Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture



Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease. It was originally released by RSO Records. The song "You're the One That I Want" was a US and UK #1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. It sold 28 million copies worldwide.

Besides performers John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, the album also featured songs by rock n roll revival group Sha Na Na as well as the hit song "Grease", a tune written by Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees) and sung by Frankie Valli (of The Four Seasons) that was an additional U.S. number one.

Background
The soundtrack was released in April 14, 1978, two months ahead of the film's release. 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 "Grease", "You're the One That I Want" and the number-three, Academy Award-nominated "Hopelessly Devoted to You". In the UK, the album proved even more successful where "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights" reached No.1 for nine and seven weeks respectively, while "Grease", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy" all became top three hits. 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. As of 2011, "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights" are still among the 20 best-selling singles of all time in the UK (at Nos.6 and 19 respectively).

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 has sold over 6 million copies in the US in the SoundScan era (beginning 1991) in addition to the 8 million shipped in the years 1978-1984.

Reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively 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."

CD release
The CD of the soundtrack has been released twice in the US. In April 1991 it was released through Polydor Records as a single disc replicating the sequence of the original 1978 RSO 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.

Chart positions

 * Album


 * Singles

Sales and certifications
!scope="row"| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)
 * Platinum
 * 20,000*

Vocalists

 * Olivia Newton-John – vocals
 * John Travolta – vocals
 * Frankie Valli – vocals ("Grease")
 * Barry Gibb – vocals ("Grease")
 * Frankie Avalon - vocals ("Beauty School Drop Out")
 * Background vocals: Curt Becher, Paulette K. Brown, Cidny Bullens, Beau Charles, Carol Chase, Kerry Chater, Loren Farber, John Farrar, Venetta Fields, Gerald Garrett, Jim Gilstrap, Mitch Gordon, Jim Haas, Patty Henderson, Ron Hicklin, Diana Lee, John Lehman, Maxayn Lewis, Melissa MacKay, Myrna Matthews, Marti McCall, Gene Merlino, Gene Morford, Lisa Roberts, Sally Stevens, Zedrick Turnbough, Jackie Ward, M. Ann White, Jerry Whitman

Musicians

 * Drums: Ollie Brown, Carlos Vega, Cubby O'Brien, Ron Ziegler
 * Bass: Mike Porcaro, David Hungate, Max Bennett, David Allen Ryan, Wm. J. Bodine, Dean Cortez, Harold Cowart
 * Guitar: John Farrar, Tim May ("Born to Hand Jive"), Jay Graydon, Lee Ritenour, Dan Sawyer, Bob Rose, Dennis Budimir, Thomas Tedesco, Cliff Morris, Joey Murcia, Peter Frampton ("Grease")
 * Keyboards: Louis St. Louis, Greg Mathieson, Mike Land, Lincoln Majorca, Thomas Garvin, Ben Lanzarone, George Bitzer
 * Saxophone: Ray Pizzi ("We Go Together" & "Greased Lightnin'"), Ernie Watts ("There Are Worse Things I Could Do" and "Alone At A Drive-In Movie"), Jerome Richardson, John Kelson, Jr.
 * Trumpet: Albert Aarons, Robert Bryant
 * Trombone: Lloyd Ulyate
 * Percussion: Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Larry Bunker, Victor Feldman, Antoine Dearborn
 * Harp: Dorothy Remsen, Gayle Levant
 * Concertmaster: James Getzoff
 * Contractor: Carl Fortina
 * Copyist: Bob Borenstein

Production
United Western Studios, Hollywood Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood
 * All selections except "Grease" arranged by: John Farrar, Michael Gibson, Louis St. Louis
 * Strings on "Summer Nights" arranged by Ben Lanzarone
 * Horns and Strings on "Greased Lightnin'" and "Born to Hand Jive" arranged by Michael Melvoin
 * Karl Richardson – engineer ("Grease")
 * Recorded at: Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood
 * Engineered by: David J. Holman, Jay Lewis, EirBilly Joel Wangberg, Michael Carneval, Karl Richardson ("Grease")
 * All selections mixed and re-mixed by David J. Holman at Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood [Except "Grease"]
 * Produced by: Louis St. Louis and John Farrar; Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson ("Grease")
 * Album mastered at A&M Records by Bernie Grundman
 * Art direction: Glenn Ross
 * Album design: Tim Bryant/George Corsillo
 * Photography: Alan Pappe/Lee Gross Assoc., Inc.
 * Background photos: Ron Slenzak