From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various Artists | |
| Released | April 14, 1978 |
| Recorded | 1977-1978 |
| Studio | Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, HollywoodUnited Western Studios, HollywoodHollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood |
| Genre | Rock and roll doo-wop pop |
| Length | 61:14 |
| Label | RSO |
| Producer | Louis St. Louis John Farrar Barry Gibb Albhy Galuten Karl Richardson |
| Olivia Newton-John albums chronology | |
| Olivia Newton-John’s Greatest Hits (1977)Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (1978)Totally Hot (1978) | |
| Singles from Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture | |
| “Grease“ Released: May 6, 1978″You’re the One That I Want“ Released: May 17, 1978″Hopelessly Devoted to You“ Released: August 7, 1978″Summer Nights“ Released: August 25, 1978″Sandy“ Released: September 29, 1978″Greased Lightnin’“ Released: 1978 |
Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease. It was originally released by RSO Records and subsequently re-issued by Polydor Records between 1984 and 1991. It has sold approximately 28 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time, also ranking amongst the biggest selling soundtrack albums of all time. The song “You’re the One That I Want” was a US and UK No. 1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
Besides performers John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, the album also featured songs by rock and roll revival group Sha Na Na as well as the hit song “Grease“, a tune written by Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees) and sung by Frankie Valli (of The Four Seasons) that was an additional U.S. number one.
Background
The soundtrack was released on April 14, 1978, two months ahead of the film’s release. As with most musicals of the period, the vocal takes recorded for the album release–and in some cases the instrumental background as well–do not lock to picture but were recorded during entirely different soundtrack sessions often months prior or subsequent to the performances used for lip sync in the film.
The cover gives credit to, and prominently features, the two stars of the film—John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John—although they only appear on seven of the 24 tracks. Sha Na Na performed many of the 1950s numbers in the film, the recordings of which also appear on the soundtrack.
Stockard Channing sings lead on two of the tracks; the two tracks remain her only significant contribution to recorded popular music to date. The title track (which is featured twice on the soundtrack, at the beginning and end) was recorded by Frankie Valli, who had no other connection with the film.
The entirety of the score written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey for the Broadway musical was included on the soundtrack and/or in the film, with the exception of two songs: “Shakin’ at the High School Hop” (originally composed to open Act II of the musical) and “All Choked Up” (the song originally written into the spot where the film used “You’re the One that I Want”) were both left out of both the film and the soundtrack.
Not all of the songs were included in the film; songs cut from the film were performed on the soundtrack by Louis St. Louis and Cidny (then Cindy) Bullens or converted to instrumentals. Songs in the musical that were not performed by Rizzo, Danny, Sandy, the Teen Angel, or Johnny Casino & the Gamblers were given to those characters or to St. Louis and Bullens; these included Sandy’s original feature number “It’s Raining on Prom Night” (given to Bullens and used as a jukebox background song), Marty’s “Freddy, My Love” (given to Bullens), Doody’s “Those Magic Changes” (given to Johnny Casino & the Gamblers), Kenickie’s “Greased Lightnin’” (given to Danny), and both of the songs originally attributed to a character named Roger that was written out of the film, “Mooning” and “Rock’n’Roll Party Queen” (both given to St. Louis; “Mooning” was replaced in function in the film by the 1930s standard “Blue Moon,” performed by the Gamblers). Rizzo’s 11 o’clock number “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” was only kept in the film at Channing’s fervent insistence, as she felt the song (and the storyline behind it) was necessary to prevent Rizzo from becoming a one-dimensional caricature.
The most successful songs from the soundtrack were written specifically for the film. They included the Billboard number-one hits “Grease“, “You’re the One That I Want” and the Academy Award-nominated “Hopelessly Devoted to You“. In the UK, the album proved even more successful where “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” (a song carried over from the original musical) reached No.1 for nine and seven weeks respectively, while “Grease”, “Hopelessly Devoted to You” and “Sandy” all became top three hits. The soundtrack album hit the top of the charts in the U.S. during the summer of 1978, replacing The Rolling Stones‘ Some Girls. In the UK, it remained at the top of the charts for 13 consecutive weeks. As of 2011, “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” are still among the 20 best-selling singles of all time in the UK (at Nos.6 and 19 respectively). “Greased Lightnin’,” another carryover from the stage version, was also released as a single, reaching the top 20 in the UK but narrowly missing the top 40 in the U.S. in part because of the lyrical content not being permitted on U.S. radio.
Two of the bass players who recorded on the Grease soundtrack were (at different times) members of Toto. One of these, David Hungate, also performed on Olivia Newton-John‘s album Totally Hot with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. Other musicians on the soundtrack have previously worked with Elton John, Steely Dan, Bee Gees and others. The Grease album, as well as the soundtrack for the film, were recorded and mixed by David J. Holman.
