# RIP Olivia Newton John **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [August 8, 2022, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320 "2022-08-08T19:27:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/21 "2022-08-08T23:02:46Z")
So sad. Two fave songs, one a hit, and another that should be better known: “Magic” from Xanadu, and “Love you hold the Key” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DnkHf069fvA/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgXChAMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB4MG7mzw0zgj9MQB_Q24udQ-dHjg "Olivia Newton-John - Magic") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnkHf069fvA) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xYOEoxQQHuU/hqdefault.jpg "LOVE YOU HOLD THE KEY--OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN (BEST EVER ENHANCED VERSION) 720P") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYOEoxQQHuU) ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/22 "2022-08-08T23:08:36Z")
I’m probably one of the few people who’s never seen Grease, but it was just because I just could not bring myself to watch a musical. But I loved her voice and I knew most of her songs by heart. She really was great. So sad to learn she struggled so. RIP Olivia. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/23 "2022-08-08T23:30:05Z")
Goodbye, Olivia. I honestly love you. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/24 "2022-08-08T23:38:10Z")
Telly Savalas once introduced her as “exquisite,” and she was. RIP, Olivia. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/25 "2022-08-09T11:40:39Z")
I was shocked to read about this just a few minutes ago. It wasn’t even on the news, but with the raid on Mar-a-Lago and the death of David McCulloch, that’s not surprising. When I was a student in Rochester there was a persistent rumor that the emeritus physics professor there, Emil Wolf, was her godfather. It wasn’t true, but there was a connection . Wolf was co-author of _Principles of Optics_ (a major, massive tome on very rigorous optical physics) with Max Born. And Max Born was her grandfather. Emil Wolf certainly knew Olivia Newton-John. I’ve felt for a long time that the scene at the beginning of Olivia’s “Let’s Get Physical” TV special that had her holding a prism and telling how you could make it out of sand and use it to refract light was a tribute to her grandfather (and maybe Wolf). (Emil Wolf was one of Born’s students. Max Born won the 1954 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in Quantum Mechanics. Emil Wolf’s voice always reminded me of Ludwig von Drake. I knew another student who used to call his telephone number just to listen to his voice recording asking you to leave a message.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/26 "2022-08-09T16:55:27Z")
I’m thankful that I bought _Magic: Very Best of Olivia Newton John_ a few years ago. It’s a fabulous collection of her hits. Came out in 2001 with remastered material. I started playing it yesterday. Still playing today. Thinking about Olivia and how her music influenced my life. I sang _Honestly Love You_, and _Don’t Stop Believing_ to my first girlfriend. Also my 2nd and 3rd. 😉 They are good songs when a relationship gets serious. My only regret is Olivia’s music drifted away after Physical. She always had a great voice. The newer material didn’t do it justice. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/27 "2022-08-09T17:04:45Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My only regret is Olivia’s music drifted away after Physical. She always had a great voice. The newer material didn’t do it justice. I think that at least some of it was pop music moving away from her strengths, and the kinds of music which her fans enjoyed, in the 1980s and 1990s. I think that her 1980s albums, starting with _Physical_, tried to be both more mature, and more in-line with where pop music was at that time, and that didn’t necessarily fit with her fans’ expectations. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/28 "2022-08-09T20:32:00Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I think that her 1980s albums, starting with _Physical_, tried to be both more mature, and more in-line with where pop music was at that time, and that didn’t necessarily fit with her fans’ expectations Nor did it fit with her personality or her voice. I heard some post-Physical songs, and she was trying to make more new-wavish music, and it didn’t sound good at all. The songs were fast and high energy, and her voice was best when the song was soft and contemplative. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/29 "2022-08-10T00:25:53Z")
Beautiful woman! Beautiful voice! Covering The Hollies _The Air That I Breathe_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Efkqsc2CVjA/hqdefault.jpg "Olivia Newton-John - The Air That I Breathe") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efkqsc2CVjA) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/30 "2022-08-10T16:03:04Z")
I remember the music video for _Physical_ showed Olivia innocently exercising. I remember Jumping jacks and stretching (touching her toes). How many people actually paid attention to the lyrics? 😉 Quite a change from _Have You Ever Been Mellow_. > [@](#): > > I took you to an intimate restaurant > Then to a suggestive movie > There’s nothin’ left to talk about > Unless, it’s horizontally > > Let’s get physical, physical > I wanna get physical, let’s get into physical > Let me hear your body talk, your body talk > Let me hear your body talk ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/31 "2022-08-10T16:11:54Z")
This has hit me harder than any other celebrity death since John Lennon. I was nuts about Olivia. Had a huge crush on her since the mid 1970s. I have most of her albums, and saw her in concert twice. Very sad! ---
**Author:** ![IgoZoom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c37758/32.png) [@IgoZoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IgoZoom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/32 "2022-09-12T02:04:24Z")
I can totally relate. I was born in 1975 and my mom was already a fan. ONJ’s music was always a part of my life. She was such a lovely human being inside and out. I’ve never had a celebrity death hit me so hard. I’m still very sad about it even now. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/33 "2022-09-12T02:16:52Z")
I still can’t listen to any of her songs without the tears welling up. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2022, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320/34 "2022-09-12T12:03:08Z")
Honestly, I’m not threadshitting here. It’s just that whenever I hear her name, I think of Dr. Johnny Fever referring to her as _Oblivious Neutron Bomb_. No idea why that tickled me so and stuck with me over the decades. She did have a lovely voice that didn’t need electronic enhancement or gimmicks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-newton-john/969320.md?page=1)