(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
Olivia Newton-John - "I Honestly Love You"
Hit Number 1: October 5, 1974
Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks
Jeff Barry was not a name I expected to see in this blog again, but here we are. Barry was one of the most successful songwriters in the first half of the '60s, and he scored big with the girl groups of those days, even hitting #1 with songs like "Chapel of Love" and "Leader of the Pack". I really couldn't tell you what the hell happened to him in the later part of the decade, but right before the '60s ended he came into relevancy again when he co-wrote "Sugar, Sugar" with Andy Kim (an artist who literally just appeared in this blog), and then in 1974 when he co-wrote "I Honestly Love You" with Australian songwriter Peter Allen. The two thought at first that the song would work for a male singer, and one of the two recorded it for themselves as a demo. However, that demo would later find its way to one of the world's most beloved female entertainers at that time: Olivia Newton-John.
Newton-John already released four albums in the U.S. before releasing If You Love Me, Let Me Know, the album that would have "I Honestly Love You" on it. None of those four albums were commercially successful in the U.S. though, and it looked for a bit that she would only be a star in her native land of Australia. But we know now that that's not how this would play out at all. When Newton-John heard the demo tape of "I Honestly Love You" that Barry and Allen recorded, she loved it. She'd say years later in an interview that her "heart stopped" when she first heard the lyrics. She said "Just putting the word 'honestly' into the mix made it even more poignant. No lies. No denying it. I honestly love you." She had the voice and she definitely had the looks to make it into the entertainment industry, but she still needed that first big hit in America to really get people to know her name.
Allen wasn't so sure at first that he wanted to just give his song away to Newton-John, but Barry convinced him that it might be a good idea to let a rising superstar like Newton-John record it. Barry also said that the song could actually work better being sung by a woman rather than a man. Barry's personal career was going to draw to a close before too long, but Allen, like Newton-John, was just getting his feet wet in the American music industry. Allen agreed to let Olivia record the song instead, and he not only has her to thank for the song's success but especially Barry. "I Honestly Love You" blew up, hitting #1 and launching Newton-John into super-stardom. And Allen's songwriting career would take off as well. (We'll see him in this blog again) Really, both Newton-John and Allen should be thanking Barry here. He'd been around music for years, and he knew a thing or two about what it took to be successful.
On the surface of "I Honestly Love You", the song doesn't appear to be anything too special. It's a sappy ballad about loving someone who isn't the one you're married to. The narrator is in this difficult spot of having serious feelings towards someone they shouldn't, but they think the best thing to do is confess their love to them. It's not the most sincere plot to a song, but Newton-John makes it seem that way. And I've gotta say, she makes it work. We all know that I'm not usually a big fan of these slow ballads, but if you've read these posts long enough you'd know that there are a few exceptions out there, and I think "I Honestly Love You" is in that boat. That's all because of Newton-John; she sings the song with an easy pureness, and it's soothing to listen to. She never reaches for any big notes or tries to show off. (A problem that will only get bigger and bigger as the years roll on) She just sings the song, and she sings it extremely well. There's a quiet piano riff, sparse strings and no percussion. It's all Newton-John here, but the song is still beautifully crafted. I can't deny that.
With the help of "I Honestly Love You", the album If You Love Me, Let Me Know was able to spawn another hit, with that one being the title track. (That song made it to #5. It's an 8) But this was just the start for Newton-John, and given her accomplishments from the rest of her career, hardly anyone thinks of anything on If You Love Me, Let Me Know if she were to come up in conversation. That doesn't mean the album was bad, that just means if you star alongside John Travolta in the legendary box office smash Grease that you're likely to be remembered more for that than anything else. But we'll discuss more of that later. Just like Newton-John will again, the Grease soundtrack will show up in this series down the line.
GRADE: 6/10
10 ALERT!!!:
Lynyrd Skynyrd's southern rock masterpiece "Sweet Home Alabama" peaked at #9 behind "I Honestly Love You". It's where the skies are blue and the governor's true. It's a 10.
IN POP CULTURE:
The obvious thing to put here is a scene in Jaws where "I Honestly Love You" is playing on a radio before a kid gets killed by the shark. But I'm going to put something here that's less violent. There are countless cover versions of "I Honestly Love You" out there, but we'll go with this one time Glen Campbell sang it for one of his shows.
(As you might have already guessed, Glen Campbell will eventually appear in this blog)
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