“You better shape up,
'cause I need a man
and my heart is set on you.
You better shape up;
you better understand
to my heart I must be true.”

Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta – “You’re the One That I Want”

Few artists were as popular in the 70s as Olivia Newton-John.  The English-born star made a successful transition from the country-pop charts to mainstream soft rock look easy.  She found it easy to keep one foot in each genre, and even found a successful acting career, most memorably in the hit musical flick, Grease.  With her highly recognizable name, she’s taken her success into social activism, most notably for cancer awareness and environmental issues.

Her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, and like so many before her, Newton-John started her career in music at an early age.  At fourteen, she formed the all-girl band, Sol Four.  Though they didn’t stick together too long, within a short time, Olivia Newton-John was appearing regularly on Aussie radio and television.  After a number of appearances, she won a talent contest on the TV show, Sing, Sing, Sing, which gave her a trip to England to further explore her career.  She was soon joined by her friend, Pat Carroll, and the two began performing as a duo in European nightclubs.  Before long, she recorded her first single, 1966’s “Till You Say You’ll Be Mine.”  The song got her noticed by The Monkees creator, Don Kirschner, who recruited her for another Monkees-like group, ‘Toomorrow.’  After an album and a musical, the venture proved to be a failure, Toomorrow broke up.

Continuing to pursue her solo career, Newton-John released her solo debut, 1971’s If Not for You.  The album’s title track, a cover of the Bob Dylan classic, became her first hit, breaking into the American charts in the Top 30.  Regular appearances on the BBC variety show It’s Cliff Richards, and her follow-up record, “Banks of the Ohio,” which didn’t fare as well in the states, solidified her reputation in England and Australia as a star. 

1974 was a good year for Newton-John, despite taking fourth at the Eurovision Song Contest, which incidentally was won by ABBA and their song, “Waterloo.”  That year, things were looking good in the as she released the album, Let Me Be There.  The title track did well as a country-pop cross over in America, making it to #6 on the pop charts, hitting #7 on the country charts, and earning her a Grammy for ‘Best Country Female.’  Later that year, Newton-John released two more hits, the country-western flavored “If You Love Me Let Me Know” and the melancholy ballad, “I Honestly Love You.”  The latter of which picked up Record of the Year at the and Best Pop Female at the Grammys.  Despite some naysayers who felt that a ‘foreigner’ shouldn’t be in American country music, Newton-John was also awarded Female Vocalist of the year in 1974, beating out some of country music’s most famous stars, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Anne Murray and Tanya Tucker.  She eventually found acceptance within the country community, and in 1975, Olivia Newton-John moved to the United States, and released Have You Never Been Mellow, which added two more hits to her catalogue, the #1 title track and its #3 follow-up, “Please Mr. Please.” 

As her career in music began to cool, Newton-John managed to take her career to new heights with her starring role as Sandra Dee in the hit musical, Grease.  Opposite John Travolta, and supported with an outstanding cast that included Stockard Channing among others, the enormous popularity of the film and its soundtrack kept Newton-John’s name in the spotlight.  Tracks like “Summer Nights” and “Hopelessly Devoted to you” went into the Top 5, and the movie capper, “You’re the One That I Want” went all the way to #1. 

By 1978, it seemed as though Newton-John was clearly in the pop camp.  At the end of that year, she released Totally Hot, which was totally hot on the basis of hits like the sultry “A Little More Love” and the danceable “Deeper Than the Night.”  Then came 1980’s Xanadu.  Along with starring in the film, she took part in the soundtrack along with Electric Light Orchestra.  Newton-John continued to score pop hits with “Magic” and her duet with Cliff Richard, “Suddenly.” 

In 1981, Olivia Newton-John was again at the top of the pops for an impressive ten weeks on the strength of the steam dance hit, “Physical.”  The memorably video lightened up the song by featuring Newton-John looking 80s-sexy in leotards and leg warmers along with a few ‘studs’ working out, contrasting that by putting her next to a few clumsy guys that just couldn’t hack it in the gym.  As disco was coming to an end, Newton-John scored one last hit for the genre with her 1982 disco-rocker, “Heart Attack.”  In 1983, she appeared on screen with Travolta once more for Two of a Kind, which found her a one-of-a-kind hit with “Twist of Fate.”  In 1985, she returned to the charts with the single “Soul Kiss” and continued recording throughout the decade.

As it seemed Newton-John was poised for a comeback in the early 90s, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which came at a difficult time in her life with the passing of her father on that same weekend.  She cancelled her schedule, and devoted herself to fighting for her health and recovery.  Since then, she’s become a staunch advocate for breast cancer awareness and research.  The experience changed Newton-John’s life and the sound of her music.  1994’s Gaia: One Woman’s Journey chronicled her experiences as a survivor and 2005’s Stronger than Before's proceeds went directly to breast cancer research.  Newton-John continues recording, performing and advocating, to the delight of her many fans.  She’s now healthy as ever, taking on new challenges that include a 2008 walk along the Great Wall of China, it seems as though we haven’t seen the last from Olivia Newton-John.