''A Celebration in Song'' is the twenty-third and final solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by British-Australian pop singer

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

, released on 3 June 2008 by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in Australia. The worldwide release of the album was by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, on 2 September 2008. It is her second duets album, following '' (2)'', released in 2002 by Festival Mushroom. On 25 January 2011, the album was re-released by Spring Hill with a new cover.

Background

The album was released in conjunction with Newton-John's walk to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

which, together with this album, raised funds for the future The Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The songs "Never Far Away" (with

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

) and "Sunburned Country" (with

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

) originally belong to Newton-John's 2002 duets album, ''(2)''. The song "Beautiful Thing" was taken from

Belinda Emmett Belinda Jane Emmett (12 April 1974 – 11 November 2006) was an Australian actress and singer. She was best known for her roles in the TV drama series '' Home and Away'' and '' All Saints'' as well as the sitcom '' Hey Dad..!''. She was married ...

's album ''So I Am'' and the track is "dedicated with love" to her.

Track listing

Notes * denotes a co-producer * denotes an arranger

Personnel

Performers and musicians * Olivia Newton-John – vocals * Andy Downer – keyboards (1) *

Amy Sky Amy Sky (born 24 September 1960) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, theatre actress, and television host. Sky started classical music lessons at the age of five, and plays piano, guitar, cello and recorder. She has a degree from t ...

– keyboards (1, 6, 11), acoustic piano (11), vocals (11) * Greg Johnston – programming (1, 2, 10), guitars (1, 2, 10), bass guitar (1, 2, 10) * Tony Harrell –

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

(3) * Doug Emery – keyboards (4) * Hal Roland – keyboards (4) * Dane Bryant – keyboards (5) * Gary Prim – keyboards (5) * Anthony Vanderburgh – keyboards (5) * Attila Fias – keyboards (6) *

– keyboards (7), programming (7), vocals (7) *

Steve Nathan Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios. Biography Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring wit ...

– organ (8) *

John Farrar John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Stra ...

– keyboards (9), guitars (9), vocals (9) * Peter Wolf – additional programming (9) * Gordon Kennedy – electric guitar (3) * Mark Punch – acoustic guitar (3) * Steve Gibb – guitars (4) * Michael Severs – electric guitar (5) * Fred Knobloch – acoustic guitar (5) *

Bruce Bouton Bruce Bouton is an American guitarist, session musician, producer, and songwriter. His pedal steel guitar has been featured on many country music recordings, and he helped reintroduce the pedal steel guitar to the forefront of the Nashville sound ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

(5) * Bill Bell – guitars (6), bass guitar (6) *

– guitars (8), vocals (8) * Mike Bukovik – guitars (8) *

Jimmie Lee Sloas Jimmie Lee Sloas is an American session musician, producer, and songwriter, who plays bass guitar. History Jimmie Lee Sloas, born in Ashland, Kentucky, grew up in Fairborn, Ohio and Isonville, Kentucky. His father, Dave, was a member of the p ...

– bass guitar (3, 5) * Alison Prestwood – bass guitar (8) * Mark Kelso – drums (1, 6) * Dave Sanders – drums (1) * Steve Brewster – drums (3) * Lee Levin – drums (4) *

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

– drums (5) *

Chris McHugh Chris McHugh (born 1964) is an American musician. He began his career as the drummer of Christian rock band White Heart from 1986 to 1989. He also worked in the recording of several of their later albums. Chris McHugh is on the Nashville "A" li ...

– drums (8) * Ian Cooper – strings (3) *

Jonathan Yudkin Jonathan Yudkin is an American multi-instrumentalist who is a proficient player of banjo, violin, mandolin, and other stringed instruments. He is a Nashville-based session musician, record producer, arranger, and band leader. Biography Growin ...

–

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

(5), cello (5) * Amy Laing – cello (11) *

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem AM (born November 9, 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Goodrem signed to Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut album, '' Innocent Eyes'' (2003), topped the ARIA Albums Chart for 29 non-consecutive week ...

– vocals (1) *

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

– vocals (2) *

RyanDan RyanDan (born December 5, 1979) is a Canadian musical, songwriting and producing duo, consisting of identical twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, whose music is a mix of pop music, pop, opera, and classical music, classical. They were originally part ...

– harmony vocals (2), vocals (11) *

Melinda Schneider Melinda Schneider (born Melinda-Jane Bean; 7 October 1971) is an Australian country music singer and songwriter and radio host. Schneider has been performing since she was three and sang with her mother, the renowned yodelling country artist Mar ...

– vocals (3) *

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

– vocals (4) *

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

– vocals (5) *

Sun Ho Reverend Ho Yeow Sun (), better known as Sun Ho, is a Singaporean Christian pastor and co-founder of City Harvest Church, and former Mandopop singer. Early life Ho studied at Anglican High School and Victoria Junior College. Born in Singap ...

– vocals (6) * Martin Landin Chapman – backing vocals (8) * Steve Real – backing vocals (8) *

Jann Arden Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She is famous for her signature ballads, "Could I Be Your Girl" and "Insensitive (song), Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date. Ea ...