The album has sold over 6 million copies in the US in the SoundScan era (beginning 1991) in addition to the 8 million shipped in the years 1978–1984.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Christgau’s Record Guide | C+ |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic retrospectively rated the soundtrack four-and-a-half stars. He stated that “the originals hold up better than the ’50s tunes” due in large part to Sha Na Na‘s workmanlike performances of the latter. Erlewine added however that the original songs “are so giddily enjoyable that everything works”. He also said that “the sleek pop production the movie’s soundtrack boasts and the cast’s enthusiastic performances go a long way in making this Grease the definitive Grease.” The album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 21st Annual Grammy Awards.
Track listing
Side one
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals |
|---|
Side two
| 6. | “Beauty School Dropout“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Frankie Avalon |
|---|
| 7. | “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Stockard Channing, Didi Conn, Dinah Manoff and Jamie Donnelly |
|---|
| 8. | “Greased Lightnin’“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta, Jeff Conaway |
|---|
| 9. | “It’s Raining on Prom Night” | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Cindy Bullens |
|---|
| 10. | “Alone at a Drive-In Movie” (Instrumental) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Instrumental |
|---|
Side three
| 13. | “Those Magic Changes“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Sha-Na-Na |
|---|
| 14. | “Hound Dog“ | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | Sha-Na-Na |
|---|
| 17. | “Mooning“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Louis St. Louis and Cindy Bullens |
|---|
Side four
| 18. | “Freddy, My Love“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Cindy Bullens |
|---|
| 19. | “Rock n’ Roll Party Queen“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Louis St. Louis |
|---|
| 20. | “There Are Worse Things I Could Do“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Stockard Channing |
|---|
| 21. | “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise)” | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | Olivia Newton-John |
|---|
| 22. | “We Go Together“ | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John |
|---|
| 23. | “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (Instrumental)” | Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster | Orchestral |
|---|
| 24. | “Grease (Reprise)” | Barry Gibb | Frankie Valli |
|---|
CD release
The CD of the soundtrack has been released twice in the US. In April 1991 it was released through Polydor Records as a single disc replicating the sequence of the original 1978 RSO LP. In September 2003 it was released by PolyGram as a 2-CD digitally-remastered “Deluxe Edition” containing additional tracks. As with the LP and single-disc CD, the songs are not presented in the order replicating their appearances in the movie.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Grease” (Instrumental version) | Barry Gibb | Gary Brown, saxophone | 3:23 |
| 2. | “Summer Nights” (Sing-a-long version) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 3:34 |
| 3. | “Hopelessly Devoted to You” (Sing-a-long version) | John Farrar | – | 3:03 |
| 4. | “You’re the One That I Want” (Sing-a-long version) | John Farrar | – | 2:32 |
| 5. | “Sandy” (Sing-a-long version) | Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon | – | 2:30 |
| 6. | “Greased Lightnin'” (Single version) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta | 3:20 |
| 7. | “Rydell Fight Song” (Previously unreleased instrumental) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 0:20 |
| 8. | “Greased Up and Ready to Go” (Previously unreleased instrumental) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | – | 4:49 |
| 9. | “Grease Megamix” (“You’re the One That I Want”/”Greased Lightnin'”/”Summer Nights”) | John Farrar Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 4:49 |
| 10. | “Grease Dream Mix” (“Grease”/”Sandy”/”Hopelessly Devoted to You”) | Barry Gibb Louis St. Louis and Scott Simon John Farrar | Frankie Valli, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John | 3:59 |
| 11. | “Summer Nights” (Martian remix) | Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 3:37 |
| 12. | “You’re the One That I Want” (Martian remix) | John Farrar | John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | 3:25 |
40th anniversary vinyl reissue In August 2018, Polydor reissued the vinyl album to celebrate its original release in 1978. Released on 180g vinyl and mastered in half speed, it was the first time since its original release that it had used the original RSO record label in the artwork. No information was provided on who or where the record was half speed mastered.
