| Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture | ||||
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| Soundtrack by John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John / Various artists | ||||
| Released | 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Pop, Rock and Roll | |||
| Length | 61:14 | |||
| Label | RSO | |||
| Producer | Louis St. Louis John Farrar Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson |
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| Professional reviews | ||||
| Olivia Newton-John chronology | ||||
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Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease. The album's most famous song "You're the One That I Want" was a US and UK #1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Contents |
Background
The album gives credit to the two stars of the film; John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, although they only appear on seven of the 24 tracks. The remainder of the album is sung by various cast members and Sha Na Na - a group who performed many of the 1950s numbers in the film. The title track was recorded by Frankie Valli, who had no other connection with the film.
The most successful songs from the soundtrack were written specifically for the film. They included the Billboard number-one hits "You're the One That I Want", "Grease" and the number-three, Academy Award-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted to You".[1] In the UK, the album proved even more successful where "You're the One That I Want" reached No.1 for nine weeks, "Summer Nights" reached No.1 for seven weeks, while "Grease", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy" all became top three hits.[2][3][4][5] The soundtrack album hit the top of the charts in the U.S. during the summer of 1978, replacing The Rolling Stones' Some Girls. In the UK, it remained at the top of the charts for 13 consecutive weeks.[6]
Some of the backing musicians debuted as Toto after their fame from the soundtrack. They also performed on Olivia Newton-John's album Totally Hot and Physical.
The album sold 28 million copies worldwide.[7]
Track listing
Side one
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Grease" | Barry Gibb | Frankie Valli | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Summer Nights" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 3:35 |
| 3. | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | John Farrar | Olivia Newton-John | 3:04 |
| 4. | "You're the One That I Want" | John Farrar | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 2:48 |
| 5. | "Sandy" | Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon | John Travolta | 2:31 |
Side two
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Beauty School Dropout" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Frankie Avalon | 3:59 |
| 7. | "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Dinah Manoff and Jamie Donnelly | 1:40 |
| 8. | "Greased Lightnin'" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta | 3:13 |
| 9. | "It's Raining on Prom Night" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Cindy Bullens | 2:51 |
| 10. | "Alone at a Drive-in Movie" (instrumental) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 2:24 |
| 11. | "Blue Moon" | Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart | Sha-Na-Na | 2:20 |
Side three
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Rock n' Roll Is Here to Stay" | D. White | Sha-Na-Na | 2:03 |
| 13. | "Those Magic Changes" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Sha-Na-Na | 2:18 |
| 14. | "Hound Dog" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | Sha-Na-Na | 1:24 |
| 15. | "Born to Hand Jive" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Sha-Na-Na | 4:37 |
| 16. | "Tears on My Pillow" | Sylvester Bradford and Al Lewis | Sha-Na-Na | 2:02 |
| 17. | "Mooning" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Louis St. Louis and Cindy Bullens | 4:37 |
Side four
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Freddy, My Love" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Cindy Bullens | 4:37 |
| 19. | "Rock n' Roll Party Queen" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Louis St. Louis | 2:11 |
| 20. | "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Stockard Channing | 2:22 |
| 21. | "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" (reprise) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Olivia Newton-John | 1:28 |
| 22. | "We Go Together" | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 3:00 |
| 23. | "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" (instrumental) | Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster | — | 1:23 |
| 24. | "Grease" (reprise) | Barry Gibb | Frankie Valli | 4:37 |
CD release
The CD of the soundtrack has been released twice in the US. In April 1991 it was released as a single disc replicating the sequence of the original 1978 LP. In September 2003 it was released by Polygram as a 2-CD digitally remastered "Deluxe Edition" containing additional tracks. As with the LP and single-disc CD, the songs are not presented in the order replicating their appearances in the movie.
| Deluxe edition bonus disc | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length | |||||
| 1. | "Grease" (Instrumental version) | Barry Gibb | Gary Brown, saxophone | 3:23 | |||||
| 2. | "Summer Nights" (Sing-a-long version) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 3:34 | |||||
| 3. | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Sing-a-long version) | John Farrar | – | 3:03 | |||||
| 4. | "You're the One I Want" (Sing-a-long version) | John Farrar | – | 2:32 | |||||
| 5. | "Sandy" (Sing-a-long version) | Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon | – | 2:30 | |||||
| 6. | "Greased Lightnin'" (Single version) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta | 3:20 | |||||
| 7. | "Rydell Fight Song" (Previously unreleased instrumental) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 0:20 | |||||
| 8. | "Greased Up and Ready to Go" (Previously unreleased instrumental) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 4:49 | |||||
| 9. | "Grease Megamix" ("You're the One That I Want" /"Greased Lightnin'" /"Summer Nights") | John Farrar / Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 4:48 | |||||
| 10. | "Grease Dream Mix" ("Grease" /"Sandy" /"Hopelessly Devoted to You") | Barry Gibb / Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon / John Farrar | Frankie Valli, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John | 3:45 | |||||
| 11. | "Summer Nights" (Martian remix) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 3:37 | |||||
| 12. | "You're the One That I Want" (Martian remix) | John Farrar | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 3:25 | |||||
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Billboard 200 | 1 | 8x Platinum |
| The UK Albums Chart | 1 | 4x Platinum | |
| Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart | 1 | 11x Platinum | |
| 1991 | |||
| 1998 |
Singles
| Release date | Single title | US | UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1978 | "Grease" | 1 | 3 |
| May 1978 | "You're the One That I Want" | 1 | 1 |
| August 1978 | "Summer Nights" | 5 | 1 |
| September 1978 | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | 3 | 2 |
| September 1978 | "Sandy" | 2 | |
| November 1978 | "Greased Lightnin'" | 47 | 11 |
Musicians
- Drums: Olle Brown, Carlos Vega, Cubby O'Brien Ron Ziegler
- Bass: Mike Porcaro, William David Hungate, Max Bennett, David Allen Ryan, Wm. J. Bodine, Dean Cortez, Harold Cowart
- Guitar: John Farrar, Tim May ("Born to Hand Jive"), Jay Graydon, Lee Ritenour, Dan Sawyer, Bob Rose, Dennis Budimir, Thomas Tedesso, Cliff Morris, Joey Murcia, Peter Frampton ("Grease")
- Keyboards: Louis St. Louis, Greg Mathieson, Mike Land, Lincoln Majorca, Thomas Garvin, Bhen Lanzarone, George Bitzer
- Saxophone: Ray Pizzi ("We Go Together" & "Greased Lightnin'"), Ernie Watts ("There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and "Alone At A Drive-In Movie"), Jerome Richardson, John Kelson, Jr.
- Trumpet: Albert Aarons, Robert Bryant
- Trombone: Lloyd Ulgate
- Percussion: Eddie "Bong" Brown, Larry Bunker, Victor Feldman, Antoine Dearborn
- Harp: Dorothy Remsen, Gayle Levant
- Concertmaster: James Getzoff
- Contractor: Carl Fortina
- Copyist: Bob Borenstein
- Background Vocals: Curt Becher, Paulette K. Brown, Beau Charles, Carol Chase, Kerry Chater, Loren Farber, John Farrar, Venetta Fields, Gerald Garrett, Jim Gilstrap, Mitch Gordon, Jim Haas, Petty Henderson, Ron Kicklin, Diana Lee, John Lehman, Maxayn Lewis, Melissa MacKay, Myrna Matthews, Marti McCall, Gene Merlino, Gene Morford, Lisa Roberts, Sally Stevens, Zedrick Turnbough, Jackie Ward, M. Ann White, Jerry Whitman
Credits
- All selections except "Grease" arranged by: John Farrar, Michael Gibson, Louis St. Louis
- Strings on "Summer Nights" arranged by Bhen Lanzarone
- Horns and Strings on "Greased Lightnin'" and "Born to Hand Jive" arranged by Michael Melvoin
- Recorded at: Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood
United Western Studios, Hollywood
Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood
- Engineered by: David J. Holman, Jay Lewis, Eirik Wangberg, Michael Carneval, Karl Richardson ("Grease")
- All selections except "Grease" mixed and re-mixed by David J. Holman at Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood
- Produced by:
Louis St. Louis
John Farrar
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson ("Grease")
- Album mastered at A&M Records by Bernie Grundman
- Art Direction: Glenn Ross
- Album Design: Tim Bryant/George Corsillo
- Photography: Alan Pappe/Lee Gross Assoc., Inc.
- Background Photos: Ron Slenzak
See also
| Preceded by Some Girls by The Rolling Stones |
Billboard 200 number-one album July 29 - September 15, 1978 September 23 - October 6, 1978 October 14 - November 3, 1978 |
Succeeded by Don't Look Back by Boston |
| Preceded by Bat out of Hell by Meat Loaf |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one album August 14 - October 1, 1978 November 20 - December 3, 1978 June 30 - July 20, 1991 August 16 - August 22, 1998 |
Succeeded by War of the Worlds by Various artists |
| Preceded by Nightflight to Venus by Boney M |
UK Albums Chart number one album 7 October - 30 December 1978 |
Succeeded by Greatest Hits by Showaddywaddy |
References
- ^ Allmusic - US charts
- ^ Chartstats - John Travolta and Olivia Newton John UK charts
- ^ Chartstats - John Travolta UK charts
- ^ Chartstats - "Hopelesssly Devoted to You" UK charts
- ^ Chartstats - "Grease" UK charts (singles)
- ^ Chartstats - Grease UK album charts
- ^ "Those chart busters". Hindustan Times. 2008-12-09. http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=NLetter&id=40e182fc-061c-43d5-832e-ff930aa4a508&Headline=Those+chart+busters. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
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