April 21, 2016, was a dark, somber day that I still have problems believing truly happened. That dreadful Thursday was the day the world lost arguably the greatest musician that ever lived, Prince Rogers Nelson. I dread the anniversary every year as it approaches. That day is the one day that I know I was in the hearts and minds of anyone that has ever truly known me. My Prince fandoms depth knows no end and now there is another date that will sadden me annually.
August 8th will now haunt me because of another celebrity’s passing. The beautiful and graceful Olivia Newton-John left this world after a three-decade battle with breast cancer. Olivia was my first ever celebrity crush as I would watch Grease over and over as a small kid. I received a record player for my eighth birthday and the first album my parents bought me was Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol.2 that I still have to this day. The album sleeve unfolded with a centerfold of Olivia laying down with her eyes closed wearing a white sweater that hung off one of her shoulder and white pants. I would stare at that centerfold for what felt like eternity daydreaming of being with her. This eight year-old had an extremely sweet innocent imagination that does not exist anymore.
I began to collect everything I could of Olivia’s discography. I didn’t know it at the time but she was told for the teeny-bopper magazines of the time and the only way to get a singer’s merchandise back then was at a concert. Unfortunately, she is one of a very low number of concert regrets that I have.
As I got older, I realized that Ms. Newton-John would never become Mrs. McCash but in 1985 10 year-old Steven thought of a great plan. I vividly remember being in a 7/11 with my mom and seeing Olivia and then husband Matt Lattanzi on the cover of People Magazine talking about her pregnancy. Olivia gave birth to her daughter Chloe in January of 1986. In my yet again innocent imagination, I concocted a whole plan of how me and her daughter could marry in the future. I obviously didn’t realize at the time how big a 10-year gap was. Now, I do recognize that 10 years becomes less and less of an issue as you get older but, in my head, we were married when she was ten and I twenty. Needless to say, our paths never crossed.
The years passed and although her career on the top of the charts sizzled and she continued to make amazing records one after another, she still remained a big part of my life. I would buy every release that came out and would follow all of the philanthropic work she did in cancer research. When I came home from work on the eighth of August and saw the news pop on her Instagram page, I instantly put on the album that truly began my love for her, Olivia’s Greatest Hits Vol.2.
As time has passed since the news was announced, I began to think of what my favorite songs of her are. I honestly leaned more to her early country work that I did the flashy pop stuff of the Physical era. As an artist who had 11 number one songs in her career it’s hard to narrow down a list to just 25. Olivia was the ultimate cross-over artist in the 1970s. She also amassed 11 songs that hit the Top 40 on both the Billboard Pop and Country charts. Billboard named “Physical” the Song of the Decade for the 1980s. Think about that for a moment, think about all of the legendary songs from that decade. “Billie Jean,” “Purple Rain,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” and “Sexual Healing” are just a few of the genre defining songs that ruled the Greed decade.
25. “I’ll Come Runnin’” with Tina Arena
24. “My Old Man’s Got a Gun”
23. “Water Under the Bridge”
22. “Lovin’ You”
21. “Rosewater”
20. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”
19. “It’ll Be Me”
18. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
17. “Just a Little Too Much”
16. “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”
15. “Make a Move on Me”
14. “Physical”
13. “Xanadu”
12. “Lovers”
11. “Jolene”
10. “Suddenly”
9. “Sam”
8. “Let Me Be There”
7. “If Not for You”
6. “Hopelessly Devoted to You”
5. “A Little More Love”
4. “If You Love Me(Let Me Know)”
3. “Have You Never Been Mellow”
2. “I Honestly Love You”
1. “Please Mr. Please”
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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