Performers
Vocalists
- Olivia Newton-John – vocals
- John Travolta – vocals
- Stockard Channing – vocals (“Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee”, “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”)
- Frankie Valli – vocals (“Grease”)
- Barry Gibb – vocals (“Grease”)
- Frankie Avalon – vocals (“Beauty School Drop Out”)
- Background vocals: Curt Becher, Paulette K. Brown, Cindy Bullens, Beau Charles, Carol Chase, Kerry Chater, Loren Farber, John Farrar, Venetta Fields, Gerald Garrett, Jimmy Gilstrap, Mitch Gordon, Jim Haas, Patty Henderson, Ron Hicklin, Diana Lee, John Lehman, Maxayn Lewis, Melissa MacKay, Myrna Matthews, Marti McCall, Gene Merlino, Gene Morford, Lisa Roberts, Sally Stevens, Zedrick Turnbough, Jackie Ward, M. Ann White, Jerry Whitman
Musicians
- Drums: Ollie E. Brown, Carlos Vega, Cubby O’Brien, Ron Ziegler
- Bass: Mike Porcaro, David Hungate, Max Bennett, David Allen Ryan, Wm. J. Bodine, Dean Cortez, Harold Cowart
- Guitar: John Farrar, Tim May (“Born to Hand Jive”), Jay Graydon, Lee Ritenour, Dan Sawyer, Bob Rose, Dennis Budimir, Tommy Tedesco, Cliff Morris, Joey Murcia, Peter Frampton (“Grease”), George Terry (“Grease”)
- Keyboards: Louis St. Louis, Greg Mathieson, Michael Lang, Lincoln Mayorga, Thomas Garvin, Ben Lanzarone, George Bitzer
- Saxophone: Ray Pizzi (“We Go Together” & “Greased Lightnin'”), Ernie Watts (“There Are Worse Things I Could Do” and “Alone at a Drive-In Movie”), Jerome Richardson, John Kelson, Jr.
- Trumpet: Albert Aarons, Robert Bryant
- Trombone: Lloyd Ulyate
- Percussion: Eddie “Bongo” Brown, Larry Bunker, Victor Feldman, Antoine Dearborn
- Harp: Dorothy Remsen, Gayle Levant
- Concertmaster: James Getzoff
- Contractor: Carl Fortina
- Copyist: Bob Borenstein
Production
- All selections except “Grease” arranged by: John Farrar, Michael Gibson, Louis St. Louis
- Strings on “Summer Nights” arranged by Ben Lanzarone
- Horns and Strings on “Greased Lightnin'” and “Born to Hand Jive” arranged by Michael Melvoin
- Karl Richardson – engineer (“Grease”)
- Recorded at: Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood
United Western Studios, Hollywood
Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood - Engineered by: David J. Holman, Jay Lewis, EirBilly Joel Wangberg, Michael Carneval, Karl Richardson (“Grease”)
- All selections mixed and re-mixed by David J. Holman at Filmways/Wally Heider Recording Studios, Hollywood (Except “Grease”)
- Produced by: Louis St. Louis and John Farrar; Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson (“Grease”)
- Album mastered at A&M Records by Bernie Grundman
- Art direction: Glenn Ross
- Album design: Tim Bryant/George Corsillo
- Photography: Alan Pappe/Lee Gross Assoc., Inc.
- Background photos: Ron Slenzak
Charts
| Weekly charts Chart (1978–79) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 1 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 1 Albums (IFOP) 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 1 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) 2 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 1 Portuguese Albums (Musica & Som) 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 1 UK Albums (OCC) 1 US Billboard 200 1 Chart (1991–99) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 3 Belgian Albums Ultratop Wallonia) 6 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 20 French Albums (SNEP) 3 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 26 US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard) 1 Chart (2002–21)Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 186 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 137 Danish Albums (Hitlisten) 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 73 French Albums (SNEP) 183 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 27 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 29 US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard) 3 | Year-end charts Chart (1978)Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 5 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 2 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 12 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 2 Chart (1979)Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 11 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 27 US Billboard 200 20 Chart (1991)Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 9 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 3 Chart (1998)Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 25 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 57 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 57 French Albums (SNEP) 68 |
Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 14× Platinum | 1,010,000 |
| Austria | — | 70,000 |
| Belgium (BEA) | Gold | 40,000 |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) | Gold | 100,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Diamond | 1,115,000 |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | 7× Platinum | 140,000 |
| Finland | — | 40,000 |
| France (SNEP) | Platinum | 1,300,000 |
| Germany (BVMI) | 5× Gold | 1,750,000 |
| Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) | Platinum | 20,000* |
| Italy (FIMI) sales since 2009 | Platinum | 50,000 |
| Japan | — | 442,410 |
| Netherlands | — | 1,000,000 |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 250,000 |
| Norway (IFPI Norway) | Platinum | 250,000 |
| Singapore | — | 80,000 |
| Singapore (RIAS) reissue | Gold | 8,000 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | 3× Platinum | 300,000^ |
| Sweden | — | 150,000 |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 8× Platinum | 2,580,000 |
| United States (RIAA) | 8× Platinum | 16,899,000 |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 28,000,000 |
| * Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grease | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Randal Kleiser |
| Screenplay by | Bronte Woodard |
| Adaptation by | Allan Carr |
| Based on | Grease by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey |
| Produced by | Robert Stigwood Allan Carr |
| Starring | John Travolta Olivia Newton-John Stockard Channing Eve Arden Frankie Avalon Joan Blondell Edd Byrnes Sid Caesar Alice Ghostley Dody Goodman Sha Na Na |
| Cinematography | Bill Butler |
| Edited by | John F. Burnett Robert Pergament |
| Music by | Michael Gibson |
| Production companies | Paramount Pictures Allan Carr Productions RSO Records Polydor Records |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date | June 16, 1978 |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $366.2 million |
Grease is a 1978 American musical romantic comedy film based on the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Written by Bronte Woodard (adaptation by Allan Carr) and directed by Randal Kleiser in his theatrical feature film debut, the film depicts the lives of greaser Danny Zuko and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson, who develop an attraction for each other during a summer romance. The film stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John as Danny and Sandy.
