I was shocked and saddened - but not really surprised - to hear about the passing of Olivia Newton-John. I was a fan pretty much from the beginning, singing along with her songs & enjoying her in movies (although the less said about "Two of a Kind", the better). It's not unusual for me to fall down a nostalgia hole when someone I like passes, but this time I decided to indulge. Here are a few of my favorite personal ONJ-centric stories:
- I particularly loved to sing "Have You Never Been Mellow". The song was comfortable for my range & the lyrics were sweet. When my oldest nephew was a baby I would sometimes babysit, and he really liked it when I sang it to him.
- It's a particularly stuck memory, the first time I heard "Sam". I was at a friend's birthday party. We were going to a pizza place, and I was one of the ones who got to sit in the back of the El Camino. I could still hear the car radio. I heard this song, recognized Olivia's voice right off, but didn't know the song. It took some radio diligence afterwards to get the title.
- "I'll Bet You a Kangaroo" proved to me that the lady not only had talent & beauty, but a fun sense of humor. That song always makes me smile...especially when she giggles & "Ye-Ha's" near the end.
- Who didn't love "Grease"? I went to see it with some friends and fell in love. I went out & bought the 45 for "Hopelessly Devoted To You" almost immediately, and sang to it a lot. I DID eventually get the whole album. (Side note: my daughters & I will be watching it in tribute tomorrow.)
- At one time I worked in the Sight & Sound department at Bradlees. Every week I would have an argument with the record distributor. He insisted that Olivia's albums be filed under "J". I kept telling him that her last name is "NEWTON-John"...with the hyphen. He said that no one would think to look under "N" for her. He'd leave, and I'd immediately put her back under "N". For the record, absolutely no one asked where she was listed.
- Here's an "I'm Not Proud" moment. When my husband & I got married, it was thrown together rather quickly. 3 days, to be precise. I knew we couldn't do a lot of traditions that are at most weddings, but I definitely wanted a First Dance. Unfortunately, I didn't bring any of my music to the house where our "reception" was, and the woman who owned the house had drastically different music taste from mine. I DID see that she had an ONJ album, so I queued up "I Honestly Love You" for us to dance to. Now, I'd listened to the song probably hundreds of times at that point...but never REALLY listened (it wasn't one of my favorite "sing-alongs"). Wanting to capture this precious moment in my memory forever, I tried to fasten on everything, and I listened to the words. Carefully. Have you ever listened to it...I mean REALLY listen to it? If not, do so. Listen to the last verse. Yeah, as I said...I'm not proud. It obviously didn't hurt, tho; we're celebrating our 37th anniversary next month.
- While dating, and early in our marriage, my husband & I would often talk about music. He told me that his favorite John Denver song was "Fly Away", a duet he did with Olivia, but he could never find a copy. There was a record store not far from our first apartment, so I did some digging...and surprised him with "John Denver's Greatest Hits, Vol. II", with the song on it. It made him SO happy.
- My husband and I also have a soft spot in our hearts for the movie "Xanadu". We absolutely love it (He actually likes it better than "Grease"). Yes, I sang the title track...and yes, I could hit the note at the end. (Don't know if I still can, tho. Covid kind of messed with my upper range...but that's neither here nor there.) My daughters & I just watched "Xanadu" together last week.
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