Olivia Newton-John text Ann Morse illustrations John Keely design concept Mark Landkamer 2 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Morse, Ann. Olivia Newton-John 1. Newton-John, Olivia - Juvenile literature I. Keely, John. II.Title ML3930.N495M6 784’.092’4(B) 75-25849 ISBN 0-87191-475-1 3 Compiler’s note This is a close reproduction of a 1976 publication. As such it doesn’t mention many of Olivia’s major successes - starring in Grease and the Physical album both postdate this For current information on Olivia Newton-John’s work see the website http://www.onlyolivia.com 4 It was almost as though the moment were made for her singing a moment pure and simple like the song she was Pure and singing, “I Honestly Love You.” She stood poised and straight in a very green garden. Trees hung in clumps over her head. Simple Her light blue, pleated, chiffon dress cast an almost mystical aura about her. Though everything about her was simple and understated, the moment was charged with energy and release. “But this is pure and simple and you must realize that/It’s comin’ from my heart and not my head.” Without a gesture, Olivia Newton-John pushed her listeners over the edge, onto a plane of pure feeling. Olivia’s part in Paul Williams’ TV special, Listen, That’s Love, was a performance complete in itself; but it was more than that. It was part of a fuller experience Paul Williams offered TV audiences that evening in late spring, 1975. Paul and his guests Olivia, Helen Reddy, Rosalind Kind, and Seals & Crofts communicated a personal concept about the beauty of love a beauty that was tapped perhaps only through musical expression. Olivia sang only one song on the show. Yet her presence remained. Along with the other singers, she had ex- pressed the kind of warmth the world can’t really do without. “If Not For You” was Olivia’s real beginning. Dylan wrote the song in 1970 and Olivia recorded it in 1971. It is light and “If Not catchy with an easy flow. And Olivia knew how to change it just enough to make it into her own sound. She changed a For You” few verses, dropping words at the end of phrases. Instead of tacking on lines like, “And you know it’s true,” and “Oh, what would I do,” Olivia simply let her voice drift. The melody is definite and Olivia sang it simply. 5 Dylan’s version is written for acoustic guitar and harmonica accompaniment. In Olivia’s recording, the acoustic guitar maintains the beat while the steel pedal guitar provides a kind of echo. (A steel guitar is an electrified pedal instrument with a zither-like set of strings.) When Dylan calls for a harmonica solo, Olivia calls for an electric guitar solo. The effect is a country sound and a strange combination of softness and strength. Olivia made “If Not For You” as a single recording for Festival Records International in England. It became a hit in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, and Bel- gium and, as Billboard reported, it became number 1 in Italy. Its rise to popularity in the United States was more gradual. Olivia had to perform more before many Ameri- cans would begin to take notice of her. Olivia Newton-John was born in October, 1948, in Cambridge, a sparsely populated city just north of Lon- don, Growing England. Cambridge is in low-lying country with dikes and canals, making it look like Holland. Cambridge, less Up with modernized than most of England’s cities, is most famous for its renowned Cambridge University. The University campus Music is a myriad of spires and stained glass, buildings that exude medieval splendor. Olivia’s parents’ found Cambridge an invigorating, stimulating place in which to live and work. Olivia’s mother was born in Germany and was well educated. She received some notoriety as the daughter of a Nobel prize-winning physicist,= Max Born. Olivia’s Welsh-born father was a professor of German at Cambridge. 6 When Olivia was five, her father was named Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne so Mr. and Mrs. Newton-John took Olivia and her older brother and sister to Australia. Later, Olivia’s parents were divorced. For the next eleven years, Australia was Olivia’s home. A dry, flat and ancient land mass, Australia is washed by three oceans. It is a land of contrasts green rolling plains and blazing red ranges, dense jungles and thousands of miles of monotonous desert. The row of highlands flanking the eastern coast shelters the big cities and the lush farms of Australia’s most resourceful section. Olivia and her family lived in this eastern part, in the city of Melbourne. Melbourne is the capital of Victoria