chyron of the RSO logo is seen during the end credits of Tommy, Saturday Night Fever and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In the Sgt. Pepper's movie, the organization is represented as "Big Deal Records".

See also[link]

• List of record labels

References[link]

John Travolta
John Travolta in 2007
Born	John Joseph Travolta (1954-02-18) February 18, 1954 (age 58) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Residence	Jumbolair subdivision; Ocala, Florida
Occupation	Actor, singer, dancer, producer, writer
Years active	1969–present
Religion	Roman Catholic (until 1975) Scientologist (1975-present)
Spouse	Kelly Preston (1991–present)
Children	Jett Travolta (1992–2009) Ella Bleu Travolta (b. 2000) Benjamin Travolta (b. 2010)
Website
http://www.travolta.com

John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Travolta's acting career declined in the early 1980s and continued to deteriorate for the rest of the decade. His career enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in Pulp Fiction, and he has since continued starring in Hollywood films, including Face/Off, Ladder 49, and Wild Hogs. Travolta was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty.

Early life[link]

Travolta, the youngest of six children,^[1] was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995),^[2] was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company.^[3] His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke, January 1912 – December 1978),^[2] was an actress and singer who had appeared in The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama and English teacher.^[4] His siblings, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted.^[4] His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American;^[5][6] he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture.^[7][8] He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975.^[6][9]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

After attending Dwight Morrow High School,^[10] Travolta moved across the Hudson River to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musical Grease and on Broadway in Over Here!, singing the Sherman Brothers' song "Dream Drummin'".^[11][12] He then moved to Los Angeles to further his career in show business.

Travolta's first California-filmed television role was as a fall victim in, Emergency! (S2E2), in September 1972,^[13] but his first significant movie role was as Billy Nolan, a bully who was goaded into playing a prank on Sissy Spacek's character in the horror film, Carrie (1976).^[14] Around the same time, he landed his star-making role as Vinnie Barbarino in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), in which his sister, Ellen, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack's mother).^[15] The show aired on ABC.

1970s stardom[link]

Travolta in 1983

Around this time, Travolta had a hit single entitled "Let Her In", peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[16][17] In the next few years, he appeared in two of his most noted screen roles: Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and as Danny Zuko in Grease (1978).^[4] The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom.^[18] Saturday Night Fever earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.^[19] At age 24, Travolta became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.^[20] His mother and his sister Ann appeared as extras in Saturday Night Fever and his sister Ellen appeared as a waitress in Grease. Travolta performed several of the songs on the Grease soundtrack album.^[21] In 1980, Travolta inspired a nationwide country music craze that followed on the heels of his hit film, Urban Cowboy, in which he starred with Debra Winger.^[22]

Downturn[link]

After Urban Cowboy, Travolta starred in a series of financial and critical failures that sidelined his acting career. These included Perfect, co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and Two of a Kind, a romantic comedy reteaming him with Olivia Newton-John. During that time he was offered, but turned down, lead roles in what would become box office hits, including American Gigolo^[23] and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere.^[24]

Resurgence[link]

In 1989, Travolta starred in Look Who's Talking, which grossed $297,000,000, making it his most successful film since Grease. Travolta continued to the two sequels Look Who's Talking Too (1990) and Look Who's Talking Now (1993). But it was not until he played Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino's hit Pulp Fiction (1994), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, that his career revived.^[25][26][4] The movie shifted him back onto the A-list, and he was inundated with offers. Notable roles following Pulp Fiction include a movie-buff loan shark in Get Shorty (1995), an FBI agent and terrorist in Face/Off (1997), a desperate attorney in A Civil Action (1998), a Bill Clinton-esque presidential candidate in Primary Colors (1998),^[4] and a military detective in The General's Daughter (1999).

2000–present[link]

Travolta also starred in Battlefield Earth (2000) based on a work of science fiction by L. Ron Hubbard, in which he played the leader of a group of aliens that enslaves humanity on a bleak future Earth. The film received almost universally negative reviews and did very poorly at the box office.^[27] Travolta played Mrs. Edna Turnblad in the remake of Hairspray, his first musical since Grease.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Travolta dancing with Princess Diana at the White House, November 9, 1985

Travolta was in a relationship with actress Diana Hyland, whom he met while filming The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; Hyland died of breast cancer in 1977.^[29]

Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (1992–2009).^[30] Their daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000. On May 18, 2010, Travolta and Preston announced that she was pregnant with the couple's third child,^[31] later confirmed to be a boy.^[32] Their son, Benjamin, was born on November 23, 2010 in Florida.^[33]

Travolta and Preston have regularly attended marriage counseling; Travolta has stated that therapy has helped the marriage.^[34]

Travolta is a certified private pilot and owns five aircraft, including an ex-Qantas Boeing 707–138 airliner. The plane bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children.^[35] Pan American World Airways was a large operator of the Boeing 707 and used Clipper in its names. The 707 aircraft bears the marks of Qantas, as Travolta acts as an official goodwill ambassador for the airline wherever he flies. His $4.9 million estate in the Jumbolair subdivision in Ocala, Florida, is situated on Greystone Airport with its own runway and taxiway right to his front door.^[36]