Released on June 16, 1978, Grease was successful both critically and commercially, becoming the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time. Its soundtrack album ended 1978 as the second-best-selling album of the year in the United States, behind the soundtrack of the 1977 blockbuster Saturday Night Fever (which also starred Travolta) and earned an Oscar nomination for “Hopelessly Devoted to You” at the 51st Academy Awards. In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
Launching the franchise of the same name, a sequel, Grease 2, was released in 1982, starring Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer as a newer class of greasers. Few of the original cast members reprised their roles. As of 2020, a Paramount+ series, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, based on Grease, and a prequel, titled Summer Lovin’, are in production.
Plot
In the summer of 1958, local boy Danny Zuko and vacationing Australian Sandy Olsson meet at the beach and fall in love. When the summer comes to an end, Sandy frets that they may never meet again, but Danny tells her that their love is “only the beginning”. At the start of the seniors’ term at Rydell High School Danny resumes his role as leader of the T-Birds greaser gang consisting of Doody, Sonny, Putzie, and his best friend Kenickie. Greaser girl clique the Pink Ladies arrives, consisting of Frenchy, Marty, Jan and leader Rizzo.
Sandy’s parents remain in America and enroll Sandy at Rydell; she befriends Frenchy, who is considering dropping out to become a beautician. Danny and Sandy recount their brief romance to their respective groups, Sandy recalling a romantic summer and Danny implying a more physical experience.
When Sandy finally says Danny’s name, Rizzo arranges a surprise reunion at a pep rally where Sandy meets Tom, a jock, and Kenickie unveils his new used car, Greased Lightnin’, which he plans on street racing after a restoration. Danny maintains his bad-boy persona in front of his gang and Sandy, who storms off upset. At a Pink Ladies pajama party Sandy falls ill from drinking, trying a cigarette, and having her ears pierced by Frenchy. Rizzo departs for a tryst in the back seat of Kenickie’s car, during which the condom breaks.
Rizzo and Kenickie are disturbed by Leo, leader of rival gang the Scorpions, and his girlfriend Cha-Cha. Danny, with Coach Calhoun’s help, becomes a runner to win Sandy back from Tom; it works, but their friends crash the reunion. Kenickie and Rizzo part after an argument. A guardian angel advises Frenchy to return to school after a mishap in beauty class leaves her with candy-pink hair.
The school dance arrives, broadcast live on National Bandstand and hosted by DJ Vince Fontaine, who flirts with Marty. Rizzo and Kenickie spite one another by bringing Leo and Cha-Cha as their dates. In a chaotic hand jive, Danny and Sandy dance well, but just before the winners are announced Sonny pulls Sandy away and Cha-Cha cuts in to win with Danny, as Sandy leaves upset and the T-Birds moon America.
Danny tries to make it up to Sandy by taking her to a drive-in theater but she leaves when he makes a clumsy pass. Rizzo fears she is pregnant after missing a period and confides in Marty, who tells Sonny, who inadvertently spreads the rumor to the apparent father Kenickie, though Rizzo denies it to him.
On race day, Kenickie is concussed by his own car door so Danny takes the wheel, winning the race after Leo spins out. Sandy, watching from afar, concludes she still loves Danny and decides to change her attitude and look to impress him. She asks Frenchy for her help.
On the last day of school the class celebrates their graduation as Principal Greta McGee and assistant Blanche sob about the class’ departure. Rizzo finds she is not pregnant and reunites with Kenickie. Danny and Sandy each find they have changed for each other: Danny has become a letterman, and Sandy a greaser girl. They depart in the Greased Lightnin’ car, which takes flight.
