Olivia Back With Record Of The Year
In a year when many of Country’s biggest artists are crossing over to the Top 40 arena. it’s only fitting that the true pioneer of artists breaking from the success of Country radio to the Pop mainstream, Olivia Newton-John, is back with what many regard as her best record of all time, “I Honestly Love You.”
This new version is produced by David Foster and includes background vocals from the ever-popular Babyface. Even though most people realize that Olivia Newton-John may be one of the most popular pop icons from the ’70s and early ’80s, what many fail to realize is that this renaissance woman began her career in the music business as a Country artist.
Olivia Newton-John’s first taste of success came with the Country hit. “Let Me Be There.” However, it wasn’t long before this female phenom began to cross over into the Pop contemporary formats and eventually chalked up a remarkable five #1 records in a seven-year period. But the record that initially propelled Olivia Newton-John to superstar status was 1974’s Record of the Year, “I Honestly Love You.”
What makes the release of “I Honestly Love You” so exciting is the incredible timing. With the resurgence of one of the best-selling movies of all time, GREASE, Olivia Newton-John has been the object of everyone’s desire, including today’s most popular TV programs. Olivia Newton-John has just agreed to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Dateline NBC. and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno just to name a few.
Even though the new version of “I Honestly Love You” is not being worked at Top 40, Country, and AC radio until May 11 and 12, a few of the nation’s leading programmers have already decided to pull the trigger on this track and put this classic into rotation. WXKS/Boston, WLTW/New York, WLTE/Minneapolis, and KKCW/Portland have all jumped the add date.
In addition to the record being available at all radio formats, Olivia Newton-John’s album will also be in stores on Tuesday, May 12. The album, Precious Love, features enough music for both Top 40 and Country’s radio stations alike. Both MCA Nashville and Universal Records will be working this project as collaboration. a
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Editor’s note - The album title is referred to here as Precious Love
.