On November 24, 1992, Travolta was piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night above a solid undercast, when he experienced a total electrical system failure, while flying under instrument flight rules into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. During the emergency landing he almost had a mid-air collision with a USAir Boeing 727, an event attributed to a risky decision by an air traffic controller.^[37]

On September 13, 2010, during the first episode of the final season of her talk show, Oprah Winfrey announced that she would be taking her entire studio audience on an 8-day expenses-paid trip to Australia, with Travolta serving as pilot for the trip. He had helped Winfrey plan the trip for over a year.^[38]

Travolta has been a practitioner of Scientology since 1975 when he was given the book Dianetics while filming the movie The Devil's Rain in Durango, Mexico.^[39] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, joining other celebrities in helping with the relief efforts, Travolta flew his 707 full of supplies, doctors, and Scientologist Volunteer Ministers into the disaster area.^[40]

In May 2012, an anonymous masseur filed a lawsuit against Travolta citing claims of sexual assault and battery. A lawyer for Travolta said that the allegations were "complete fiction and fabrication" and someone wanting their 15 minutes of fame. Travolta's counsel also stated that his client would be able to prove that he was not in California on the day in question and asserted that Travolta would "sue the attorney and Plaintiff for malicious prosecution" after getting the case thrown out.^[41] A second masseur later joined the lawsuit making similar claims.^[42][43]

Son's death[link]

On January 2, 2009, Travolta and Preston's son, Jett, died while on their vacation in The Bahamas.^[44][45] A Bahamian death certificate was issued, attributing the cause of death to a seizure.^[46] Jett, who had a history of seizures,^[47] reportedly suffered from Kawasaki disease as an infant.^[48] On September 24, 2009,^[49] Travolta and Preston confirmed speculation that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.^[50] They made their statements while giving testimony after a multi-million dollar extortion plot against them regarding the circumstances of their son's death. After a mistrial,^[51] Travolta dropped the charges.^[52] Travolta has credited his family and faith in helping him survive the tragic death of his son, and in moving forward with his film career.^[53]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

• "Dream Drummin'" (1974)
• "Easy Evil" (1975)
• "Can't Let You Go" (1975)
• "You Set My Dreams To Music" (1976)
• "Goodnight Mr. Moon" (1976)
• "Rainbows" (1976)
• "Settle Down" (1976)
• "Moonlight Lady" (1976)
• "Right Time Of The Night" (1976)
• "Big Trouble" (1976)
• "What Would They Say" (1976)
• "Back Doors Crying" (1976)
• "Let Her In" (1976) – #10
• "Whenever I'm Away From You" (1976) – #38
• "Slow Dancin'" (1976)
• "It Had To Be You" (1976)
• "I Don't Know What I Like About You Baby" (1976)
• "All Strung Out On You" (1977) – #34
• "Baby, I Could Be So Good At Lovin' You" (1977)
• "Razzamatazz" (1977)
• "You're the One That I Want" – #1 (1978) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
• "Sandy" (1978)
• "Greased Lightnin" (1978) – #47
• "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (1980)
• "Take A Chance" (1983) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
• "Two Sleepy People" (1997) (w/ Carly Simon)
• "I Thought I Lost You" (2008) (w/ Miley Cyrus)

See also[link]

Scientology portal

• List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest Nominees for Best Actor

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Tast, Brigitte (ed.) John Travolta. (Hildesheim/Germany 1978) ISBN 3-88842-103-9.

External links[link]

	Wikinews has news on this topic:
Court revelation by John Travolta of son's disease sparks autism debate Testimony by John Travolta that son was autistic raises Scientology questions John Travolta's 16-year-old son dies

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: John Travolta

• Official website
• John Travolta at the Internet Movie Database
• John Travolta at the Internet Broadway Database
• John Travolta at the Open Directory Project
• John Travolta at Rotten Tomatoes
• John Travolta: A Passionate Ambassador of Aviation

Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John, performing at the Sydney State Theatre in September 2008
Background information
Born	(1948-09-26) 26 September 1948 (age 63) Cambridge, England, UK
Origin	Melbourne, Australia
Genres	Pop, country, soft rock
Occupations	Singer, actress, songwriter, entrepreneur
Instruments	Vocals, piano, guitar, recorder
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Uni, MCA, EMI, Pye, Festival
Associated acts	Cliff Richard, John Travolta, Electric Light Orchestra, John Farrar, Helen Reddy, Bruce Welch
Website	olivianewton-john.com

Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an English-Australian 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^[1] 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.^[2] 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,^[3] 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[link]

Early life and beginnings[link]

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.^[4] 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). She is a distant relative to Ben Elton.^[4] 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.^[5] In 1954, when she was six, 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.^[6]

At fourteen Newton-John formed a short-lived all-girl group, Sol Four, with three classmates often performing in a coffee shop owned by her brother-in-law.^[7] 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.^[1]

Newton-John recorded her first single, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" b/w "Forever", in England for Decca Records in 1966.^[1] 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.^[7] 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.)^[8] 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.^[9]

Newton-John was recruited for the group Toomorrow^[10] 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[link]

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 Adult Contemporary ("AC")).^[11] 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,^[12] 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.)^[13] 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),^[14] and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female^[12] and an Academy of Country Music award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.^[11] 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^[1] (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,^[12] 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^[15] and Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female. The success of both singles helped the album reach No. 1 on both the Pop (one week)^[16] and Country (eight weeks) Albums charts.