Cast
Principal cast
Protagonists
- John Travolta as Danny Zuko
- Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson
T-Birds[edit]
- Jeff Conaway as Kenickie
- Barry Pearl as Doody
- Michael Tucci as Sonny LaTierri
- Kelly Ward as Putzie
Pink Ladies
- Stockard Channing as Betty Rizzo
- Didi Conn as Frenchy
- Jamie Donnelly as Jan
- Dinah Manoff as Marty Maraschino
Secondary cast
Students
- Eddie Deezen as Eugene Felsnic
- Susan Buckner as Patricia “Patty” Simcox
- Lorenzo Lamas as Thomas “Tom” Chisum
- Dennis Cleveland Stewart as Leo “Crater-Face” Balmudo
- Annette Charles as Charlene “Cha-Cha” DiGregorio
School staff[edit]
- Eve Arden as Principal McGee
- Dody Goodman as Blanche Hodel
- Sid Caesar as Coach Vince Calhoun
- Alice Ghostley as Mrs. Murdock
- Darrell Zwerling as Mr. Lynch
- Dick Patterson as Mr. Rudie
- Fannie Flagg as Nurse Wilkins
Others
- Joan Blondell as Vi
- Ellen Travolta as a Frosty Palace waitress
- Frankie Avalon as Teen Angel
- Edd Byrnes as Vince Fontaine
- Johnny Contardo and Sha Na Na as Johnny Casino & The Gamblers
Production
Director Randal Kleiser took numerous liberties with the original source material, most notably moving the setting from an urban Chicago setting (based on William Howard Taft High School), as the original musical had been, to a more suburban locale, reflecting his own teenage years at Radnor High School in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He had little control over the musical aspects of the film; his choice of theme song, a composition by Charles Fox and Paul Williams, was overruled when Robert Stigwood and Allan Carr commissioned a song from Stigwood’s client Barry Gibb at the last minute, which displeased Kleiser.
Casting
John Travolta had previously worked with Stigwood on Saturday Night Fever, recorded the top-10 hit “Let Her In” in 1976, and had previously appeared as Doody in a touring production of the stage version of Grease. He made a number of casting recommendations that Stigwood ultimately accepted, including suggesting Kleiser (who had never directed a theatrical feature before this but had directed Travolta in the 1976 telefilm The Boy in the Plastic Bubble) as director, and Olivia Newton-John, then known almost exclusively as a multiple Grammy winning pop and country singer, as Sandy. Newton-John had done little acting before this film, with only two film credits (1965’s Funny Things Happen Down Under and the little-seen 1970 film Toomorrow, which predated her singing breakthrough) to her name up to that time. Before accepting the role, Newton-John requested a screen test for Grease to avoid another career setback. The screen test was done with the drive-in movie scene. Newton-John, who was born in England and spent most of her childhood in Australia, was unable to perform with a convincing American accent, and thus her character was rewritten to be Australian. Before Newton-John was hired, Allan Carr was considering numerous names such as Carrie Fisher, Ann-Margret, Deborah Raffin, Susan Dey and Marie Osmond for the lead role. Osmond almost took the role before she realized the extent to which the character transformed into a rebel and turned it down to star in Goin’ Coconuts instead. Newton-John agreed to a reduced asking price in exchange for star billing. In a case of life imitating art, Newton-John’s own musical career would undergo a transformation similar to that of the Sandy Olsson character; her next album after Grease, the provocatively titled Totally Hot, featured a much more sexual and pop-oriented approach, with Newton-John appearing on the album cover in similar all-leather attire and teased hair.
Lucie Arnaz auditioned for the part of Rizzo, but a talent client of Carr, Stockard Channing, was cast, several years after her last major film role and debut in The Fortune. At 33 she was the oldest cast member to play a high school student, and Kleiser made her and the other actors playing students take a “crow’s feet test” to see whether they could pass for younger in close-ups. Softer focus was used on some of the older actors’ faces. Channing lobbied heavily to keep the climactic song “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” in the score over Carr’s objections.
Henry Winkler turned down the role of Danny Zuko for fear of being typecast as a greaser, having been playing the similar bad-boy greaser Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days since 1974. Winkler would later regret the decision.
Elvis Presley was considered for the role of The Teen Angel but died before production. Marie Osmond’s brother and duet partner Donny Osmond was another potential Teen Angel before Avalon was cast.
Jeff Conaway, like Travolta, had previously appeared in the stage version of Grease; he had played Danny Zuko during the show’s run on Broadway. He did not get to perform Kenickie’s featured number “Greased Lightnin’” due to Travolta’s influence and desire to have that song for himself. Jamie Donnelly reprised her role as Jan from the Broadway show, the only cast member to do so; as her hair had begun to gray by this point, she had to dye her hair to resemble her stage character. Kelly Ward had previously appeared as a similar sarcastic supporting character in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble with Travolta under Kleiser; he was cast as Putzie, a mostly new character.
Lorenzo Lamas was a last-minute replacement for Steven Ford, who developed stage fright shortly before filming and backed out, and Mark Fidrych, who ran into conflicts with his full-time career as a baseball player. His role contained no spoken dialogue and required Lamas to bleach his hair to avoid looking like one of the T-Birds.
Adult film star Harry Reems was originally signed to play Coach Calhoun; however, executives at Paramount nixed the idea, concerned that his reputation as a porn star would hinder box office returns in the Southern United States, and producers cast Sid Caesar instead. Caesar was one of several veterans of 1950s television (Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman) to be cast in supporting roles; Paul Lynde was considered for the role Arden ultimately filled. Coincidentally, Frankie Avalon and Randal Kleiser had both appeared in 1966’s Fireball 500, the latter as an extra.
