Totally Hot

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Totally Hot
Totally hot.jpg
Studio album by
Olivia Newton-John
Released21 November 1978
RecordedJune–July 1978
Genre
Length39:19
LabelMCA
ProducerJohn Farrar
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits
(1977) 		Totally Hot
(1978) 		Xanadu
(1980)
Singles from Totally Hot
  1. "A Little More Love"
    Released: 27 October 1978[1]
  2. "Deeper Than the Night"
    Released: April 1979
  3. "Totally Hot"
    Released: 1979

Totally Hot is Olivia Newton-John's ninth US and tenth international studio album. Released in November 1978, it became her first solo Top 10 (No. 7) album since 1975's Have You Never Been Mellow. Dressed on the album cover all in leather, Newton-John's transformation was seen to mirror her character Sandy's transformation in Grease. The album became the most successful albums of the singer at the time, her first to become platinum in United States.

Background and production[]

In 1978, Newton-John's career soared after she starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease in 1978. She was offered the lead role of Sandy after meeting producer Allan Carr at a dinner party at Helen Reddy's home.[2] The movie became the biggest box-office hit of 1978,[3] and the soundtrack album which the former two songs were written and composed by her long-time music producer, John Farrar, specifically for the film,[4] yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John,[5] and became one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time.[6]

Newton-John's transformation in Grease from goody-goody "Sandy 1" to spandex-clad "Sandy 2" emboldened Newton-John to do the same with her music career. In November 1978, she released her next studio album, Totally Hot. She released three singles for the album promotion, the "Totally Hot" single was remixed for commercial release, adding an instrumental bridge that lengthened the song by over thirty seconds from the original album track. As well, "Deeper Than the Night" was remixed to 4:56 and released in Europe on a 12" disco single format. Newton-John filmed promotional videos for all three singles and wrote two of the album's tracks, "Borrowed Time" and "Talk to Me".

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[7]
Stereo Review(favourable)[8]

The album received favourable reviews from music critics. Joe Viglione from AllMusic website gave the album four out of five stars and wrote that the album "is one of the most fun albums from Olivia Newton John". He also said that "[the album] is one of her most satisfying projects" and "one of the more consistently entertaining albums in the collection."

Commercial performance[]

The album's singles "A Little More Love" (No. 3 Pop, No. 94 Country, No. 4 AC), "Deeper Than the Night" (No. 11 Pop, No. 87 Country, No. 4 AC), and the title track (No. 52 Pop) all demonstrated a more aggressive and uptempo sound for Newton-John.[9]

Although the album de-emphasised Newton-John's country sound, it still reached No. 4 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Newton-John released the B-side, "Dancin' 'Round and 'Round" from the "Totally Hot" single to Country radio—the first time since her 1975 single, "Let It Shine/He Ain't Heavy ... He's My Brother", that Newton-John worked both sides of a single to different radio formats. "Dancin' 'Round and 'Round" peaked at No. 29 on the Country chart[10] and is her last-charted solo Country airplay single to date.[11] (The song also charted at No. 82 on the Pop chart and No. 25 on the AC chart after Totally Hot completed its chart run.)

The album was certified Platinum in the United States[12] and the single, "A Little More Love", was certified gold.[13] The album only reached No. 30 in the UK (where it was also released as a limited edition picture disc) but it was certified Gold[14] and the single "A Little More Love" reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart (itself certified Silver), and also became a Number One single in Israel. The album was a Top 10 success in Australia, Canada and Japan (although none of its singles charted in Japan). The album was re-released in Japan during 2010 featuring two bonus tracks: an extended version of "Totally Hot" and "Love Is Alive" from her 1981 live album, Love Performance.

Track listing[]

Side one

  1. "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting" – 5:51 (Joe Falsia, Stephen Sinclair)
  2. "Dancin' 'Round and 'Round" – 4:02 (Adam Mitchell)
  3. "Talk to Me" – 3:31 (Olivia Newton-John)
  4. "Deeper Than the Night" – 3:39 (Tom Snow, Johnny Vastano)
  5. "Borrowed Time" – 3:38 (Newton-John)

Side two

  1. "A Little More Love" – 3:29 (John Farrar)
  2. "Never Enough" – 4:13 (Farrar, Trevor Spencer, Alan Tarney)
  3. "Totally Hot" – 3:14 (Farrar)
  4. "Boats Against the Current" – 4:00 (Eric Carmen)
  5. "Gimme Some Lovin'" – 4:15 (Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood, Steve Winwood)

2010 Japanese SHM-CD bonus tracks

  2. "Love Is Alive" (Live in Osaka, Japan, December 1976) – 3:04
  3. "Totally Hot" (extended version) – 5:20

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Production

  • John Farrar – producer
  • David J. Holman – engineer and mixing
  • Michael Carnavale – second engineer
  • Terry Becker – second engineer
  • Betsy Banghart – second engineer
  • Bart Johnson – second engineer
  • Ron Garrett – second engineer
  • George Tutko – second engineer
  • Bob Mockler – second engineer
  • Recorded at Cherokee Studios, Hollywood Sound Recorders and Group IV Recording Studios in Hollywood, California.
  • Mixed at Indigo Ranch in Malibu, California.
  • Mastered by Allen Zentz at Allen Zentz Mastering in Hollywood, California.

Design

  • Ria Lewerke – art direction and design
  • Claude Mougin – photography
  • Fleur Thiemeyer – costume design

Business

  • MCA Records – record label, US copyright owner (1978)
  • EMI Records – record label, UK copyright owner (1978)
  • Interfusion Records – record label, Australian copyright owner (1978)

Charts[]

Certifications and sales[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Platinum 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[27] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[29] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles[]

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released
Title Year Peak chart positions
AUS BEL CAN GER NL NZ UK US Hot 100 US AC US Country
"A Little More Love" 1978 9 4 2 34 4 7 4 3 4 94
"Deeper Than the Night" 1979 74 30 18 – – – 64 11 4 87
"Totally Hot" – 16 92 – 46 – – 52 – –

References[]

  1. ^ "Olivia Newton-John - A Little More Love / Borrowed Time". 45cat. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  2. ^ Windeler, Robert (31 July 1978). "Ohh Sandy! – Olivia Newton-John". People. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  3. ^ "IMDb Top Box Office". IMDb.
  4. ^ "'Grease' at 40: Olivia Newton-John, Frankie Valli & John Farrar Reflect on the Blockbuster Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Grease (Musical) Songs". StageAgent. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  6. ^ "The 15 best-selling movie soundtracks of all time". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  7. ^ AllMusic review: Totally Hot Allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  8. ^ Olivia Newton John: Totally Hot. Stereo Review. March 1979.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Michael (1997). All music guide to country: the . ISBN 9780879304751. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country . ISBN 9780823082919. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  11. ^ "An Olivia Newton-John Retrospective, Part Six: 1978". Country Universe. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  12. ^ "American album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". Recording Industry Association of America.
  13. ^ "American single certifications – Olivia Newton-John – A Little More Love". Recording Industry Association of America.
  14. ^ "British album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Type Totally Hot in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0124a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Charts.nz – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Olivia Newton-John | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Olivia Newton-John Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  24. ^ "1979 Year-End Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 19 August 2021. Check |archive-url= value (help)
  25. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1979". Billboard. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". Music Canada.
  27. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 14 April 2019. Enter Totally Hot in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  28. ^ "British album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Totally Hot in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  29. ^ "American album certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Totally Hot". Recording Industry Association of America.
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