LIV ON

1 Oct 2022

One evening in Singapore 45 years ago, a little girl caught a performance on TV and she was mesmerised! The beautiful singer with the voice of an angel was Olivia Newton-John and the little girl was me, barely 10! A new fan was born! The first two LPs (long playing vinyl records) my Mum bought for me were Olivia Newton-John's "Come on Over" and "Don't Stop Believin'"! I still remember leading my Mum into the record store and picking out the albums. Thank you Mum!!!xx Since then Olivia's songs have dominated the soundtrack of my life. Even though my taste in music evolved and became more eclectic, I continued being a loyal fan, as she also evolved as a person and in her music. It was a dream of mine to meet and attend a concert of Olivia's and while in the course of my work as a TV producer in the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation I had the opportunity to meet (and interview) several big names in the entertainment industry, Olivia never came to Singapore throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. When I entered the convent, the likelihood of meeting her lessened. Or so I thought. I later realised that the Good Lord fulfils the deepest desires of your heart and so ironically, it was only after I entered the convent that my dream came true. And since the Lord’s graces often runneth over, I have been blessed not just to meet Olivia but also interview her, and then had the grace again and again to meet her two more times in person and most recently, a fourth time, online. In fact it was exactly a year ago today that we spoke online. And after almost two months since her passing I have finally found the disposition to put into words (and images) a tribute of sorts to honour a much beloved woman who has been an inspiration and role model for me for most of my life.

LIVE ON is one of Olivia Newton-John's more recent recordings from the album LIV ON (late 2016). The song is co-written by her. The lyrics poignantly foreshadow her passing yet sum up her positivity and gratitude for life:

I'm waking up this morning
Grateful for the gift of one more day
The light of hope is dawning
It feels my heart and lift my fears away
Sometimes there is a miracle just beyond the pain
When you can see the rainbow in the rain

Live on
Live on
Brighter skies will come again
Cry the tears you cry and then
Live on
Live on
Love is all we leave when we are gone
Live on

Ever since Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 at age 44, fans around the world, including me, (and no doubt especially her family and loved ones) were wary that she could succumb to it or if not, would suffer a relapse sooner or later. But much to our relief and delight, she survived! Or using a word she much preferred, thrived! So much so that over the next 30 years, she became an advocate for cancer awareness/early detection, lent her name and helped found the ONJ Cancer Wellness and Research Centre at Austin Hospital in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia, and raised millions to build and maintain it. When her cancer returned in 2013 as a tumour in her shoulder, she kept it private, but just four years later in 2017, it resurfaced again, this time at the base of her spine, and it was at stage 4. It was a great blow to everyone who loved her but she continued to thrive. Living with metastasis, she complimented conventional therapies with plant based medicine especially with cannabis for pain management. Last year she and her husband, John Easterling (a long time advocate of the health benefits from Amazon Rainforest botanicals) initiated the ONJ Foundation to raise funds for global research of plant based medicine for cancer. (They share their story and the benefits of plant medicine in Olivia's cancer journey in the video at the end of this post.)

Sadly, Olivia eventually succumbed to her illness on 8 Aug 2022, not helped by a much reduced immune system. It was not really a shock to those who were aware of her deteriorating health, but nevertheless still a heartbreaking loss for all her fans and loved ones, and the world at large. An ocean of tributes overflowed after her death not only from fans but all who were touched by her life of light and love in the entertainment industry and beyond. Everyone who worked and encountered Olivia expressed so much love and respect for her and had only the nicest things to say about her, as we see a few in this clip:

   

In Melbourne, where she is regarded as a national treasure, prominent buildings were lit in pink as a tribute to her, while in the Netherlands, church bells chimed to "Hopelessly Devoted to You"  and her other hits from Grease. A state memorial is currently being prepared in Melbourne. 

Perhaps one consolation for those of us who mourn her passing is that Olivia continued to thrive for five years after her stage 4 cancer discovery. This was itself nothing short of a miracle, and due to a mountain of positivity on her part, the use of alternative medicine, and her spiritual life. Her most spiritual album, Grace and Gratitude, was released in 2007, and Singapore was included in her tour to promote that album. It was then that I met Olivia for the first time and interviewed her. It was a dream come true and an experience to treasure for life. Below is a recording of the press conference and the articles from that occasion which appeared in the Catholic News. (Huge thanks to my CN editor, the late Francis Lee, my good friend Angela Chee who brought her video camera to the press conference, and the prayers of another good friend Ai Hoon!)

