Olivia Newton-John Single by Single Thread

I think EMI in the UK were clutching at straws at this point. They must have been furious that she was selling millions in America but nothing here!

 

This usually occurs because of the expectation factor for lead-off singles of albums for an artist who has been recently very successful. Radio stations jump all over playing the new record assuming it will be a sure-fire winner and there is an initial surge in Adds and Rotation reported. Radio stations requests and sales didn't follow suit for "Something Better To Do", so the song stalled prematurely. Our reactions to the single posted in this thread pretty much tell the story as we were anticipating another home run with her track record, but ended up being somewhat disappointed.

"Heart Attack" was received a little better after the initial radio station surge, but obviously it wasn't as well-received as a "Physical" or "Magic" to drive it to the top of the charts. Our reactions to this single later on in this thread will probably mirror that as well.

 

Attention Lukers (hold tight and don't post negative responses her singles will continue)

The next single is not an Olivia official single, it's a John Denver single yet it's worthy of placement here as this is a huge favorite among Olivia fans. In addition, I feel this single charted so well due to Olivia's backing vocals, yet she was never credited on the label nor given credit in reviews of which I feel was a missed opportunity and one that was never explained. If you have not heard the mono version your missing out on an experience, it's very nice, vocals are more centered and up front in the mix.

This is my promo 45 below:

Nov 1975
Fly Away
Two Shots

Fly Away (promo stereo/mono)


Billboard Nov 29, 1975 Single Review

 

The video of this song has been around for a while but in pretty bad quality, here is a restored version, the picture is reduced but it is clearer.

 

Fly Away was a song I stumbled on by accident. Denver was briefly popular in the UK after Annie's Song went to number one. A friend of my mum's loved him and lent me his Windsong album as I was always wanting new records to listen to. I quite liked Windsong and Calypso became an instant favourite. Upon playing Fly Away I thought, 'that sounds like Olivia on background vocals!'. Checking the album credits this proved to be true as Denver had thanked her for her contribution.

So, I became instantly fond of Fly Away, which was arguably stronger than her Clearly Love singles. It's very hard to imagine it without Olivia's vocals. It'd still be a lovely song, but nowhere near as special. I see from the review above that the single ran 2.59. That's quite an edit as the song runs over 4 minutes on my Windsong CD.

Fly Away is a great addition to Olivia's early catalogue. As it's not an official duet, it never turns up on her comps. This is a shame as it's better than a lot of the over-familiar songs that do!

I never really became a John Denver fan. I do genuinely enjoy Windsong to this day, but none of his other albums (that I heard) connected with me in the same way. It's strange that an artist of Denver's stature was a bit of a 'one hit wonder' in the UK. His Greatest Hits and Live albums sold well on the back of Annie's Song, but I don't believe he had another top 40 hit in his career. Certainly not in the 70s at least. I haven't checked this so could be hopelessly wrong.

 

Christmastime is a magical time for many kids. In December of 1975, I was one of those kids who was once again caught up in the spirit of the season as I watched every Christmas program airing on the three stations we received in our household. But one particular Christmas special completely captivated me: John Denver's "A Rocky Mountain Christmas". The imagery was breathtaking, but as always, the music took the experience to a whole new level. I was not a huge fan of John Denver prior to this special, but by the time this special ended, two significant moments occurred:
1. My all-time favorite song by John Denver would be presented.
2. The very first record I ever bought by Olivia would be introduced. Due to the discussion sequence in this thread, I cannot speak any further about this now. But I'm sure most of you know the discussion will be coming very soon.

So let's focus on #1 since that is the where we are at in this thread. Seeing "Fly Away" in this special was the best Christmas gift I received that year. It was simply heavenly and Olivia was like an angel to me. Suddenly the disappointment of the prior single was erased from my mind and Olivia was back on top of the music world again. Little did I know at the time that she would not be credited for contributing to this song due to contractual reasons and because MCA did not want another record competing with her brand new solo single being shipped at that time. But none of that was relevant to a kid who was caught up in the magic of the season. "Fly Away" was yet another stunning recording in Olivia's amazing career.

 

Here, that that TV special wasn't shown until Christmas 1976. Everything in it was old news by then. I will say that show was the first time I 'saw' Olivia since I'd been a fan. Of course, I must have seen her on Top Of The Pops and Cliff's shows before this, but didn't really pay her any attention. The time I got into Olivia was the worst one I could have picked as she was so busy in America (and in truth, probably couldn't be bothered flogging her guts out here for a country that clearly didn't appreciate her), that she didn't return until the Spring of 1977.

So, for that reason the John Denver show will always be special to me. I do remember thinking she was even more beautiful that she appeared in pictures and on her album covers. Even though her hair was 'inbetween lengths' and not her best look, she was almost other worldly in her beauty.