– vocals (10) *

– vocals (12) Technical * Amy Sky – executive producer * Greg Johnston – recording (1, 2, 10) * Victor Florencia – mixing (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10), recording (4) * Sam Hannan – recording (1, 6) * Mark Kelso – recording (1, 6) * James Freeman – additional recording (3, 11), overdubbing (5), mixing (5) * Ethan Carlson – recording assistant (2), recording (4), mixing (4) * Steve Marcantonio – recording (5) * Bill Bell – recording (6) * Serge Tsai – recording (6, 10) * Justin Niebank – engineer (8) * Elvis Aponte – recording assistant (6, 10) * Alonzo Vargas – recording assistant (6, 10) * Todd Gunnerson – assistant engineer (8) * Noah Passovay – vocal engineer (9) * Andy Hunt – recording (10) * John Bailey – recording (11), mixing (11) * Chuck Turner – mixing (6) * Cory Barnes – Pro Tools editing (1, 2, 6, 11) * Joao Carvalho – mastering * Kelly David Smith – design * Michael Caprio – cover design * Juli Balla – cover photography * David Anderson – photography * Chad Allen Smith – reissue design, reissue photography

Concert

The ''Olivia Newton-John and Friends: Gala Fundraising Concert'' was a one-night only concert based in the album. The concert was held at the State Theatre in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 30 September 2008 to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre Appeal.

Songs performed

I Say a Little Prayer "I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick, originally peaking at number four on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop singles chart in December 1967. On the R&B Singles chart it peaked at number ...

" (

Paulini Pauline Curuenavuli (born 15 October 1982), known professionally as Paulini, is a Fijian-Australian singer and songwriter. Born in Suva, Paulini moved to Sydney with her family at the age of four. She rose to fame in 2003 as a contestant on the ...

) *"Calling You" (Katy Cebrano) *"

A Song for You "A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album '' Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understandin ...

" (Katy Cebrano) *"All Come Together" (

Johnny Diesel Mark Denis Lizotte (born 31 May 1966) is an American-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who has released material under the name Diesel, Johnny Diesel, as leader of band Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, and as a solo performer, as we ...

) *"

My Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On" is a 1997 song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song serves as the main theme to James Cameron's blockbuster film ''Titanic'', based on an account of the transatlantic ocean liner of the same name which san ...

" (

Trisha Crowe Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia. Notable people and characters with the name include: People *Trisha (actress) Trisha Krishnan (born 4 May 1983), known mononymously as Trisha, i ...

) *" Someone to Watch Over Me" (

Lucy Durack Lucy Durack (born 17 November 1982) is an Australian actress, singer and television personality who played Glinda in the Australian production of '' Wicked'', and Elle Woods in the Australian production of '' Legally Blonde: The Musical''. She s ...

) *" Sunshine on a Rainy Day" ( Christine Anu) *" My Island Home" (Christine Anu) *"

Blow Up the Pokies "Blow Up the Pokies" is a song by Australian band, The Whitlams, released in May 2000 as the second single from their fourth studio album, ''Love This City'', it peaked at number 21 on the ARIA Singles Chart. In January 2018, as part of Triple M' ...

" (

Tim Freedman Timothy James Freedman (25 November 1964) is an Australian musician, best known as the mainstay lead singer and keyboardist of the Australian band The Whitlams formed in 1993. Note: n-lineversion was expanded from the 2002 edition. The song ...

) *"

Run to Paradise "Run to Paradise" is a song by Australian hard rock group The Choirboys which reached No. 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in December 1987. The related '' Big Bad Noise'' album peaked at No. 5, and was the twenty-fi ...

" (

Mark Gable Mark Dixon Kitchen (born 8 September 1950), known professionally as Mark Gable, is an Australian musician who serves as the frontman and a founding member of the rock band The Choirboys. The band was formed in Sydney in 1979. Mark was born in ...

) *"

Reminiscing "Reminiscing" is a song by Australian soft rock music group Little River Band, released in June 1978 as the second single from their fourth studio album ''Sleeper Catcher''. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Graeham Goble, and sung ...

" ( Carl Riseley) *"Memphis medley" (

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter who was the winner of the first '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, judge on Australia's ''The X Factor'' from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach ...

) *"

Tucker's Daughter "Tucker's Daughter" is the debut single by Australian rock singer and guitarist, Ian Moss. It was released in November 1988 almost five years after his group, Cold Chisel, had disbanded for the first time. It is co-written by Moss and Don Walke ...

" (

Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorde ...

) *" Perfect" (

Vanessa Amorosi Vanessa Joy AmorosiSharon Verghis"Back on track" ''The Sun-Herald'', 18 October 2009, Archived fro''the original''on 6 March 2016. (born 8 August 1981) is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales ...

) *"

The Horses "The Horses" is a song written by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker. It was originally performed by Jones on her 1989 album, ''Flying Cowboys''. While not released as a single, the original version did appear in the 1996 film ''Jerry Maguire'' a ...

" (

Daryl Braithwaite Daryl Braithwaite (born 11 January 1949) is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet (1970–1984 and many subsequent reunions). Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including t ...

) *" Reckless" (

James Reyne James Michael Nugent Reyne OAM (born 19 May 1957) is an Australian rock musician and singer-songwriter both in solo work and, until 1986, with the band Australian Crawl. Biography Early years Reyne was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father, Ro ...

) *" Hopelessly Devoted to You" (Chantelle Delaney) *"

Let Me Be There "Let Me Be There" is a popular song written by John Rostill. It was first recorded by Olivia Newton-John and released in September 1973 as the second single from her studio album of the same name. The country-influenced song was Newton-John's fi ...

" (with Chantelle Delaney) *"Tenterfield Saddler" (with Todd McKenney) *" Summer Nights" (with Guy Sebastian) *"Pearls on a Chain" *"Courageous" (with

) *"

I Honestly Love You "I Honestly Love You" is a song recorded by Olivia Newton-John released in 1974 on the album '' Long Live Love'' in United Kingdom and ''If You Love Me, Let Me Know'' in the United States. The song became a worldwide pop hit, her first number ...

" *"

You're the One That I Want "You're the One That I Want" is a song performed by American actor and singer John Travolta and Anglo-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 film version of the musical '' Grease''. It was written and produc ...

" (Mark Gable and Melinda Schneider)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celebration in Song 2008 albums Olivia Newton-John albums Vocal duet albums Christmas albums by Australian artists