It’s not the first time that the movie version of the musical Grease has inspired a charity single—Britons of a certain age will remember Hylda Baker (‘She knows, you know’) and Arthur Mullard teaming up for a cover of ‘You’re the One that I Want’ in 1978—but this time, it is with the original stars, Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.
Newton-John informed her fans earlier via Facebook that she would team up with Travolta in an album entitled This Christmas, but it was this week that a video of one of their numbers was released. The new song, ‘I Think You Might Like It’, joins others by Sir Cliff Richard, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Kenny G. and James Taylor to raise money for charities for children and people with disabilities.
The new number, composed by Melbournian John Farrar, who wrote many of Newton-John’s hits including ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’ and ‘Suspended in Time’, features Travolta’s wife, Kelly Preston, and their children in the video. Travolta and Newton-John recalling their Grease roles by wearing black and driving a 1950s car (a Ford Thunderbird, in this case).
Newton-John says, ‘My desire was to make This Christmas an intimate album, not something too ostentatious or showy. Gathering around the house listening to Christmas music has always been an important part of that time of the year to my family.’
Reviews online have been mixed.