Filming locations
The opening beach scene was shot at Malibu’s Leo Carrillo State Beach, making explicit reference to From Here to Eternity. The exterior Rydell scenes, including the front parking lot scenes, the auto shop, the “Summer Nights” bleachers number, Rizzo’s “There Are Worse Things I Can Do” number, the basketball, baseball, and track segments, and the interior of the gymnastics gym, were shot at Venice High School in Venice, California, during the summer of 1977. The Rydell interiors, including the high school dance, were filmed at Huntington Park High School. The sleepover was shot at a private house in East Hollywood. The Paramount Pictures studio lot was the location of the scenes that involve Frosty Palace and the musical numbers “Greased Lightning” and “Beauty School Dropout”.
The drive-in movie scenes were shot at the Burbank Pickwick Drive-In (it was closed and torn down in 1989 and a shopping center took its place). The race was filmed at the Los Angeles River, between the First and Seventh Street Bridges, where many other films have been shot. The final scene where the carnival took place used John Marshall High School.
Furthermore, owing to budget cuts, a short scene was filmed at Hazard Park in Los Angeles.
Post-production
Scenes inside the Frosty Palace contain obvious blurring of various Coca-Cola signs. Prior to the film’s release, producer Allan Carr had made a product placement deal with Coca-Cola’s main competitor Pepsi (for example, a Pepsi logo can be seen in the animated opening sequence animated by John David Wilson at Fine Arts Films). When Carr saw the footage of the scene with Coca-Cola products and signage, he ordered director Randal Kleiser to either reshoot the scene with Pepsi products or remove the Coca-Cola logos from the scene. As reshoots were deemed too expensive and time-consuming, optical mattes were used to cover up or blur out the Coca-Cola references. The ‘blurring’ covered up trademarked menu signage and a large wall poster, but a red cooler with the logo could not be sufficiently altered so was left unchanged. According to Kleiser, “We just had to hope that Pepsi wouldn’t complain. They didn’t.”
Due to an editing error, a closing scene in which Danny and Sandy kiss was removed from the finished print and lost before its theatrical release. The scene was preserved only in black-and-white; Kleiser attempted to have the existing footage colorized and restored to the film for the film’s re-release in 1998 but was dissatisfied with the results. The scene is included as an extra on the 40th anniversary home video release, and Kleiser hopes to make another attempt at colorizing the footage that is effective enough for the footage to be inserted into the film as he originally intended by the time the film’s 50th anniversary comes in 2028.
Release and reception
Box office
Grease was originally released in the United States on June 16, 1978 and was an immediate box-office success. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $8,941,717 in 862 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking at number 2 (behind Jaws 2) at the box office for the weekend and with the all-time opening weekend records. Despite losing the opening weekend, it topped the box-office the following weekend with a gross of $7,867,000 and set a record gross in its first 19 days with $40,272,000. After 66 days, it had grossed $100 million to become Paramount’s second-highest-grossing film, behind The Godfather, and ended its initial run with a gross of $132,472,560 being the highest-grossing film in 1978.
In the United States and globally, it became the highest-grossing musical ever at the time, eclipsing the 13-year-old record held by The Sound of Music, with a worldwide gross of $341 million.
In the United Kingdom, it opened with a record $2.2 million in its first eight days. It went on to become the highest-grossing film in the UK with a gross of £14.7 million.
It was re-released May 18, 1979, in 1,248 theatres in the United States and Canada (except for the New York City area, where it opened a week later), Paramount’s biggest ever saturation release at the time, grossing $4.5 million in its opening weekend. The film played for four weeks and was then paired with the PG-Rating version of Saturday Night Fever in late June. During the reissue, it overtook The Godfather as Paramount Pictures‘ highest-grossing film. It was re-released in March 1998 for its 20th anniversary, where it grossed a further $28 million in the United States and Canada.
It remained the highest-grossing live-action musical until 2012 when it was overtaken by Les Misérables, and it remained the US champion until 2017 when it was surpassed by Beauty and the Beast. Discounting inflation, Grease is now the seventh-highest-grossing live-action musical worldwide.
A further re-issue for its 40th anniversary in 2018 grossed $1 million. To date, Grease has grossed $189,969,103 domestically and $206.2 million internationally, totaling $396 million worldwide.
Critical reception
Grease received mostly positive reviews from film critics and is considered by many as one of the best films of 1978.