Another reason I enjoyed the Denver show was because one of the other guests was Valerie Harper. Someone I'd just discovered through 'Rhoda' and would come to enjoy for many years.

 

I have a different view of Follow Me: I love it! I wish it was a single in the US. Olivia, and other artists, were often pushing two albums a year at that time. (Those days are long gone.) So, it didn't leave much time to release singles and generally an album would have one or two at most in the states. Of course, that would be changing soon enough. I am genuinely surprised to read the lack of enthusiasm for this song. I should try to track down a single.

As for Fly Away, I like it but I resent it too. Olivia should have gotten a duet credit on it. All the radio stations plugged her on it like it was a duet (which I feel it is) and no doubt RCA marketed that side of it. I can't help but suspect that John Denver was a bit egotistical and didn't want to share credit. (Just my opinion, no facts to support this.) And I'm sure it's a money thing too. But I feel she's the main reason the song works. My friend hated soft rock and Olivia and I always enjoyed tripping him up. We were out somewhere and this song came up. I asked him what he thought. He said he didn't like it but the lady singer was really good. Ha! Got him! I then told him it was Olivia and he knew he had been had.

 

Some nice single sleeves for Follow Me. As long as you don't look at the UK one.

 

Does anyone know if Olivia and John ever sang the song together again either live or mimed after his Christmas Special?

This song went to #1 on Billboard Easy Listening chart.

 

Somehow I doubt that it was John Denver himself who was behind the concealment of the identity of his duet partner. (And I agree with you that this is indeed a duet. A wonderful one.) Once again, Olivia´s voice blends perfectly with a male partner. The contrast between the two voices is really what makes the song.

The reasons I doubt that John Denver himself had anything against sharing the spotlight with Olivia are twofold: 1. He duetted with many others - Placido Domingo, Frank Sinatra, Emmylou Harris, Sylvie Vartan etc. - and they were always credited. 2. According to Hal Blaine´s autobiography, it just would be so out of character with everything John Denver did. I don´t buy that he was an angel, but I have always read good things about his behaviour. (That is, unless you count the later years, when alcohol and the divorces took their toll.) I suspect it was MCA who thought this would jeopardise Olivia´s current singles.

Then again, I guess we´ll never know for sure.

 

Now that I think of it, I might already have the Japan one.

 

You're right. We'll never know. And I'm a JD fan too, so I'm not picking on him. I always thought it was labeled a duet. It wasn't until I read a thread here a year or two ago that I learned the record only stated Denver.

 

He, he... I didn´t think you were "picking on" poor Mr. Denver. Nice bears don´t do that, do they? Not even ones called Pizza.

I think it boils down to label politics. I also think it should have been released as a duet, but that didn´t happen. I also think Olivia´s dreaming vocals added so much to the song that she should have been credited.

 

Her voice is so haunting on this song. It pulls you right in. I wish she sang the whole thing!

 

I see what you mean, but I still feel that the interplay between the two voices is what makes the song. With only Olivia´s voice, I think it would have been too sweet. Not that that has been a problem with other Oliva songs...

 

Do you remember Lee Kramer writing a piece on Olivia in the 1990s?

Annoyingly, I never managed to see the whole thing but the UK tabloid The Sun, quoted a few 'highlights'.

One of which was that John Denver had a big crush on Olivia in the 70s. Apparently he had hopes at that time of one day running for presidency. When he did, he apparently said he wanted Olivia as his First Lady.

 

Well, he could have done worse...

It´s tempting to comment on the current crop of candidates, but I won´t.

 

same here

 

This was not an official U.S. single, however the song did get pressed to a 7" 45 single in Japan, a rare 7" acetate from the U.K and a 7" 45 in South Korea in 1976. This is probably one of the rarest 45's to obtain. I have never seen one other than these pics. This song appears on the LP soundtrack which can still be purchased online. What makes this single/track so special is that it's never appeared on CD (that I'm aware of) nor has it ever appeared on any of Olivia's compilations. I think it's one of the best tracks so ever recorded and feel it deserves a mention here. I believe this song was also a Oscar nominated theme song.

1975

A Window To The Sky AKA Richard's Window (Japan and UK 45 pressings along with a 45 in 1976 in South Korea)
taken from the LP "The Other Side Of The Mountain"





Billboard Album Review April 19, 1975

 

This is how the song was used in this movie which I believe was a bit slowed down compared to the LP version.

 

Here is the LP version

 

So let's get back to Olivia's next U.S. single....

Dec 1975
Let It Shine
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (b side)

Let It Shine/He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (promo stereo)




Billboard Nov 29, 1975 Single Reviews

 

Nice video from John Denver's Christmas show 1975

 

Here is the Promo ad for this single, Billboard Dec 13, 1975