John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John’s You’re The One That I Want is 40 years old.

Not sure, though Hungate did work on Olivia’s LPs back then.

 

Ain't nobody steppin' on Showaddywaddy's blue crepe shoes..... Still love 'em to bits.

You've got me thinking: what was it Mott called her on their 'Wot A Bloke' insert with the 'Drive On' LP? 'Oliver, Newt & John'? 'Olive Neutron Bomb'? Damned if I can remember. I'll have to dig it out when I get home from work (unless anyone here can recall?).

 

I feel the same. Timeless, brilliant movie

 

I think the part I have marked in bold is very important. Short, catchy songs are for the most part better as far as longevity goes. Sure, you may grow tired of the songs - but not for long. (An exception is Cliff´s "CONGRATULATIONS", which is 16 seconds shorter than YTOTIW , but I prefer not to play it too often.)

As for "YOU´RE THE ONE THAT I WANT" itself, I loved it from the moment I heard it. It sounded so energetic, especially among the many beat ballads in "GREASE". I don´t think I ever really grew tired of it, but I play it less often than I used to.

And, of course, you can always turn to this superior version of the song. Immaculate is - hardly - the word.



In case some of you haven´t seen it.

 

One of my first 45s!

Still love it too.

 

Not a fan of You're the One that I Want. I don't care for Olivia's top 3 hits (including I Honestly Love You and Physical) despite my being a huge, lifetime fan.

Not a big fan for Grease either, though I like it. I'm still amazed at how big it became. I cringe every time I see Olivia live and the Grease songs roll out.

The film looks thrown together, especially You're the One that I Want. It does have a nice impromptu feel to it, which it basically was. Summer Nights is the clear highlight for staging. Very clever. The simplicity to Hopelessly Devoted to You works well too.

John Travolta was the magic ingredient to this show. Without him, it would have fell flat. Olivia's fresh face was a lovely compliment and though her acting wasn't great, the novelty of her personality made it work.

As great as an actress as she is, I never liked Stockard Channing in this as she looked more at home with the teachers than hanging with the students.

 

Awesome song. Loved it then, love it now. Heard it the radio over the weekend which is rare. Maybe they knew about the 40 yr milestone and that’s why they played it.

It’s one of my first adult/pop musical impressions, at age 5, so it definitely sticks with me.

 

What the. . .

I may never forgive you for sharing that, Jarleboy.

 

The drummer acquits himself well on the double-time groove too. Wonder who it is. Such a well arranged and produced track...

 

I get chills thinking about it...

 

Love it, and I love the Grease soundtrack overall. Never burned out on it, because I was always careful to not listen to anything too often.

 

No idea.

Though Neutron Bomb did become her nickname for a while.

Record Mirror took to calling her Olivia Wooden John, in reference to her acting.

 

The “if you’re filled with infection” line never ceases to make me giggle. They should have used that in the original song.

It’s also nice to see Hylda Baker who was only about 5 years older than Olivia then.

 

I seem to think it was Carlos Vega. Someone else who worked on Olivia’s records back the the seventies and eighties.

 

I liked the Frankie Valli/Barry Gibb title song the best. Just cause I really like Disco I guess

 

"You're The One That I Want" is one of those songs that I loved when I was 7 but eventually "outgrew" as I got older. Listening to it now, it is a solid pop record featuring tight musicianship.

 

Actually there are some great singles in this chart
John and Livvy
Andy Gibb
Gerry Raffetty
Bonnie Tyler
Abba
Sweet

That's quite a lot for me to like on a USA chart...

 

The UK chart for this time. James Galway struggling to topple Olivia and Travolta.

 

You're The One That I Want, in the case of Travolta, shows the difference producers can make. A few years prior he recorded "Let Her In" which could have been the end of his recording career. Then YTOTIW came out making him sound like a different person. Neither record is going to make the critics list, but there's night and day between the two.

 

God that takes me back. I would have been 9 at this time, hearing these chart hits a lot. Grease was something of a phenomenon with kids of my age and a bit older. No denying it, I liked the film and the songs.

 

Surprised just how many of those are not ringing a bell from the title. Maybe for some that I'm not recognizing I'd know them if I heard them, but it seems like the UK charts were quite different from the US charts at that time.