The New York Times‘ Vincent Canby, on its initial release in June 1978, called the film “terrific fun”, describing it as a “contemporary fantasy about a 1950s teen-age musical—a larger, funnier, wittier and more imaginative-than-Hollywood movie with a life that is all its own”; Canby pointed out that the film was “somewhat in the manner of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which recalls the science-fiction films of the ’50s in a manner more elegant and more benign than anything that was ever made then, Grease is a multimillion-dollar evocation of the B-picture quickies that Sam Katzman used to turn out in the ’50s (Don’t Knock the Rock, 1956) and that American International carried to the sea in the 1960s (Beach Party, 1963).” Gene Siskel gave the film three stars out of four, calling it “exciting only when John Travolta is on the screen” but still recommending it to viewers, adding, “Four of its musical numbers are genuine showstoppers that should bring applause.” Variety praised the “zesty choreography and very excellent new plus revived music”, and thought Travolta and Newton-John “play together quite well.” Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times was negative, writing, “I didn’t see Grease onstage, but on the testimony of this strident, cluttered, uninvolving and unattractive movie, it is the ’50s—maybe the last innocent decade allowed to us—played back through a grotesquely distorting ’70s consciousness.” Gary Arnold of The Washington Post also panned the film, writing, “Despite the obvious attempts to recall bits from Stanley Donen musicals or Elvis Presley musicals or Frankie-and-Annette musicals, the spirit is closer to the New Tastelessness exemplified by Ken Russell, minus Russell’s slick visual style … I’ve never seen an uglier large-scale musical.” David Ansen of Newsweek wrote, “Too often, Grease is simply mediocre, full of broad high-school humor, flat dramatic scenes and lethargic pacing. Fortunately, there’s nothing flat about John Travolta … Travolta can’t dominate this movie as he did Fever, but when he’s on screen you can’t watch anyone else.”
Retrospective reviews have generally been positive. In a 1998 review, Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, calling it “an average musical, pleasant and upbeat and plastic.” He found John Travolta’s Elvis Presley-inspired performance to be the highlight, but felt that Grease “sees the material as silly camp.” In 2018, Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave it 5 out of 5 stars, saying “It’s still a sugar-rush of a film.”
Grease was voted the best musical ever on Channel 4‘s 100 greatest musicals in 2004. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 76% approval rating based on 75 reviews, with an average rating of 7.00/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “Grease is a pleasing, energetic musical with infectiously catchy songs and an ode to young love that never gets old.” On Metacritic, it holds a score of 70 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.
The film was ranked number 21 on Entertainment Weekly‘s list of the 50 Best High School Movies.
Home media
Grease was released in the US on VHS by Paramount Home Video in 1979, 1982, 1989, 1992 and 1994; the last VHS release was on June 23, 1998, and titled the 20th Anniversary Edition following a theatrical re-release that March.
On September 24, 2002, it was released on DVD for the first time. On September 19, 2006, it was rereleased on DVD as the Rockin’ Rydell Edition, which came with a black Rydell High T-Bird jacket cover, a white Rydell “R” letterman’s sweater cover, or the Target-exclusive Pink Ladies cover. It was released on Blu-ray Disc on May 5, 2009.
On March 12, 2013, Grease and Grease 2 were packaged together in a double feature DVD set from Warner Home Video.
In connection with the film’s 40th anniversary, Paramount released Grease on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on April 24, 2018.
Awards and nominations
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Original Song | “Hopelessly Devoted to You“ Music and Lyrics by John Farrar | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | John Travolta | Nominated | |
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Olivia Newton-John | Nominated | |
| Best Original Song – Motion Picture | “Grease“ Music and Lyrics by Barry Gibb | Nominated | |
| “You’re the One That I Want“ Music and Lyrics by John Farrar | Nominated | ||
| Golden Screen Awards | Won | ||
| Jupiter Awards | Best International Actor | John Travolta | Nominated |
| Best International Actress | Olivia Newton-John | Nominated | |
| National Film Preservation Board | National Film Registry | Inducted | |
| People’s Choice Awards | Favorite Overall Motion Picture | Won | |
| Favorite Musical Motion Picture | Won | ||
| Favorite Male Musical Performer | John Travolta | Nominated | |
| Favorite Female Musical Performer | Olivia Newton-John | Won | |
| Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress | Stockard Channing | Won | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Classic DVD | Nominated | |
| TV Land Awards | Movie Dance Sequence You Reenacted in Your Living Room | “You’re the One That I Want” | Nominated |
American Film Institute recognition
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions—No. 97
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs—No. 70 for “Summer Nights“
- AFI’s Greatest Movie Musicals—No. 20
Legacy
Sequel
The sequel, Grease 2 (1982), stars Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer. Most of the adult characters reprised their roles, though the sequel focused on a younger class of greasers and thus most of the main characters from Grease did not appear. Patricia Birch, the original film’s choreographer, directed the sequel. It would be the only film that she would direct. Jim Jacobs, who cocreated the original musical, was not involved in the making of Grease 2 and has since disowned the film.
