BYU will host Olivia in song
Olivia Newton-John will appear at BYU on Jan. 17 in the Marriott Center, according to Leonard Lee, ASBYU Social Office vice president. Kenny Rankin will be the front act.
Lee noted that Miss Newton-John had scored 12th on the concert poll conducted at BYU.
“We have been working to get her for two months,” said Lee. “Her agency told us she would not be available in this area at all. So we checked with Utah State and were able to block book her.”
Miss Newton-John will be performing in Provo on a Friday night and at Utah State the following day. Tickets for the BYU performance go on sale Jan. 6.
In America, Miss Newton-John has earned five gold records and one platinum album in 10 months. Her better known singles include “Let Me Be There,” “If You Love Me, Let Me Know,” and “I Honestly Love You.”
She was presented a “Grammy” award as the Best Female Country Vocalist (the first time a British singer has won in the Country Music category) and she won the award as the Most Promising Female Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music. The Country Music Association named her 1974 Female Vocalist of the Year.
By the time Miss Newton-John was five, her family had moved from Cambridge, where she was born, to Australia and there, at Ormond College, where her father was Master of the college, she started making up tunes on the family piano.
When Miss Newton-John turned 14, she and three friends formed a singing group called The Sol Four. The act began to interfere with school work and the group disbanded. She then went on to sing as a solo act in a local coffee lounge owned by her brother-in-law.
A customer suggested to Miss Newton-John that she enter a talent contest organized by Johnny O’Keefe, a popular Australian record and TV artist. She won the contest and won a trip to London.
In 1971, she recorded her first hit single in England, “If Not For You.” An album followed and then another successful single, “Banks of the Ohio,” which earned her a Silver Disc in Britain and a Gold Disc in Australia.
Kenny Rankin, who will perform prior to Miss Newton-John, has a Barney Kessel type of guitar plucking. He sings jazz and has his own brand of contemporary folk.
His standout selections include “Silver Morning,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Coming Down.”