Nashville Public Library
‘OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN A REFRESHING BREEZE’: From the Aug. 20, 1974, Nashville Banner column by Red O’Donnell: “I was at this luncheon Monday for singer Olivia Newton-John and this pretty and fresh looking young girl came up and said, ‘Hello, I’m Olivia Newton-John.’ I had heard middle-agers and even teenagers rave about her good looks and voice for almost a year but hardly expected a girl so pretty and unaffected. Olivia Newton-John won the Grammy this year for Best Female Country Vocalist. The song that got her the prize was ‘Let Me Be There.’ She later recorded ‘If You Love Me Let Me Know,’ a million seller. The luncheon was hosted by Owen Bradley who is the local vice president for MCA Records, for which she records.
“‘I am on a concert tour,’ she said. ‘I was in Memphis Saturday night and don’t do another show until Tuesday (In Jackson, Miss.) so I have always wanted to come to Nashville and thank the music people for making me a ‘star’ — so here I am.’ She grinned when she enunciated the word ‘star.’ The slender sandy-haired blonde is a native of Australia, but now lives in London. Frankly, I always considered her to be a pop singer.
“‘No,’ she said. ‘I am a country singer, I may have been ‘adopted’ by some pop music fans but I love country music.’ She said she had been in the South before, but never in Nashville.
“‘I went for a boat ride on Old Hickory Lake Sunday with Mr. Bradley, his wife, Katherine, and some of their friends,’ she said. ‘We then went to a place called the ‘Cracker Barrel’ and had some Southern cooked food — turnip greens, beans, grits, cornbread. It was delicious,’ she exclaimed.
“‘She can eat like a horse,’ laughed Bradley.
“Miss Newton-John does all her recording at present in England, and according to Bradley, there are no plans for her to come here, although she had been quoted in the trade papers as saying, ‘I would love to do an album in Nashville with some of its super musicians.‘ Bradley said, ‘I advised her against such a decision at this time. She is going great guns with hit after hit, so why change? Wait until she needs a hit, and then come here, record and see what happens.’
“She visited each guest at the luncheon — mostly music trade reporters and dee-jays — and thanked them for their help. During her stroll from table to table, she was asked such questions as ‘Are you married?’ (‘No I’m not and have no plans to marry’) and ‘Why didn’t you include Nashville on your present tour?’ (‘Because nobody invited me’).
“She charmed the young and old alike. Incidentally, she was accompanied by her manager, Peter Hibbs, who remained in the background. A stance few managers of stars take.”
Original photo caption: “Grammy award winning vocalist Olivia Newton-John (right) smiles prettily for the camera and for Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) vice president Frances Preston and MCA Records local vice president Owen Bradley at a luncheon and party Monday where the English recording star was guest of honor.” (Image: Nashville Public Library, Special Collections, photo by Bill Goodman)
Olivia Newton-John died today at the age of 73 after a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
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