Baring It All with Call Me Adam

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am highlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today, I am going back in time and Behind-The-Curtain to bring you this blast from the past, my 2019 interview with Olivia Newton-John, 4-time Grammy award winner and Sandy from the mega hit movie musical Grease.

This was my third, and what turned out to be my final time interviewing Olivia. I was given 10 minutes to conduct a telephone interview with her.

Now, here’s a little Behind-The-Curtain Story….

When this interview took place, I did not have a podcast, so I had to transcribe the interview into print format. Now I do have a podcast, and I am so excited to share with you my original phone conversation with the one, the only Olivia Newton-John.

At the time of this interview, Olivia's autobiography, Don't Stop Believin' was recently released, which is what brought us back together.

In this interview, Olivia is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:

• How she keeps her positive outlook
• What she learned about herself from writing her autobiography
• How she has adapted to the changes in the music industry
• What she still hopes to achieve
• So much more

If you want to read the interview, and see some photos of Olivia, you can do that here!

Olivia Newton-John’s appeal seems to be timeless. With a career spanning more than five decades she is still a vibrant, creative individual adored by fans around the globe. Born in Cambridge, England in 1948, the youngest child of Professor Brin Newton-John and Irene, daughter of Nobel Prize winning physicist, Max Born, Olivia moved to Melbourne, Australia with her family when she was five.

Her first big break was winning a talent contest on the popular TV show, Sing, Sing, Sing, which earned Olivia a trip to London. By the age of fifteen she had formed an all-girl group called Sol 4 and, in 1963, Olivia was appearing on local daytime TV shows and weekly pop music programs in Australia. When she eventually took her prize-winning trip to London, she teamed up with her friend from Melbourne, Pat Carroll (now Pat Farrar), to create a double act, “Pat & Olivia,” and the duo toured army bases and clubs throughout the UK and Europe. Olivia cut her first single for Decca Records in 1966, a version of Jackie DeShannon’s "Till You Say You’ll Be Mine,” and in 1971, she recorded a cover of Bob Dylan’s "If Not For You," co-produced by Bruce Welch and fellow Aussie and friend, John Farrar, whom she continues to collaborate with today.

Olivia’s U.S. album debut, Let Me Be There, produced her first top ten single of the same name, with Olivia being honored by the Academy Of Country Music as “Most Promising Female Vocalist” and a Grammy Award as “Best Country Vocalist.” This proved to be only the beginning of a very exciting career. With more than 100 million albums sold, Olivia’s successes include four Grammy Awards, numerous Country Music, American Music and Peoples Choice Awards, ten #1 hits including “Physical,” (which topped the charts for ten consecutive weeks making it the #1 single of the ‘80s), and over 15 top 10 singles. In November 2015, Billboard Magazine listed “Physical” at #8 on their “Top 100 Songs Of All Time” list and in 2010 listed it as “The Sexiest Song of All Time.” In addition, in 2015 Olivia was ranked #20 on Billboard’s “Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Artists” and most recently was ranked #7 on Billboard’s “Greatest Of All Time Hot 100 Women Artists.”

In 1978, her co-starring role with John Travolta in Grease catapulted Olivia into super-stardom. This film’s best-selling soundtrack featured the duets "You’re The One That I Want" and "Summer Nights," with Travolta, as well as her mega-hit, "Hopelessly Devoted To You." To date Grease remains the most successful movie musical in history. Her other feature film credits include Funny Things Happen Down Under, Toomorrow, Xanadu, Two Of A Kind, It’s My Party, Sordid Lives, Score: A Hockey Musical, and A Few Best Men.

Her charmed life has not been without its share of upset. In the early 90’s, Olivia successfully overcame her first journey with breast cancer, which inspired her self-penned and produced album, Gaia, her most personal album reflecting upon her experiences with cancer. As a breast cancer “thriver,” Olivia has become increasingly well known and respected for talking openly about her personal journey with breast cancer and for promoting public awareness of the importance of early detection for more than 25 years.

