The singer revealed in September 2018 that she was battling cancer at the base of her spine. It was her third cancer diagnosis, following bouts with breast cancer in the early 90s and 2017. Thanks to a string of country and soft-rock hits, Newton-John was already a popular singer by the late 1970s. But her co-starring opposite John Travolta in 1978’s Grease, arguably the most popular movie musical of all time, elevated her to a new level of stardom. Although she had little acting experience (and turned 29 during filming), Newton-John gave an indelible performance as Sandy, a sweet Australian transfer student who falls for Travolta’s greaser alpha Danny at a Southern California high school in the 1950s. Their onscreen chemistry as mismatched lovebirds who undergo last-act makeovers to win each other’s hearts — ditching her fancy dresses for heels, leather, spandex and a cigarette — anchored the film and inspired repeat viewings by legions of fans. “I don’t think anyone could have imagined that a movie would last almost 40 years and still be popular and people would still talk to me about it all the time and love it,” Newton-John told CNN in 2017. It’s just one of those movies. I am very lucky to have participated in it. It has brought joy to so many people.” Newton-John sang on three of the film’s biggest hits: the duets “You’re The One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” with Travolta, and her soulful solo ballad, “Hopelessly Devoted To You.” Born in Cambridge, England in 1948, Newton-John moved with her family to Melbourne, Australia, when she was five years old. After winning a talent competition on a television show, “Sing, Sing, Sing”, as a teenager she formed an all-girl group and began appearing on weekly pop music programs in Australia. Newton-John recorded her first single in England in 1966 and scored a few international hits, but remained largely unknown to US audiences until 1973, when “Let Me Be There” became a top-10 hit for both contemporary adults as well as for the country. diagrams. A string of easy-listening No. 1 hits followed, including “I Honestly Love You,” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “Please Mr. Please”. Then came “Grease,” which was the highest-grossing film of 1978 and became an enduring cultural phenomenon. The film gave Newton-John an opportunity to change her clean image. The cover of her next album, “Totally Hot”, featured the singer in black skin, while its songs had a edgier, more contemporary pop sound.
Her singing success
In 1981, she took her new, sexier persona a step further with “Physical,” a dance number with such evocative lyrics as: “There’s nothing left to talk about unless it’s horizontal.” Picked up by many radio stations, it became her biggest hit, spending 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. He also appeared in several more big-budget films, including the musical fantasy “Xanadu” with Hollywood legend Gene Kelly in his final screen role. The film bombed, but its soundtrack sold well and spawned “Magic,” a No. 1 hit. In 1983, he teamed up with Travolta again for “Two of a Kind,” a romantic comedy-fantasy, but failed to recapture their “Grease” spark. In a long career, Newton-John won four Grammy Awards and sold more than 100 million albums. “I’ve had many lives in music. I had country when I started, then I switched to pop,” he told CNN. “I had ‘Xanadu’ and ‘Grease,’ a lot of songs in between. I feel very grateful. I have such a large repertoire to choose from.”
Overcoming tragedy
But Newton-John also faced his share of trouble and tragedy. Breast cancer diagnoses forced her to postpone and cancel several tours. And in 2005 Newton-John’s then-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, disappeared at sea while on a fishing trip off California. It was never found — an unsolved mystery that haunted the singer for years. “It’s very hard to live with,” he told CNN’s Larry King in 2006. “It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, and I’ve been through a lot.” Although her career profile declined in her later years, Newton-John never stopped recording and performing. Among her highlights were appearances on “Glee,” a long-running “Summer Nights” residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas and a dance club hit, “You Have to Believe,” recorded with her daughter Chloe. “I love to sing, it’s all I know how to do,” she told CNN in 2017. “That’s all I’ve done since I was 15, so it’s my life. I feel very grateful that I can still do it and people still come to see me.”
