Olivia Newton-John

If you were a young man in the '70's...if you remember that album cover of Olivia with that blue shirt on with those big blue eyes staring right at you, every boy's, every man's dream, was that I would love for that girl to be my girlfriend.---John Travolta

Olivia Newton-John, 73, died earlier today at her Southern California ranch.

Her public singing career spanned over 50 years, but during the 10-year period 1971 ("If Not for You") to 1981 ("Physical") there was no greater star in music. Her voice was strong and ranged over two octaves and, of course, her looks helped. She had the whole package.

At the age of 28, she was cast as the high-schooler Sandy in the musical Grease, which was the most popular film of 1978 and had one of the best-selling movie soundtracks of all time. During the pandemic I re-watched a lot of musicals, including Grease. My estimation of Olivia Newton-John grew from that of a fine singer who churned out a lot of hits back in the day to that of a truly great entertainer. R.I.P.