This led her to announce her partnership with Austin Health and the creation of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre (ONJCWC) on the Austin Campus in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. In April 2008, Olivia led a team of fellow cancer survivors, celebrities and Olympians on a trek along the Great Wall of China and raised more than $2 million to find a new way to treat cancer and build the ONJCWC. After continuing the fundraising efforts and helping to raise nearly $200 million, the ONJCWC, opened in June 2012, and provides a comprehensive range of services and facilities for cancer treatment, education, training and research including a wellness center for the mind, body and spirit (ONJCancerCentre.org). In 2014, Olivia was thrilled when the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute opened on the grounds of the ONJCWC. The strategic co-location of research laboratories and research-training within a clinical environment enables clinicians and researchers to work together to integrate clinical medicine with basic and translational cancer research for the ultimate benefit of cancer patients.

In 2006, Olivia received the AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to the entertainment industry as a singer and actor, and to the community through organizations supporting breast cancer treatment, education, training and research, and the environment. In 2010 Governor General Quentin Bryce invested Ms. Olivia Newton-John AO OBE as an Officer of the Order of Australia at a ceremony in Canberra. That year she also received the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” presented by friend John Travolta at the G’Day L.A. Gala.

In 2008, Olivia married “Amazon John” Easterling and, together they are spreading the word about the importance of preserving the Rainforest and the health values found in the botanicals of the Amazon. They currently serve on the Board of the ACEER Organization (Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research) to help the indigenous people of the Amazon gain ownership and title to their land. In September 2009, they also joined forces with Prince Charles’ The Prince’s Rainforest Project to further stress the global importance of preserving the Rainforest.

In April 2014, Olivia began her residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas with Summer Nights, a musical journey through her career in movies and music. To coincide with the show, she released Hotel Sessions an EP collection of songs recorded in hotel rooms in Melbourne over a ten-year period with her nephew Brett Goldsmith. The CD is dedicated to her late sister Rona Newton-John, who was always supportive of Olivia and Brett working together. Due to the popularity of the Las Vegas show, a 2-CD set, Summer Nights – Live in Las Vegas was released. The show, original scheduled for one year turned into a hit three-year concert residency that received acclaim from both critics and fans. Olivia was thrilled that a portion of every ticket sold to her Flamingo shows benefited the Wellness Programs at the ONJCWRC.

In 2017 Olivia revealed the very personal news that her breast cancer had returned and metastasized to her sacrum. The outpouring of love and support from around the world prompted the following statement from Olivia: “I am really grateful for and touched by the worldwide outpouring of love and concern. Thank you. I am feeling good and enjoying total support from my family and friends, along with a team of wellness and medical practitioners both here in the US and at my Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. I’m totally confident that my new journey will have a positive success story to inspire others!”

2018 proved to be a big year for Olivia. In addition to focusing on her health and recovery, Olivia joined John Travolta for a special Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Grease 40th Anniversary event to celebrate the milestone. 

In November 2018, it was announced that her Gaia Retreat & Spa claimed the coveted 2018 “Global Hotel of the Year” honor at and international gala ceremony which recognizes and honors the world’s finest hotels for their luxury offerings and delivery of exceptional guest services.

In February 2019 Olivia is proud to release the skincare range, Retreatment Botanics, inspired by the heart of Gaia Retreat & Spa. The natural, luxury formulas are Australian made, vegan, certified palm oil free by the Orangutan Alliance and contain powerful native extracts. “We created a range you can take home and enjoy a Gaia Retreatment any time,” says Olivia.

2019 is already off to a great start with Olivia receiving the appointment as a Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia (General Division) – the highest Australian honor, for her eminent service to community health, particularly people living with cancer, through support for medical research, and as a songwriter and performer. The Order of Australia is the principal means of recognizing meritorious service of its citizens and outstanding members of the community at a national level.