In 1974, Olivia Newton-John was already finding success on the American charts, but one tender love song was about to take the 25-year-old Australian singer somewhere she had never been before.
“I Honestly Love You” was released as a single in the U.S. in August 1974 and quickly climbed the charts. On Oct. 5, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Newton-John’s first song to top the chart. It remained there for two weeks.
The achievement came during a pivotal year for Newton-John, who had scored an earlier U.S. hit with “Let Me Be There” and was increasingly making a name for herself with American audiences. Her album If You Love Me, Let Me Know, which included “I Honestly Love You” in the U.S., would also reach No. 1.
But “I Honestly Love You” almost belonged to somebody else.
The song was written by Peter Allen and Jeff Barry, and Allen originally intended to record it himself.
According to music historian Fred Bronson’s “Billboard Book of Number One Hits,” Barry was preparing to produce Allen’s first album for A&M when the pair wrote “I Honestly Love You.” After they made a demo, someone from the publishing office brought the song to Newton-John, who immediately wanted to record it.
Newton-John later recalled to Billboard how strongly she reacted when she first heard the song, saying she worried that somebody else might already have recorded it.
Allen and Barry initially decided Newton-John could cut the song instead of Allen. But Allen’s label wanted it for his album as well, and he ultimately recorded his own version for Continental American.
Newton-John’s recording, produced by John Farrar, proved to be the breakthrough version.
“I Honestly Love You” didn’t stop at the top of the Hot 100. It also reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and crossed over to the country chart, where it peaked at No. 6. The song also topped the charts in Australia and Canada.
Its success carried into the following year.
At the 17th Annual Grammy Awards in 1975, “I Honestly Love You” won Record of the Year. Newton-John also won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for the song.
The composition itself was nominated for Song of the Year, although that award went to “The Way We Were,” written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Marvin Hamlisch.
It was another major Grammy moment for Newton-John, who had won Best Country Vocal Performance, Female the previous year for “Let Me Be There.”
Decades later, Newton-John returned to the song that had given her that first American No. 1. She re-recorded “I Honestly Love You” for her 1998 album Back With a Heart, with Babyface providing background vocals. The new recording put her back on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 67.
But it is the 1974 recording that remains tied to a major turning point in Newton-John’s career, arriving four years before Grease would transform her into an even bigger international star.
Fifty-two years ago today, “I Honestly Love You” gave Olivia Newton-John her first No. 1 hit in America, and within months, it would also give her one of the biggest awards of her career.
Related: ’60s Rock Legend, Who Was Olivia Newton-John’s Duet Partner, Turns 80
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