 

It was only after her death that I discovered that Olivia had been attending mass at the Capuchin monastery near her ranch in Santa Ynez, in Southern Californian (more in this article) and that she had been participating in RCIA (Rite for Christian Initiation for Adults), an introductory course on the Catholic faith over zoom with Fr Jim Sichko. They had met on a plane when she noticed he was praying and not knowing then that he was a priest, she asked him to pray for her. You can hear him talk about their wonderful encounter in the clip below.

While I am beyond thrilled to know about Olivia's attraction to the Catholic faith, whether she was eventually baptised as a Catholic does not really matter to me (she had Jewish and Christian roots) because I believe she was already living a Christ-like life by the testimonies of so many who have encountered her in the course of her work and life. In many ways she was a living saint. 

"Loving and forgiving are you O Lord, slow to anger, rich in kindness" are the words of a famous hymn. Well Olivia was precisely doing that. 

In one of her last interviews from 2021, she spoke to Hoda Kotb on the Today show, to mark the 40th anniversary of Physical (her massive no. 1 hit from 1981) but as Hoda shared in passing her own bout with cancer, she was deeply touched when Olivia expressed her concern for her and asked if she was doing ok:

   

In a much earlier interview from 2005, she shares on how she retains a friendship and opens her home to her former husband and wife (their former babysitter), for the sake of their daughter:

 

I was graced to meet Olivia in person, not once, but three times, and on a final occasion, online just a year ago today. Along the way I made friends with fellow fans. Once my brother pulled my leg saying he won a radio contest as the question was "Who is ONJ's biggest fan in Singapore?" and he answered with my name! But I told him I know a bigger fan in Singapore, who is also a kind soul. Over in Hong Kong there are two sisters who even went to China to welcome Olivia after her great walk along the Great Wall of China to raise funds for the ONJ Cancer Centre. It was a very special moment when we got to meet and greet Olivia together in Singapore.

While the world continues to grow in admiration of the beautiful person behind the beautiful voice, this tribute surely must also acknowledge how amazing a singer Olivia was. This analysis of one of her performances, singing Sam (one of my favourite songs) does just that:

 

Most of my favourite ONJ songs are not her chart topping hits but lesser known songs whose lyrics and music touch me. One of them is No Matter What You Do, from the album Gaia, an album of songs all penned by her just after her first cancer recovery. This song basically sums up her life and who she was. I used to even use this in retreats and talks:

No Matter What You Do

No matter what you do I'll send you love
No matter what you say
No matter what you do I'll send you love
Starting today
I'm not lost
i'm not scared
I'm not frightened at all
I'm just sad that you're feeling this way
But no matter what you do
I'll send you love anyway

I started out with anger I was mad
I started out afraid
I had to let it go 'cause in your mind
You felt betrayed
You are lost
You are scared
You are frightened I know
And I'm sad that you're feeling this way
But no matter what you do
I'll send you love anyway

I found out
Just what is important
And I found out
Who really loves me
And I found out
That trials like these make us grow
So no matter what you feel I've done to you
Know that my heart was true
If reaping what you sow is real I know
I planted in truth
And I hope you find out
That it's you that you're hurting
It's time that you let it all go
'cause no matter what you do
I'll send you love 'cause I know

That if I lose it all
I'll survive and I'll show
From the fall I can grow and go on
And I won't live in fear of the changes it makes
'cause I've learned what it takes to be strong

(Gaia - One Woman's Journey)

Here is a short playlist of my top favourite ballads sung by Olivia:

 

Right to the very end, Olivia lived her vocation, to sing and to heal.  Two of her last recordings last year were duets, Put Your Head on My Shoulder with Paul Anka, 

   

and Window on the Wall with her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi. They filmed this music video at her ranch:

The song Live On mentioned at the start continues with the lyrics 

Love is all we leave when we are gone
Live on
In every heart of those we touch (live on)
In every dream that means so much (live on)
Yes I believe that all of us
Live on

For all those whose lives have been touched by Olivia and for all those of us who miss her, the best tribute we could give her I guess is to allow her spirit to live on in us as we try to be like her in grace and gratitude, and be love and light wherever we are and whenever we can. 

God bless each and everyone of you,

Wendy

 

Photo credit: Michelle Day

Please support the ONJ Cancer Wellness and Research Centre and/or the ONJ Foundation and help make Olivia's dream come true - a world beyond cancer. 

John Easterling shares on how he discovers Olivia as a healer at the very first concert he attended, and together they share on her cancer journey with plant based medicine: