Sept 30th in Pop History
On this day in…
• 1978 - Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta had their 2nd UK # 1 from the film Grease, with Summer Nights. It spent 7 weeks at the top of the charts.
Okay I’m aware that this entry might be a little bit “bubblegum” for those of you who consider yourselves to be sophisticated rock music aficionados. But it’s okay. I’m secure in my eclectic musical preferences. And even serious rockers need to lighten up sometimes and admit that they maybe secretly kind of enjoy the music from Grease. Your secret is safe here. This blog is a safe space for all. Besides, for many years, I had a major crush on Olivia Newton-John. But I couldn’t get her to return my calls, so I’m over it. But, alas, it’s hard to beat her music…and she and Travolta have great chemistry. So you have to love it.
Summer Nights reached # 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. And as noted above, the song was an even bigger hit in the UK, spending seven weeks at # 1. Combined with an earlier nine-week run with You're the One That I Want, the Travolta-Newton-John duet team spent 16 weeks at # 1 during the Summer of 1978 in the UK. In 2004, the song finished at # 70 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
In 2010, Billboard ranked it No. 9 on their Best Summer Songs of All Time list.
If you’re not familiar with the movie Grease, (and if so, please find it & check out the film) here’s a quick synopsis of the song Summer Nights.
In the movie version of Grease, Travolta and Newton-John played the lead roles of Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson.
The song's back story stems from a summer time love affair between Danny and Sandy, which had ended upon Sandy's revelation that she was moving back to Australia with her family. However, Sandy soon learns that her family is staying in the United States and subsequently enrolls at Rydell High School, where Danny is also a student.
On the other hand, Danny lied to her and claimed to attend Lake Forest Academy, a prestigious real-life private school in Chicago. Sandy's parents' decision to pull her out of Catholic school and put her in public Rydell High exposes Danny’s subterfuge. However, it quickly becomes clear that there are unresolved feelings of love between Danny and Sandy.
Separately and unknown to each other, both Danny and Sandy meet with their respective group of friends and share their perspectives of their summertime fling. Danny, the leader of a greaser gang known as "The T-Birds" brags about the physical aspects of the relationship;
Sandy remarks to the schoolgirl clique "The Pink Ladies" about her emotional attachment to Danny. The resulting conversations are played out through the song.
Enjoy Summer Nights on Spotify: (link below)
Here are…
Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta
And continuing on Sept. 30th…
• 1791 - (Just for fun) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera Magic Flute premiered in Vienna. We couldn’t locate any Billboard reviews yet for that premiere
• 1965 - Donovan made his US television debut on Shindig! along with The Hollies, The Turtles and the Dave Clark Five
Also, on this day in…
• 1995 - Mariah Carey made chart history when she started an 8 week run at # 1 on the US charts with Fantasy
• 2007 - Keith Urban crashed his motorcycle on the way to an AA meeting in Sydney, Australia near his home. The 39-year-old, not injured, said he was being followed by a photographer
