Physical (Olivia Newton-John song)
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"Physical" is a song recorded 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 ...
for her 1981 eleventh studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
on 28 September 1981. The song was 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 written by
Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...
and Terry Shaddick, who had originally intended to offer it to Rod Stewart. The song had also been offered to
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
by her manager Roger Davies, but when Turner declined, Davies gave the song to Newton-John, another of his clients. "Physical" was an immediate smash hit, shipping two million copies in the United States, where it was certified
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...
(RIAA), and spent 10 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Physical" ultimately became Newton-John's biggest hit and cemented her legacy as a pop superstar, a journey that began when she crossed over from her earlier
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 ...
roots. The song's suggestive lyric, which even caused it to be banned in some markets, helped change Newton-John's longstanding clean-cut image, replacing it with a sexy, assertive persona that was strengthened with follow-up hits such as "
Make a Move on Me "Make a Move on Me" is a song recorded by singer Olivia Newton-John for her eleventh studio album. ''Physical'' (1981). It was written by John Farrar and Tom Snow, and produced by the former. The follow-up single to the number-one hit "Physical ...
", " Twist of Fate" and "
Soul Kiss ''Soul Kiss'' is the twelfth studio album by English-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 25 October 1985 by Mercury Records in Europe, by Festival Records in Australia, and by MCA Records in the United States. It reached  11 ...
".


Background and recording

"Physical" (originally "Let's Get Physical") was written by Terry Shaddick and Newton-John's longtime friend
Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...
, and initially was intended for a "macho male rock figure like Rod Stewart", according to Kipner. When Newton-John's then manager Lee Kramer accidentally heard the
demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
, he immediately sent the song to her, but initially she did not want to release the song, because it was "too cheeky". It was the first of several Newton-John releases written by Kipner. The song's
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...
was performed by Steve Lukather, best known as a founding member of the American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band Toto. "Physical" is written in the key of
E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...
with Newton-John's vocal range spanning from A3 to E5.


Reception

"Physical" was described by
Mark Ellen Mark Ellen (born 16 September 1953) is a British magazine editor, journalist and broadcaster who lives in West London. Early life Ellen was born in Fleet, Hampshire, England. Whilst at Oxford University in the 1970s, he briefly played bass alo ...
of ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...
'' as "one of the most successful career-revivers in living memory". It is the most successful single of Newton-John's career and became her fifth (and last) number-one single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Physical" stayed for 10 weeks on the top of Hot 100, from 21 November 1981 through 23 January
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
, out of a total of 26 weeks on the chart. It was the largest permanence at the time, becoming the most successful song on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' in the 1980s. The song was very controversial due to the implied sexual content, being innovative and somewhat provocative for the time. "Physical" has received positive reviews from music critics since release, with some of them calling it "good-naturedly sexy" and "an eighties gem". The song won a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Video of the Year and won the ''Billboard'' Award for Top Pop Single.


Chart performance

"Physical" rose to number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in November 1981 and stayed there for 10 weeks (the most of any single in the 1980s), remaining until the second half of January 1982. It reached number two on the
Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
CHR/Pop Airplay chart on 27 November 1981, staying there for two weeks and remaining on the chart for 14 weeks. In terms of chart placement, "Physical" was Newton-John's most successful single in the United States, and her final single to reach the top spot. ''Billboard'' ranked the song as the number-one single of 1982 (since the chart year for 1982 actually began in November 1981). In Canada, the song was number one for five weeks beginning 19 December 1981, was on the Top 50 charts for 26 weeks, and was her sixth number-one song. "Physical" was both preceded and followed in the number-one chart position by recordings by American duo
Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
: " Private Eyes" was dethroned by "Physical" in November 1981 and "Physical" was supplanted by "
I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" is a song by the American duo Daryl Hall and John Oates. Written by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sara Allen, the song was released as the second single from their tenth studio album, '' Private Eyes'' (1981). ...
" the following January. "Physical" held Foreigner's "
Waiting for a Girl Like You "Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the album '' 4'' (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian Mc ...
" at number two on the Hot 100 for nine weeks and "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" then held Foreigner at number two for a tenth and final consecutive week. "Physical" remained in the top ten for a total of 15 weeks, thus making it the longest run of 1981, as well as tying it for the longest run of the decade among number-one singles. "Physical" also peaked at number 28 on the
Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
chart. "Physical" achieved great success around the world, reaching number seven in the United Kingdom, where it was certified Silver. However, the song was censored and even banned by some radio stations as a result of its sexually suggestive content, such as the line "There's nothing left to talk about, unless it's horizontally". Also, the line "Let me hear your body talk" caused some radio stations to ban the song.


