Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022) had a more than resounding career at a time when Carole King, Joni Mitchell and other denominational singer-songwriters were the dominant role models among their contemporaries. However, she was made of a special stuff: she refused to sink, and after each disaster she rose to the surface and tried again.
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And some of his punctures were of epic proportions. She was hired by New York businessman Don Kirshner in 1970 to be part of Toomorrow, a ready-made teen consumption group. Kirshner had experience with these products – The Monkees, The Archies – he knew his stuff and wanted a band that was as obedient in the studio as it was disciplined in everyday life. He agreed to make three films with Harry Saltzman, producer of the first series of titles starring James Bond, but the two tycoons did not get along and only the first, Toomorrow, was made, a film so unfortunate that it hardly was shown.
While the rest of her classmates sunk into anonymity, Olivia put her plan B into action. She had a solid friendship with John Farrar, a versatile Australian musician who had even recorded with some of the legendary The Shadows at Abbey Road. Farrar saw Olivia have spark and stylistic flexibility in her live performances; As a producer, he was looking for suitable material. They recorded accessible compositions by Bob Dylan and George Harrison until they found the bonanza of pop ballads that went to country radio and rebounded to mainstream radio. In Nashville, the capital of the Western music industry, Olivia was considered an outsider but accepted all the industry accolades, much to the outrage of Loretta Lynn and other historic singers.
Dolly Parton wanted to downplay the conflict, and Olivia tried to make peace by recording Don’t Stop Believin’ (1976) in Nashville. A storm in a teacup: His career took a radical turn when he was cast to star in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Grease. As a heartthrob, John Travolta, he was 10 years older than Sandy’s presumed age (and in both cases it showed!). It didn’t matter: it was a worldwide hit and a cultural phenomenon that helped save 1950s fashion and music.
Wisely, Farrar and Roger Davies (another smart Aussie who acted as Olivia’s manager) decided to bring her back to her true age, resorting to tight clothing and a sexy repertoire, using the body as a flag. Until then, Olivia had competed with Helen Reddy or Anne Murray, unassuming singers with slight hints of feminism, but her Aussie energy swept the competition away. The corresponding video was notable for its humor and complicity with gay culture. In some latitudes, some of its boldness has been punished: in apartheid South Africa it has been censored.
Deep down, there seemed to be an attempt to get her onto the dance floor as a diva as well. But by 1980 there was already a saturation with disco music, and the vehicle to reach that market was murky: Xanadu began with the idea that the Electric Light Orchestra could reinvent itself like the Bee Gees in Saturday Night Fever. And no. 1983 saw another attempt to recreate a tried and true winning formula by teaming it with John Travolta in Such for which. As in Xanadu, the soundtrack worked better than the film itself.
A brave woman, she took her record label MCA, an all-powerful multinational also linked to the New York Mafia, to court to avoid a particularly onerous clause that dictated that they continue to deliver new albums on set dates despite their film had obligations. In time, the formula proposed by Olivia would be accepted as the standard in the recording world.
In 1993, Newton-John announced that she had cancer, a disease she fought doggedly but would return throughout her life. He devoted much of his time to charity work, while also recording concept albums, including those devoted to Christmas, children’s songs, and female authors. without neglecting the conservative country public. He used his popularity to campaign for environmental causes and to defend the medicinal use of cannabis.
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