Newton-John's country success sparked a debate among purists who believed a foreigner singing country-flavoured pop music did not belong in country music.^[10] 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.^[17] This outrage led to the formation of the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers (ACE).^[18] 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.^[17]

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,^[14] No. 1 AC)^[19] and "Please Mr. Please" (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC).^[19] 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,^[14] 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).^[14] She headlined her first U.S. television special, A Special Olivia Newton-John, in November 1976.^[17]

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.

[edit] Grease

Newton-John and John Travolta

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.^[6] 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.^[6] 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.^[20] 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.^[21] 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^[22] and ranked as the second highest grossing film behind Titanic in its opening weekend.^[23] It was most recently re-released in July 2010 as a sing-along version in select American theatres.^[24] The soundtrack still sells strongly enough to often appear on Billboard's Top Soundtracks chart.

New image[link]

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.^[25] 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^[26] (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.^[27] 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)^[27] 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.^[28] (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,^[29] 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.)^[30] "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)^[31] and "Landslide" (No. 52 Pop).

Olivia Newton-John at the opening of a Koala Blue store in 1988.

The provocative lyrics of the title track prompted two Utah radio stations to ban the single from their playlists.^[32] (In 2010, Billboard magazine ranked this as the most popular single ever about sex.)^[33] 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.^[34] 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,^[29] 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)^[31] 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,^[35] redeemed by its platinum soundtrack (No. 26 Pop) featuring "Twist of Fate" (No. 5 Pop),^[31] "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.^[36] 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.^[25] Newton-John and Farrar would later license the brand name for a line of Australian produced wines, confections, and bed/bath products.

Newton-John at the 1989 Academy Awards.

Newton-John married her long-time boyfriend, actor Matt Lattanzi, in December 1984.^[37] The couple had met four years earlier while filming Xanadu. Their daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, was born in January 1986. (They divorced in 1995.)^[38]

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[link]

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^[39] 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.^[25] 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.)^[40] Newton-John recovered^[41] 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."^[42]

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.^[43] (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.^[44] 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.^[45]

The following year, Newton-John released a healing CD, Grace and Gratitude.^[46] The album was sold exclusively by Walgreens^[47] 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.^[48] 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 [1] 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^[49] 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.^[50] (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.^{[51][dead link]}

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.^[52] 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.^[53]

Newton-John was listed as president of the Isle of Man Basking Shark Society between 1998 and 2005.^[54]

Later career[link]

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).^[22] 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^[22] 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.

Olivia Newton John and Stephen Elliott in January 2012 at the premier of A Few Best Men in Sydney, Australia

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.^[38] 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.^[38] 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.^[55] In 2010, Newton-John starred in the film Score: A Hockey Musical, released in Canada.^[56] 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 films, A Mom for Christmas (1990)^[57] 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.^[58] 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^[59] and has refused to comment on any speculation. A US Coast Guard investigation released in 2008 "suggest[ed] McDermott was lost at sea,"^[60][61][62] although some have claimed contact with McDermott since his disappearance.^[63]

Newton-John returned to the tabloid headlines again in 2007 when it was revealed that her daughter Chloe was recovering from anorexia.^[64]

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 2008, Newton-John took part in the BBC Wales programme Coming Home about her Welsh family history.

Newton-John at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

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^[65] 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.^[66] The wedding was confirmed thereafter by HELLO! Magazine which published exclusive pictures of both weddings.^[67] In June 2009, the Easterlings purchased a new $4.1 million home in Jupiter Inlet,^[68] and Newton-John sold her home in Malibu, California.

In January 2011, Newton-John began filming A Few Best Men in Australia with director Stephan Elliott in the role of mother of bride. The groom is played by (Xavier Samuel).^[69]

Current activities[link]

Newton-John still tours occasionally.^[70] Her recent public performances have included charitable functions to promote products such as Zamu.^[71] In 2012, Newton-John embarked on an Asian Tour of Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. An Australian Tour of Perth, Melbourne and Sydney is scheduled as well.^[72]

Discography[link]

Notes:

• a: Released with a different track listing in the North America. Also released in certain territories as Music Makes My Day.
• b: North American release of Long Live Love. Also features tracks from previous releases and the new title track.

Filmography[link]

Awards and honors[link]

Tours[link]

See also[link]

	Book: Olivia Newton-John
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of songs by Australian artists which reached number-one on the Hot 100 (USA)
• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

References[link]