''Let Me Be There'' is the third studio album by British-Australian 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 ...

. It was originally released in November 1973 as ''Music Makes My Day'' in the United Kingdom, by

Pye International Records Pye International Records was a record label founded in 1958, as a subsidiary of Pye Records. The company distributed many American labels in the UK, including Chess, Kama Sutra, Buddah, Colpix and King. (There was also an American label of th ...

, and shortly after in Australia as ''Let Me Be There'', which became its most recognisable name. In the United States and Canada, ''Let Me Be There'' was released with an alternative tracklist, combining songs from the original release with other tracks from Newton-John's previous albums ''

If Not for You "If Not for You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his October 1970 album ''New Morning''. It was also issued as the A-side of a single in Europe in early 1971. The song is a love song to Dylan's first wife, Sara Dylan. He ...

'' and ''

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 1974 ...

''. ''Let Me Be There'' marked a shift in Newton-John's career. She achieved considerable success during her early years in the United Kingdom with some

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

-inspired singles, but ''Let Me Be There'' would make the United States her largest market at the time, being considered her breakthrough album in this country and influencing an inclination to a more

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

sound that would define most of her next records in the 1970s. The songs "

Take Me Home, Country Roads "Take Me Home, Country Roads", also known simply as "Country Roads", is a song written by Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert and John Denver about West Virginia. It was released as a single performed by Denver on April 12, 1971, peaking at number two o ...

" and "

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 fir ...

" were released as singles from the album.

Release

The American publication of the album by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

used the cover art from Olivia's 1972 LP record ''

'', which was not released by MCA. Some of its songs were taken for the US publication, such as song titles from the British publications of the albums ''

'' and ''

''. Though the title song was a commercial failure in England, it was Olivia Newton-John's first American top ten hit, successfully boosting her singing career in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. She had previously charted in the ''Billboard'' Top 40 with the song "

". The LP sold 89,130 copies in Japan.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Joe Viglione wrote in his retrospective review: "It's early Newton-John, a bit naïve and far from the sophistication of her '' Warm and Tender'' release on Geffen, but it works, especially because it contains her first two hit records."

Chart performance

The album was released to capitalise on the success of its title track that had earned Newton-John a Grammy for Best Country Female. The album was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in 1974, and it peaked at No. 54 on the US Pop chart and at No. 1 (for two weeks) on the Country chart.

Track listing

All songs produced by

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 ...

and

Bruce Welch Bruce Welch (born 2 November 1941 as Bruce Cripps) is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer, singer and businessman best known as a founding member of the Shadows. Biography Welch's parents (Stan Cripps and Grace Welch) moved him to 15 B ...

''Music Makes My Day''

''Let Me Be There''

In the United States, the album was released with artwork from her 1972 ''Olivia'' album and some different songs from this and some earlier Newton-John albums.

Personnel

Performers and musicians *Brian Bennett – drums *

Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many others. Britten (along w ...

– guitar *Vicki Brown – background vocalist *

Pat Carroll Patricia Ann Carroll (May 5, 1927 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress and comedian. She was known for voicing Ursula in ''The Little Mermaid'' and for appearances in CBS's ''The Danny Thomas Show'', ABC's ''Laverne & Shirley'', and NBC' ...

– background vocalist *

– arranger, background vocalist, instruments, producer *Mo Foster – bass *Cliff Hall – piano *Jean Hawker – background vocalist *

Alan Hawkshaw William Alan Hawkshaw (27 March 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a British composer and performer, particularly of library music used as themes for movies and television programs. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company ...

– arranger, piano *Dave Macrae – piano *Margo Newman – background vocalist *Olivia Newton-John – vocalist *Kevin Peek – guitar *Mike Sammes – background vocalist *Trevor Spencer – drums *Alan Tarney – background vocalist, bass *

– guitar, producer *Mark Warner – guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1973 albums Olivia Newton-John albums Albums produced by Bruce Welch Albums produced by John Farrar hu:Let Me Be There