Remembering an Icon! The 10 Best Olivia Newton-John Songs of All Time
Olivia Newton-John always had a passion for singing. As she told Hoda Kotb in 2021 on Today, “To me singing is my soul,” said the superstar who passed away on August 8, 2022. “I don’t miss the touring, but I do love to sing and write songs.”
The British-born Newton-John who moved with her family to Melbourne, Australia when she was 5, sang regularly on local TV shows since she was a teenager. She loved singing so much she won a talent contest while she was still in school and won a ticket to go to London where she made her first single.
And her career exploded from there.
With a talent for singing everything from country to pop to rock songs, Newton-John won four Grammys had five No. 1 hits and many Top 10 songs on the Billboard charts and has sold 100 million albums.
Here are just a few Olivia Newton John songs that we adore. (In no particular order.)
Olivia Newton-John's best songs
“If You Love Me (Let Me Know)”
This song was the second Olivia Newton-John song to hit the top ten. The song was also later covered by Elvis Presley and Tina Turner.
“Have You Never Been Mellow?”
Released on Olivia Newton-John's 1975 album of the same title, the song earned the singer a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance. (She lost to the song "At Seventeen")
“Physical”
In 2021, when the song was celebrating its 40th anniversary Olivia Newton-John spoke to Hoda Kotb about the famous song and its daring lyrics at the time. Like, “There’s nothing left to talk about unless it’s horizontally."
“I remember listening to it and going, ‘That’s a really great song,’ and didn’t really tune in to what it was about. And then when I recorded it, I started to panic, and I called my manager and said, ‘I think I’ve gone too far with this song. It’s just too much,'" Newton-John told Kotb. "And he said, ‘Well, it’s too late, love, it’s taken off everywhere.'”
“Magic” (From Xanadu)
"Magic" appeared in the film Xanadu. The No. 1 single from 1980 it was considered a top song after Blondie's "Call Me" and "Another Brick In The Wall, Part II" by Pink Floyd.
“Hopelessly Devoted To You” (From Grease”)
"Hopelessly Devoted to You" was written for Olivia Newton-John to sing in the movie, Grease. The song was not part of the original musical production. However, it was nominated for an Oscar as Best Original Song.
“Let Me Be There”
Released in 1973, the song won Olivia Newton-John a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocalist.
“A Little More Love”
On Olivia Newton-John's tenth studio album, the song was one of the most popular hits in 1979.
“Please Mr. Please”
The song was recorded for Olivia Newton-John's fifth studio album, "Have You Never Been Mellow." Written by Bruce Welch and John Rostill, from Cliff Richard's backing band, The Shadows, Welsh first recorded the song in 1974 but it didn't do well. But when Newton-John recorded and released the song in 1975 it became a massive hit.
