Olivia Newton-John...

I'm surprised it's taken me so long to write an ode to Olivia Newton-John.  When I was a small child living in England, she was by far my favorite singer.  She was very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but I liked her before that.  My dad had purchased her country albums of the early to mid 1970s and would play them in the car.  I fell in love with her cotton candy voice, so sweet, so sticky, and so... pink.  When I say pink, I mean feminine.  Olivia was and still is a beautiful woman and she's always had a girlish voice that I'm sure enraptured a lot of kids of my era.

Actually, I stopped liking her as much as she started to be more sexy.  I didn't like her songs "Physical" or "Tied Up".  I sort of liked "Soul Kiss", which was a hit in 1986... but she had kind of gone out of style by then.  Here are a few songs that I loved when I was little and still have to admit to liking now...

"Sam" from her 1976 album "Don't Stop Believin'"

"Changes", a song written about divorce...

"If You Love Me Let Me Know"

"Let Me Be There"  Who the fuck is that guy with the deep voice singing backup, anyway?

I've always loved "Have You Never Been Mellow", even though it reminds me a little of background music for a commercial for feminine hygiene products.

I want to say "Follow Me" is a John Denver cover, but I could be wrong... and I'm too lazy to look it up right now.

Of course, I loved everything she did for Xanadu, which was a really shitty film with a great soundtrack.

And here's a performance of "Xanadu" from the movie itself.  When I was eight years old, I thought this film was pure magic.

I love "Please Mister Please", too... the lyrics are totally cheesy, but the melody is pretty.

Here's "Hopelessly Devoted To You"... so sweet and innocent and in total contrast to the whore look she sports in the video for...

"Soul Kiss"...  Oh my dear lord!  The guy at the end looks like he's walking into a huge vagina or something.

I purposely didn't post "Physical" because it's been seen a jillion times and the video is kind of campy and bawdy... plus I've never liked that song very much.

In college, I met a guy who was absolutely obsessed with Olivia.  In fact, he still loves her music and even got to meet her once.  I'm sure it was a dream come true.  I like her earlier songs better, but she will always be a guilty pleasure in the dungeon of the past that lurks in my mind.

I just learned today who the guy was who did all the deep voiced backup singing for Olivia...


See also...