Making a Good Thing Better is an album by Olivia Newton-John, released 1977.
Newton-John was in a dispute with MCA records at the time of the recording and was in negotiations to be released from MCA, thus neither the label nor Newton-John herself, put any effort into promoting the album.
Olivia Newton-John went on to sign on to do Grease, the movie and came to agreement to stay with MCA records, though her recordings from the movie were on RSO
Side Two #Sad Songs(Billy and Bobby Alessi)Drums and Percussion: Jeff PorcaroBass: Lee SklarElectric Guitar: Jay GraydonStrings Arranged and Conducted by James Newton-Howard #You Won't See Me Cry(Joe Falsia - Stephen Sinclair)Drums: Jeff PorcaroBass: Lee Sklar #So Easy To Begin(Jules Shear)Drums: Jeff PorcaroBass: Lee SklarStrings Arranged and Conducted by James Newton-Howard #I Think I'll Say Goodbye(Jim Rushing - Marshall Chapman)Drums: Jeff PorcaroBass: Lee Sklar #Don't Ask A Friend(Olivia Newton-John)Drums: Jeff PorcaroBass: Lee SklarStrings Arranged and Conducted by James Newton-Howard #If Love Is Real(Randy Edelman)Drums and Percussion: Jeff PorcaroBass: Lee SklarHarmonium: Randy Edelman
Category:1977 albums Category:Olivia Newton-John albums Category:Albums produced by John Farrar Category:MCA Records albums
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Background | solo_singer |
|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1948Cambridge, England |
| Instrument | Vocal, Piano |
| Genre | Pop, country |
| Occupation | Singer, actress, songwriter, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Associated acts | Cliff Richard, John Travolta, Andy Gibb, Barry Gibb, Bee Gees, ELO, John Farrar, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, Anni-Frid Lyngstad among others. |
| Url | olivianewton-john.com |
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. She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Grease, which became one of the most successful films and movie 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.
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. 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, but never married, The Shadows' guitarist Bruce Welch.
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 both named after the group. The project bombed and the group disbanded.
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 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. 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. and "Please Mr. Please" (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). The soundtrack spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John: the platinum No. 1 "You're The One That I Want" (with John Travolta), the gold No. 3 "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and the gold No. 5 "Summer Nights" (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 written for the original play 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.
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) (A successful national 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 record of most weeks at No. 1 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, redeemed by its platinum soundtrack (No. 26 Pop) featuring Twist Of Fate (No. 5 Pop), 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). The album's second single, Toughen Up, failed to even chart. The video album for Soul Kiss featured videos of only five (two concept, three performance) of the album's ten tracks. Newton-John limited her publicity for the album due to her pregnancy.
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 United Nations' 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 and composed 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.
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. 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's spirituality also extended to the release of 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's 1999 TNN Christmas special and her contributions to the Mother And Child and Spirit Of Christmas multi-artist collections. 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'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 July 4th 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.
Newton-John joined Judy Brooks and Roy Walkenhorst as co-host of the health and well-being series Healing Quest, currently airing on PBS.
Newton-John re-recorded some tracks from her 2006 Grace And Gratitude album and re-released the album as Grace And Gratitude Renewed in September 2010 on the Green Hill music label. The Renewed CD includes a new track, "Help Me To Heal", which was not featured on the original album. Her 2001 The Christmas Collection was also re-released in October 2010 with different artwork. Green Hill will re-release Newton-John's 2008 CD, A Celebration In Song, with different artwork on January 25. The Renewed CD charted in Billboard as follows:
Newton-John is featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docu-drama, 1 a Minute, released October 2010. The documentary was made by actress Namrata Singh Gujral, and it features breast cancer survivors Diahann Carroll, Melissa Etheridge, Namrata Singh Gujral, Mumtaz and Jaclyn Smith. The film also features brothers Daniel and William Baldwin, Morgan Brittany, Deepak Chopra, Priya Dutt, Barbara Mori and Lisa Ray.
Bluewater Productions released a comic book featuring Newton-John in October 2010 to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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, Have You Never Been Mellow, 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.
;Main compilation albums
;Live albums
;Soundtracks
;DVDs
{| 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 | |}
Category:1948 births Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers 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 immigrants 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
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
