Dame Olivia Newton-John Celebrated with a 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Her Debut Album 'If Not For You'

The 2-CD Deluxe Edition, vinyl, and digital download will be available via Green Hill Productions, a subsidiary of Primary Wave, on September 9.

By: Sep. 09, 2022
Dame Olivia Newton-John Celebrated with a 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Her Debut Album 'If Not For You'
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

The beloved and iconic Dame Olivia Newton-John is celebrated this week with a remastered, 50th anniversary release of her hit debut album, If Not For You, on both vinyl and a 2-CD Deluxe Edition featuring six previously unreleased recordings. With its pre-order topping the Folk genre chart and Top 10 All Genre lists, the album is already reflecting her fans' love of her music.

The 2-CD Deluxe Edition, vinyl, and digital download will be available via Green Hill Productions, a subsidiary of Primary Wave, on September 9. Click here to purchase and stream the new deluxe edition below. (International release dates to follow.)

This special 50th anniversary release of If Not For You has been remastered from the original master tapes and will bring this long out-of-print album back to a new generation with both a 180 gram heavyweight vinyl and a Deluxe Edition CD. The CD features six previously unreleased recordings, a 28-page CD booklet with a special introduction by Olivia, all new liner notes, song lyrics, and photographs from Olivia's personal collection.

Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, Olivia recalled being in the studio with her Irish Setter at her feet. "There was a moment when my dog actually grabbed the mic during a guitar solo in 'If Not For You,'" said Olivia. "We left the sound on the album and it still makes me smile when I hear it."

Newton-John added she was "surprised and extremely grateful that my team knew what they were doing and picked a hit song to launch my career. An interesting aside, my husband John Easterling's favorite song is 'If Not For You.' There are no coincidences in life - for this to be his favorite song??? Of all the songs in the world. Wild!!"

If Not For You, produced and arranged by John Farrar and Bruce Welch, features the hit single "If Not For You" (US #1 AC, #25 Hot 100) written by Bob Dylan. The release also celebrates Olivia's pastoral folk beginnings which developed into the sound of her country music period with her renditions of 12 classics including "Banks of the Ohio," "If You Could Read My Mind" (Gordon Lightfoot) and "Me And Bobby McGee" (Kris Kristofferson).

"This was the album that introduced the masses to Olivia and began to establish her as a bonafide folk/country star in her early career," says Blake Davis, General Manager, Green Hill Productions. "It was also the album where Olivia first forged the iconic working relationship with John Farrar. We're honored to bring this classic album back to her fans to celebrate its 50th anniversary in remastered form."

With the current and ongoing projects and philanthropic endeavors, Olivia's legacy and worldwide popularity is as strong as ever!

Dame Olivia Newton-John's appeal will forever be timeless - a vibrant, creative, and philanthropic individual adored by fans around the globe. With a career spanning over six decades with more than 100 million albums sold, Dame Olivia Newton-John's successes include: four Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, numerous Country Music, American Music, Billboard and People's Choice Awards, ten #1 hits, more than 15 top 10 singles, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and over 32 albums released.

In 1978, her co-starring role with John Travolta in Grease catapulted Olivia into super-stardom, earned her a Golden Globe nomination and, to date the film remains one of the most successful movie musicals of all time. Her other feature film credits include Funny Things Happen Down Under, Toomorrow, Xanadu, Two of A Kind, It's My Party, Sordid Lives, Score: A Hockey Musical, and A Few Best Men.

As one of the world's most beloved musical artists, Billboard Magazine ranks Olivia at #7 of "Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Female Artists," and at #44 as one Billboard's "Greatest Music Acts of All-Time." Her hit "Physical" was also named the "Sexiest Song of All-Time" by Billboard. In 1992, Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Her personal journey with cancer led her to announce the creation of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre (ONJCWRC) in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. In 2014, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, a not-for-profit medical research institute within the Centre was launched.

In December 2019, her Majesty the Queen named Olivia Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to music, cancer research and charity. In November 2020, Olivia and her husband, John Easterling, established the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, an independent charity sponsoring global research into plant medicine for cancer with a specific emphasis on cannabis, which was a vital part of Newton-John's cancer treatment.

These investments in new scientific research will educate patients and their caregivers about kinder options for treating cancer. The charity is committed to realizing a world beyond cancer. For more information visit ONJFoundationFund.org. In February 2021, Olivia and her daughter Chloe reunited for a second single, "Window in the Wall," which debuted at #1 on the iTunes Music Video Chart and the Amazon A/C Chart.

Their 2015 duet, "You Have to Believe," reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, becoming the first mother/daughter duo to top this Billboard chart. Just a few months after the release of "Window in the Wall," Olivia scored another #1 hit on the Amazon A/C chart with "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," a duet with music legend Paul Anka.

2021 also marked the 40th anniversary of her mega-hit, "Physical," which originally spent 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard chart, making it the number one song of the 1980s. The Deluxe Edition CD/DVD of Physical released in October 2021, reached #4 on the Amazon A/C chart and, the vinyl reissue release in June 2022 peaked at #13 on the Billboard vinyl albums chart and went to #52 on the main Billboard 200 Album chart, proving her ongoing popularity.

Listen to the deluxe album here:



Videos