June 16th was the 40th anniversary of the movie “Grease” and to celebrate, we listened to (and watched) “You’re The One That I Want,” a 4-minute clip that is pretty much guaranteed to put you in a good mood– Olivia Newton-John vamping in black toreador pants, high heeled slides, and halter top and John Travolta as a ball of scene-stealing energy.
Set in 1958, “Grease” cast a wide net: Older Boomers related because they had actually lived in the 50s, while a younger generation became fascinated with that era. Recall that just a few years prior to “Grease,” the sitcom “Happy Days,” also set in the 50’s, was a huge TV ratings winner.
“Grease” was a multi-million selling, platinum-status album, and “You’re The One That I want” reached #1 on the Top 40 chart.
Overthinking this: “Grease” came out in 1978, although the story line took place in 1958, 20 years prior. By that same measure, a movie made today, with a story line 20 years prior, would be 1998 Americana. Just sayin’.