Music video


Synopsis

The accompanying
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "Physical", directed by
Brian Grant Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious ...
, features Newton-John in a tight leotard trying to make several
overweight Being overweight or fat is having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is especially common where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary. , excess weight reached epidemic proportions globally, with mo ...
men lose weight. The men fail comically and Newton-John leaves the room to take a shower. When the men work out on their own, they suddenly transform into muscular, attractive men. A stylistic shot shows one muscular man glancing at his overweight self in a mirror. Newton-John is shocked when she returns and starts to flirt with them. Two of the men secretly go out, holding hands, implying they are
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
. This surprises Newton-John, as does the sight of two more of the men leaving with their arms around each other. Finally, she finds that the last of the overweight men is
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
and they go off to play
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
together.


Reception

The ''
Olivia Physical ''Olivia Physical'' is a 1982 video collection featuring the singer Olivia Newton-John and various of her songs, most from the album ''Physical''. A somewhat expanded version of the video was aired as an ABC prime-time television special, ''Let' ...
'' music video collection, which contained "Physical", won a
Grammy Award for Video of the Year The Grammy Award for Video of the Year was an honor presented to recording artists at the 24th Grammy Awards in 1982 and the 25th Grammy Awards in 1983 for music videos. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and ori ...
in 1983. The video was featured on VH1's ''
Pop-Up Video ''Pop Up Video'' is a VH1 television show that shows music videos annotated via "pop-up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia and witticisms relating to the video in question. The show was created by Woody T ...
'' and was the first video to air on ''
Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...
.''


Legacy and other versions

''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' ranked "Physical" number six on its "All Time Top 100" list, number one on its "Top 50 Sexiest Songs of All Time" list, and number one on its "Top 100 Songs of the 1980s" list. A revamped
bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...
version of the song was released on the 2002 Newton-John album '' (2)'' as a bonus track, and this version replaced the original in Newton-John's tours. Her duet with
Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...
was included in the episode " Bad Reputation" of the television series ''
Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
''. This version peaked at number 89 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 2010.


Personnel

From the ''
Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
'' album's liner notes: * Olivia Newton-John – lead and backing vocals *
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 ...
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
and backing vocals * Steve Lukather – guitar solo * David Hungatebass * Bill Cuomo –
Prophet 5 The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the American company Sequential. It was designed by Dave Smith and John Bowen in 1977, who used microprocessors, then a new technology, to create the first polyphonic synthesizer with full ...
* Robert Blass – keyboards *
Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
and
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
* Lenny Castro – percussion * Gary Herbig –
horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications and sales


See also

*
List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s The following lists the number one singles on the Australian Singles Chart, along with other substantial hits, during the 1980s. The source for this decade is the Kent Music Report (retitled as Australian Music Report in 1987), and the ARIA Char ...
*
List of RPM number-one singles of 1981 ''RPM (magazine), RPM'' was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing single (music), singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. A total of sixteen singles reached number one on the ''RPM'' Singles Chart in 1981 in music, 1981. The year ...
*
List of RPM number-one singles of 1982 ''RPM (magazine), RPM'' was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing single (music), singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. Twenty singles peaked atop the ''RPM'' Singles Chart in 1982 in music, 1982. "Physical (Olivia Newton-John son ...
*
List of number-one singles in 1981 (New Zealand) The following lists the number-one singles on the New Zealand Singles Chart during the 1980s. The source for this decade is the Recorded Music NZ chart, the chart history of which can be found on the Recorded Music NZ website or Charts.nz. A to ...
* List of number-one singles in 1982 (New Zealand) *
List of number-one hits of 1981 (Switzerland) This is a list of singles that reached number one on the Swiss Hitparade during the 1980s. Number-one singles See also *1980s in music References {{SwissNumber1s Number-one singles Switzerland 1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PN ...
*
List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1981 (U.S.) These are the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one hits of 1981. The longest running number-one single of 1981 is " Physical" by Olivia Newton-John which stayed at the top of the chart for six weeks in 1981 and then for four additional weeks in 1982, ...
*
List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1982 (U.S.) These are the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 1982. The two longest running number-one singles of 1982 are "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wo ...


References


External links

*
MTV Video stills
{{Authority control 1981 singles 1981 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles EMI Records singles MCA Records singles Music video controversies Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Switzerland Olivia Newton-John songs Sophie Ellis-Bextor songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by John Farrar Songs written by Steve Kipner Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles