Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

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Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by John Travolta / Olivia Newton-John / Various artists
Released April 1978[1]
Recorded 1977
Genre Disco, pop, soft rock, rock and roll
Length 61:14
Label RSO, Polydor
Producer Louis St. Louis
John Farrar
Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits
(1977)		 Grease
(1978)		 Totally Hot
(1978)

Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease released by Polydor Records. The song "You're the One That I Want" was a US and UK #1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. To date, it has sold over 28 million copies worldwide, becoming the sixth best-selling soundtrack album of all time.[2]

Contents

[edit] Background

The soundtrack was released in April 1978, two months ahead of the film's release.[1] The cover gives credit to, and prominently features, 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".[3] 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.[4][5][6][7] 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.[8]

Two of the bass players who recorded on the Grease soundtrack were (at different times) members of Toto. One of these, David Hungate, also performed on Olivia Newton-John's album Totally Hot with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. Other musicians here have previously worked with Elton John, Steely Dan, Bee Gees and others.

The album sold 28 million copies worldwide.[2]

[edit] Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars[9]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic rated the soundtrack four-and-a-half stars. He stated that "the originals hold up better than the '50s tunes", but that they "are so giddily enjoyable" "that everything works." He also said that "the sleek pop production the movie's soundtrack boasts and the cast's enthusiastic performances go a long way in making this Grease the definitive Grease."[9]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

No. 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

[edit] Side two

No. 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 the Drive-in Movie" (instrumental) Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey -- 2:24
11. "Blue Moon"   Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart Sha-Na-Na 2:18

[edit] Side three

No. 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

[edit] Side four

No. 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

[edit] 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
No. 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

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Charts
Year Chart Position
1978 Billboard 200 1
UK Albums Chart 1[10]
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart 1
1991
1998
Certifications
Region Certification
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Platinum
United States (RIAA)[12] 8× Platinum

[edit] 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[13]
November 1978 "Greased Lightnin'" 47 11[13]

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Credits

  • 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
  • Art direction: Glenn Ross
  • Album design: Tim Bryant/George Corsillo
  • Photography: Alan Pappe/Lee Gross Assoc., Inc.
  • Background photos: Ron Slenzak

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Fong-Torres, Ben (October 5, 1978). "Al Coury Owns Number One". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.) (275): 40. 
  2. ^ a b "Those chart busters". The 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. 
  3. ^ Allmusic - US charts
  4. ^ Chartstats - John Travolta and Olivia Newton John UK charts
  5. ^ Chartstats - John Travolta UK charts
  6. ^ Chartstats - "Hopelesssly Devoted to You" UK charts
  7. ^ Chartstats - "Grease" UK charts (singles)
  8. ^ Chartstats - Grease UK album charts
  9. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture at Allmusic
  10. ^ "Number 1 Albums – 1970s". The Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080209095720/http://www.theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_albums.php?show=3. Retrieved 24 June 2011. 
  11. ^ "British album certifications – Original Soundtrack – Grease - OST". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Grease - OST in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Grease". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Grease%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  13. ^ a b "Chart Stats - John Travolta". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=3011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
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
Olivia Newton-John
Studio albums
Compilations
Live albums
Soundtracks
Box sets
Video compilations
Live releases
Concerts tours
Filmography
Funny Things Happen Down Under  • Toomorrow  • Grease  • Xanadu  • Two of a Kind  • A Mom for Christmas  • A Christmas Romance  • It's My Party  • Sordid Lives  • The Wilde Girls  • Sordid Lives: The Series  • 1 a Minute  • Score: A Hockey Musical  • A Few Best Men
Related articles
Andy Williams' Greatest Hits (Andy Williams, 1970) · Electric Warrior (T. Rex, 1971) · 20 All Time Hits of the 50s (Various artists, 1972) · Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John, 1973) · Elton John's Greatest Hits (Elton John, 1974) · A Night at the Opera (Queen, 1975) · Glen Campbell's Twenty Golden Greats (Glen Campbell, 1976) · Disco Fever (Various artists, 1977) · Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (Original Soundtrack, 1978) · Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (Rod Stewart, 1979)
Complete list · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s · 2010s
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