which is often called the luckiest state in Australia. It has almost none of the wasteland that spreads across many of the five other Australian states. In contrast to the other states, Victoria is a rich combination of city, bush and farm, mountains, plains and valleys. Its rural areas contain rich dairy pasture and fertile mountain valleys. Its cities are near the sea and so become ports for industry. The Newton-Johns moved to Melbourne in the early 1950’s when factories began springing up and the city began to grow rapidly. Though the city’s population is over 3 million, Melbourne has always reflected a kind of quiet dignity. Olivia’s family would stroll down Melbourne’s wide, tree-lined streets, They’d watch the trams trundle on old grid patterns in the street and stop at the botanical gardens in the city’s square. Olivia became used to a hazy blue presence in Melbourne’s eastern sky the Dandenong Ranges. So, 7 while the Newton-Johns lived in a metropolitan area, they were always surrounded by natural beauty. The city and its mountains left an impact on young Olivia. In a nearby park, Healsville sanctuary, it was not unusual for Olivia and her brother and sister to see kangaroos, platypuses, koala bears and wombats. Olivia has always admitted to an intense fascination in animals. The parks provided a kind of gentle serenity for Olivia; the mountains assured adventure. Also, Melbourne has thrived on sporting and cultural events. Two of Olivia’s favorite pastimes playing tennis and riding horses reflect major interests in Melbourne. Australia has become known as the birthplace of some of the finest professional tennis players in the world. Like Olivia, almost everyone learns the game at a young age. But horses have become just as important as tennis. Melbourne is the only city in the world which annually takes a day off for a horse race. Every year the Newton- Johns would join in the festivities surrounding the Mel- bourne Cup Classic at Flemington. The race was held on the first Tuesday of November, and the whole nation would stop to listen to the race broadcast. Music concerts also colored the Newton-John’s cal- endar. Olivia’s father had long struggled with the idea of becoming an opera singer before he chose a teaching career. Olivia shared her father’s interest in music. At five, she was already picking out songs on the family piano. She would spend hours amusing her sister and friends with her made-up songs. Her family recognized her musical interest and encouraged her singing and songwriting. Her father had a collection of a thousand records, mostly classical. “But he gave me Tennessee Ernie Ford 8 records, too," Olivia says. Other musical people who caught Olivia’s ear when she was young were Ray Charles, Joan Baez and Nina Simone. “Music is just in the Welsh blood,”-Olivia said, “and it was with me through my childhood.” At eight, Olivia was fascinated by Slim Dusty’s music. Slim Dusty, the dean of country music in Australia, has spent most of his life turning the folklore of his country’s “outback” into song. He and his fellow-tryveling enter- tainers would take their country shows throughout the inland areas of Australia, often where no roads existed. Olivia listened to Slim’s recordings on the radio and heard the tales of his travels. Olivia now calls Dusty’s music her first introduction to country music. When Olivia was fourteen, she and three friends needed something to do; so they formed a singing group called “The Sol Four.” They had fun getting together for practice and singing at school and small community gatherings. They even landed a few spots on local TV. The four girls were enjoying their singing so much that school- work became almost a pastime. Olivia’s parents and the other girls’ parents objected, and the group disbanded. The breakup of “The Sol Four” didn’t stop Olivia’s singing, however. When her brother-in-law suggested she sing at his coffee lounge, Olivia jumped at the chance. She immediately felt at ease performing. It was almost as if the fast tempo of Melbourne and the easy pace .of the countryside had crept into her blood. Even at 15, Olivia filled her performances with remarkable variety. Her audi- ences sensed it, too, and appreciated3ler flowing manner, Audience reaction greatly encouraged Olivia and in- creased her self-confidence. It was a customer at the coffee lounge who gave her 9 an idea which eventually launched her career. He sug- gested that Olivia enter a talent contest organized by Johnny O’Keefe, a popular Australian record and TV artist. To no one’s surprise, Olivia won the contest.