How She Got Her Start in Music - World Teen Stars

Although Olivia Newton-John has always had her following among music fans, it's only recently that she has catapulted to super-stardom. That has come as the result of her co-starring role with John Travolta in Robert Stigwood's new hit movie Grease. The Paramount Pictures release is doing big box office business, and promises to draw long lines in front of movie theatres everywhere for quite some time.

Even before the picture opened Olivia and John's recording of You're The One That I Want had become a hit song. It helped to promote the film in the same way that The Bee Gee's terrific music had originally helped to make people aware of Saturday Night Fever.

WORLD TEEN STARS is certain that Grease will help boost Olivia's popularity to new heights.

We thought, therefore, that this might be a good time to take a look at Olivia Newton-John's career. Although music has been her province in the past, we wouldn't be a bit surprised if she looked to Hollywood and the motion picture business for the development of her new acting career in the period ahead.

Olivia was born in Cambridge, England, but was raised in Melbourne, Australia. She first became interested in singing and dancing early in her schooldays. With three other girlfriends she formed a group known as the Sol Four. It didn't last long, and was disbanded when it began to interfere with the girls school work.

Olivia, however, was fully determined to become a performer. Unlike many young people who set their desires on a career in the entertainment world, Olivia did not come from a family of performers. Her father was Head Master of Ormond College in Melbourne, and her grandfather had been the Nobel prize winning German physicist Max Born. In any event, Olivia set out to pursue a career in music rather than going on to college.

At the age of sixteen she won first place in a local talent contest. Her prize was a trip to England, where she performed for the next two years as part of a duo with another Australian girl, Pat Carroll. They appeared in various cabarets and did many guest-shots on BBC-TV programs. When Pat's visa expired she had to return to Australia. Olivia stayed on in England alone. An opportunity presented itself for her to record a Bob Dylan song called If Not For You. It was her very first single, and it made her an instant international success.

She followed this up with another single, Banks of the Ohio, which won her the English Silver Disk and the Australia Gold Disk. At the same time Olivia was charming audiences throughout Europe while touring with the Cliff Richard Show. This led to her becoming a regular guest on the BBC-TV series, It's Cliff Richard. She also continued to reap music awards.

In 1971 and 1972 Olivia was voted the Best British Girl Singer by the readers of the pop music weekly newspaper Record Mirror. Her worldwide prominence continued to grow in 1973 when she captured her first Grammy Award as Best Country Vocalist for the song. Let Me Be There. Since then her list of awards has multiplied each year. In 1974 Olivia was voted Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association in the United Kingdom. The Country Music Association in the United States also bestowed the same honor on her that year. Her recording of Honestly Love You was honored with a Grammy as Record of the Year, and Olivia, herself, was given a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) named Olivia its Rising Star of the Year in 1974.

Also in 1974 came the Billboard Number One Awards in both the albums and singles categories.

The People's Choice Award went to Olivia as the Favorite Female Musical Performer of 1974. Cash Box selected Olivia as 1974's Number One New Female Vocalist, in both Singles and Albums categories. And Record World also named her Top Female Vocalist of the year for both singles and LPs.

The American Music Awards for 1974 honored Olivia as Favorite Female Vocalist-Pop/Rock and paid tribute to I Honestly Love You as the Favorite Single-Country of the year. The same awards also applauded Olivia as the Favorite Female Vocalist-Country, and named her LP Let Me Be There as the Favorite Album-Country of 1974.

1975 proved to be an equally smashing year for Olivia in the awards department. Once again the Country Music Association in the United Kingdom voted her Female Vocalist of the Year. Billboard bestowed four awards on Olivia as Favorite Female Country Singles Artist, Favorite Female Country Album Artist, Favorite Female Pop Singles Artist, and Favorite Female Pop Album Artist. Cash Box declared Olivia as the Number One Female Vocalist in both Singles and Albums categories for 1975. Record World selected her LP Have You Never Been Mellow as the best Solo Album of the Year.

Olivia took the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers' (ASCAP) 1975 Country Music Award for her single Please, Mister, Please.

The American Music Awards for 1975 honored Olivia as Favorite Female Vocalist-Country, Favorite Female Vocalist-Pop/Rock, and Favorite Album-Pop/Rock for Have You Never Been Mellow.

In 1976 Olivia received a People's Choice award as Favorite Female Musical Performer. Record World named her Top Female Vocalist in its Country Music category. And the American Music Awards saluted her as the year's Favorite Female Vocalist-Pop/Rock.

These are just a partial list of honors that Olivia has received for her efforts as a recording artist. It is said that Olivia has managed to keep a steady balance in her life in spite of the many accolades she has received. She lives in Malibu, California, which is located directly on the Pacific Ocean. There she relaxes with her two cats, four dogs and five horses. Next to her love for music Olivia is reported to love animals. As a child she once thought of becoming a veterinarian because of her devotion to animals. Indeed, one of her greatest priorities today is her involvement with animal care and preservation of endangered species.

Last year was a particularly hectic one for Olivia. She completed a critically acclaimed tour of the eastern and mid-western areas of the U.S. This was highlighted by her concert debut performance in New York at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera House. Following that she flew to Europe for a series of television appearances.

No sooner had she returned home to Los Angeles than she was signed by producer Robert Stigwood to co-star with John Travolta in the film version of the long-running Broadway hit musical Grease. The movie, which Paramount is distributing, is likely to launch a whole new career for Olivia as a motion picture actress.

Also in 1977 was Olivia's co-hosting with Peter Frampton of the Third Annual Telecast of the Rock Awards. Her future plans are said to include time for more original songwriting, now that she is an official member of the prestigious ASCAP. This would be a very positive development for Olivia since it would undoubtedly result in a more personal form of musical expression. No matter how effective an artist is in presenting someone else's material, there is always something particularly special about performing one's own songs.

If you'd like to catch up with Olivia's albums and singles to date, the following list should be helpful. Olivia records for MCA Records. Her LPs include:

Let Me Be There;
If You Love Me, Let Me Know;
Have You Never Been Mellow;
Clearly Love;
Come On Over;
Don't Stop Believin';
Making A Good Thing Better;
and Greatest Hits.

Her singles include:

If Not For You;
It's So Hard To Say Goodbye;
What Is Life;
Just A Little Too Much;
Take Me Home Country Roads;
Let Me Be There;
If You Love Me, Let Me Know;
Have You Never Been Mellow;
Please, Mister, Please;
Something Better To Do;
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother;
Come On Over;
Every Face Tells A Story;
Don't Stop Believin';
Sam;
and Making A Good Thing Better.

If You'd like to write to Olivia, the best address is c/o MCA Records, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608.