1971-1977Newton-John released her first solo album, If Not For You, in 1971. The title track, written by Bob Dylan, was her first international hit (No. 25 Pop, No. 1 Adult Contemporary [hereafter AC]). Her follow-up, Banks Of The Ohio, was a Top 10 hit in England and Australia, but faltered in the US (No. 94 Pop, No. 34 AC). She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine Record Mirror. She made frequent appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show, It's Cliff Richard, and starred with him in the telefilm The Case. In the United States, Newton-John's career floundered after If Not For You until the release of Let Me Be There in 1973. The song reached the American Top 10 on the Pop (No. 6), Country (No. 7) and AC (No. 3) charts and earned her a Grammy for Best Country Female. The song also propelled the album Let Me Be There to No. 1 on the Country Albums chart for two weeks.
In 1974, Newton-John switched from the PYE (PRT) label to EMI and released her next album, Long Live Love. She represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with the title track, a song voted for by the British public that she disliked, placing fourth at the contest in Brighton behind ABBA's winning Waterloo. The country success of Let Me Be There led her to release this album with some different, more country-oriented tracks in the United States as If You Love Me, Let Me Know. The title track was the first single reaching No. 5 Pop, No. 2 Country (her best country placement ever) and No. 2 AC. The next single, I Honestly Love You, has become Newton-John's signature song. Written by Jeff Barry and Peter Allen, the ballad became her first No. 1 Pop (two weeks) and second No. 1 AC (three weeks) hit and earned Newton-John two more Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Pop Female. The success of both singles helped the album reach No. 1 on both the Pop (one week) and Country (eight weeks) Albums charts.
Newton-John's country success was reviled by purists who believed a foreigner singing country flavored pop music did not belong in country music. Besides her Grammy for Let Me Be There, Newton-John was also named the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year in 1974 defeating nominees Loretta Lynn, Canadian Anne Murray, Dolly Parton and Tanya Tucker. Newton-John's win outraged many country artists leading to the formation of the short-lived Association of Country Entertainers (ACE). Newton-John was eventually supported by most in the country music community. Stella Parton, Dolly's sister, recorded Ode To Olivia and Newton-John recorded her 1976 album, Don't Stop Believin' (Olivia Newton-John album), in Nashville.
Encouraged by expatriate Australian singer Helen Reddy, Newton-John left England and moved to the United States. Newton-John topped the Pop (one week) and Country (six weeks) Albums charts with her next album, Have You Never Been Mellow. The album generated two singles - the title track (No. 1 Pop, No. 3 Country, No. 1 AC) and Please Mr. Please (No. 3 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). Newton-John's pop career cooled with the release of her next album, Clearly Love. Her streak of five consecutive gold Top 10 singles ended when the album's first single, Something Better To Do, stopped at No. 13 (also No. 19 Country and No. 1 AC). Although her albums still achieved gold status and usually charted in the Top 10 on the Country Albums chart, she did not return to the Top 10 on the Hot 100 or Pop Albums charts again until 1978.
Newton-John's singles continued to easily top the AC chart where she ultimately amassed ten No. 1 singles including seven consecutively - from 1974's I Honestly Love You through 1976's Don't Stop Believin'. She also continued to reach the Country Top 10 where she tallied seven Top 10 hits through 1976's Come On Over (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 Country, No. 1 AC). By mid-1977, Olivia's AC and country success also began to wane. Her Making a Good Thing Better album (No. 34 Pop, No. 13 Country) failed to be certified gold and its only single, the title track, did not even reach the AC Top 10. Although the release that same year of Olivia Newton-John's Greatest Hits became her first platinum album, Newton-John was ready to move her career in new directions.
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