Sing-along version
On July 8, 2010, a sing-along version of Grease was released to selected theaters around the U.S. A trailer was released in May 2010, with cigarettes digitally removed from certain scenes, implying heavy editing; however, Paramount confirmed these changes were done only for the film’s advertising, and the rating for the film itself changed from its original PG to that of PG-13 (as that rating had not been introduced until 1984) for “sexual content including references, teen smoking and drinking, and language.” The film was shown for two weekends only; additional cities lobbied by fans from the Paramount official website started a week later and screened for one weekend.
On May 15, 2020, it was announced that CBS, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS, which also owns Paramount, would air this version of the film on June 7, 2020, which was to be the date of the 74th Tony Awards, which was postponed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Prequel
In March 2019, it was announced that a prequel, titled Summer Lovin’, is currently in development from Paramount Players. The project will be a joint-production collaboration with Temple Hill Productions and Picturestart. John August signed on to serve as screenwriter.
Soundtrack
Main article: Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
The soundtrack album ended 1978 as the second-best-selling album of the year in the United States, exceeded only by another soundtrack album, from the film Saturday Night Fever, which also starred Travolta. The song “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music – Original Song. The song “You’re the One That I Want” was released as a single prior to the film’s release and became an immediate chart-topper, despite not being in the stage show or having been seen in the film at that time. Additionally, the dance number to “You’re the One That I Want” was nominated for TV Land’s award for “Movie Dance Sequence You Reenacted in Your Living Room” in 2008. In the United Kingdom, the two Travolta/Newton-John duets, “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights”, were both number one hits and as of 2018 were still among the 30 best-selling singles of all time (at Nos. 5 and 28, respectively). The film’s title song was also a number-one hit single for Frankie Valli.
The song “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” refers to Sal Mineo in the original stage version. Mineo was stabbed to death a year before filming, so the line was changed to refer to Elvis Presley instead. The references to Troy Donohue, Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Annette Funicello are from the original stage version. Coincidentally, this scene as well as the scene before and the scene after it were filmed on August 16, 1977, the date of Elvis Presley’s death.
Some of the songs were not present in the film; songs that appear in the film but not in the soundtrack are “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Jerry Lee Lewis, “Alma Mater”, “Alma Mater Parody”, and “Rydell Fight Song”. “Alone at a Drive-in Movie (Instrumental)”, “Mooning”, and “Freddy My Love” are not present in the film, although all three are listed in the end credits in addition to being on the soundtrack. (Both “Mooning” and “Rock’n’Roll Party Queen”, the latter of which was played in the film as background music, were written in the musical for a character named Roger that was written out of the film, replaced by the non-singing Putzie. In general, all of the songs in the musical that were performed by characters other than Danny, Rizzo, Sandy, Johnny Casino, or the Teen Angel were either taken out of the film or given to other characters, including Marty Maraschino’s number “Freddy My Love”, Kenickie’s “Greased Lightnin'”, and Doody’s “Those Magic Changes”.) Two songs from the musical, “Shakin’ at the High School Hop” and “All Choked Up”, were left off both the film and the soundtrack.
The songs appear in the film in the following order:
- “Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing“
- “Grease“
- “Alma Mater”
- “Summer Nights” – Danny, Sandy, Pink Ladies and T-Birds
- “Rydell Fight Song” – Rydell Marching Band
- “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” – Rizzo and Pink Ladies
- “Hopelessly Devoted to You” – Sandy
- “Greased Lightnin’” – Danny and T-Birds
- “La Bamba“
- “It’s Raining on Prom Night”
- “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On“
- “Beauty School Dropout” – Teen Angel and Female Angels
- “Rock n’ Roll Party Queen“
- “Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay“
- “Those Magic Changes” – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers; Danny sings along onscreen
- “Tears on My Pillow” – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers
- “Hound Dog” – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers
- “Born to Hand Jive” – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers
- “Blue Moon” – Johnny Casino and the Gamblers
- “Sandy” – Danny
- “There are Worse Things I Could Do” – Rizzo
- “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise)” – Sandy
- “Alma Mater Parody” (Instrumental)
- “You’re the One That I Want” – Danny, Sandy, Pink Ladies, and T-Birds
- “We Go Together” – Cast
- “Grease (Reprise)”
Television
Main articles: Somos tú y yo and Grease: Live
On August 17, 2009, a television series inspired by the film premiered in Venezuela. The series was produced and directed by Vladimir Perez. The show explores and expands on the characters and story from the film.
On January 31, 2016, Fox aired a live television-adapted special of the musical, using components from both the 1978 film and the original Broadway show. Starring Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit, and Vanessa Hudgens, the adaptation received positive reviews, especially for Hudgens, and ten Emmy nominations.
On October 15, 2019, it was announced that a musical television series based on Grease, titled Grease: Rydell High, was given a straight-to-series order by HBO Max. Annabel Oakes is set to write the pilot episode and act as executive producer for the series. In 2020, the series’ title was changed to Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies and will premiere on Paramount+. Filming began in January 2022, and the series’s cast was announced at the end of the month
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