Also, I can't believe "Never Say Die" was a #21 single in the UK! That's a very cool surprise.

 

As good as it gets. Never gets old.

 

Here was the US Top 40 for that same week (ending July 1, 1978):

1 1 SHADOW DANCING –•– Andy Gibb (RSO) -12 (3 weeks at #1) (1)
2 2 BAKER STREET –•– Gerry Rafferty (United Artists) -11 (2)
3 3 IT’S A HEARTACHE –•– Bonnie Tyler (RCA) -15 (3)
4 5 TAKE A CHANCE ON ME –•– Abba (Atlantic) -11 (4)
5 7 USE TA BE MY GIRL –•– The O’Jays (Philadelphia International) -10 (5)
6 6 YOU BELONG TO ME –•– Carly Simon (Elektra) -12 (6)
7 9 STILL THE SAME –•– Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (Capitol) -8 (7)
8 8 LOVE IS LIKE OXYGEN –•– Sweet (Capitol) -20 (8)
9 10 DANCE WITH ME –•– Peter Brown with Betty Wright (Drive) -18 (9)
10 11 THE GROOVE LINE –•– Heatwave (Epic) -9 (10)

11 4 YOU’RE THE ONE THAT I WANT –•– John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John (RSO) -14 (1)
12 12 TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD –•– Meat Loaf (Cleveland International) -16 (12)
13 13 BECAUSE THE NIGHT –•– The Patti Smith Group (Arista) -13 (13)
14 25 MISS YOU –•– Rolling Stones (Rolling Stones) -6 (14)
15 17 BLUER THAN BLUE –•– Michael Johnson (EMI-America) -11 (15)
16 16 EVERY KINDA PEOPLE –•– Robert Palmer (Island) -15 (16)
17 20 LAST DANCE –•– Donna Summer (Casablanca) -8 (17)
18 18 YOU’RE THE LOVE –•– Seals and Crofts (Warner Brothers) -12 (18)
19 19 EVEN NOW –•– Barry Manilow (Arista) -9 (19)
20 14 TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE –•– Johnny Mathis / Denise Williams (Columbia) -14 (1)

21 27 WONDERFUL TONIGHT –•– Eric Clapton (RSO) -8 (21)
22 22 I WAS ONLY JOKING –•– Rod Stewart (Warner Brothers) -10 (22)
23 23 FOLLOW YOU, FOLLOW ME –•– Genesis (Atlantic) -11 (23)
24 29 I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN –•– Eruption (Ariola America) -17 (24)
25 30 ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG –•– Billy Joel (Columbia) -8 (25)
26 31 GREASE –•– Frankie Valli (RSO) -6 (26)
27 15 FEELS SO GOOD –•– Chuck Mangione (A&M) -21 (4)
28 35 RUNAWAY –•– Jefferson Starship (Grunt) -6 (28)
29 34 THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY –•– Love and Kisses (Casablanca) -9 (29)
30 44 LOVE WILL FIND A WAY –•– Pablo Cruise (A&M) -5 (30)

31 50 LIFE’S BEEN GOOD –•– Joe Walsh (Asylum) -4 (31)
32 41 CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO –•– Tuxedo Junction (Butterfly) -11 (32)
33 40 IF EVER I SEE YOU AGAIN –•– Roberta Flack (Atlantic) -7 (33)
34 42 FM (No Static At All) –•– Steely Dan (MCA) -5 (34)
35 36 IT’S THE SAME OLD SONG –•– K.C. and the Sunshine Band (T.K.) -8 (35)
36 37 STONE BLUE –•– Foghat (Bearsville) -7 (36)
37 43 MY ANGEL BABY –•– Toby Beau (RCA) -5 (37)
38 45 HOT LOVE, COLD WORLD –•– Bob Welch (Capitol) -5 (38)
39 46 MAGNET AND STEEL –•– Walter Egan (Columbia) -6 (39)
40 51 SONGBIRD –•– Barbra Streisand (Columbia) -3 (40)

 

No, you’re right. I think only 7 or 8 of these were US hits. The Boney M single (Rivers Of Babylon) was actually the biggest hit of the year. Sold over 2 million copies!