Have You Never Been Mellow (song)

"Have You Never Been Mellow" is a popular song written by John Farrar and recorded by Olivia Newton-John as the title track for her album of the same name.

"Have You Never Been Mellow"
Single by Olivia Newton-John
from the album Have You Never Been Mellow
B-side"Water Under the Bridge"
ReleasedJanuary 21, 1975
Length3:31
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)John Farrar
Producer(s)John Farrar
Olivia Newton-John singles chronology
"I Honestly Love You"
(1974)		 "Have You Never Been Mellow"
(1975)		 "Please Mr. Please"
(1975)

History and release

In March 1975, the single became Newton-John's second consecutive number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart.[1] "Have You Never Been Mellow" continued Newton-John's success as a crossover artist when it peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Country Singles chart.[2]

The record also received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

In the United States, it was Newton-John's fourth straight single to be certified gold for sales of one million copies.[3] "Have You Never Been Mellow" also reached number one in Canada and peaked at number 10 in Australia and number 26 in Japan, but was not much of a success elsewhere in the world, failing to chart altogether in the United Kingdom.

Chart performance

Cover versions

The song was performed as part of the 2007 Broadway musical Xanadu.

Along with her later single "Xanadu", a remixed version by The Olivia Project appears in the Dance Dance Revolution series of video games.

Hank Marvin recorded an instrumental version on his 'Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate' album in 1977 (EMC 3215, 0C 062-06 553)

The Dutch band Party Animals sampled the song in 1996 on their happy hardcore hit "Have You Ever Been Mellow". The song reached number one in the Netherlands.

The punk band the Feederz covered the song on their 1984 debut album "Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss?". The Nip Drivers was another punk band that covered it.

Australian singer James Reyne covered the song (titled simply, "Mellow") on his 2004 release Speedboats for Breakfast. His version is a raucous, punk-influenced take on the song. (Reyne and Newton-John shared the same management in the late '80s and early '90s, and Newton-John sang backing vocals on Reyne's solo debut album.)

Belgian liquid drum & bass prodigy Netsky sampled the song on his 2010 debut album Netsky (Hospital Records), using the vocals of Terri Pace on the song "Mellow".

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song on their all Australian covers 2011 EP, Go Down Under.[13]

A French cover was recorded by Nicole Rieu, "Ma maison au bord de l'eau", was released in 1975.[14]

In 2001, Japanese singer and voice actress Rie Tanaka recorded the song (in English) for her album Garnet. Olivia's original version had been a big hit in Japan in 1975.

In 2006, German DJ duo Tune Up! (DJ Manian and Yanou) released a Hands Up song entitled "Have U Ever Been Mellow" that sampled the song's lyrics.[15] This was later re-released on their 2010 album Ravers Fantasy.[16]

In 2016, Dutch DJ duo Showtek released a Hardstyle song entitled "Mellow" that sampled this song's lyrics with Technoboy and Tuneboy.

In 2017, Japanese singer-songwriter Rina Sumioka covered the song in her album Colors.

Juliana Hatfield covered the song on her album Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John.[17]

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 181.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 248.
  3. "American single certifications – Olivia Newton-John – Have You Never Been Mellow". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  4. "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard. 1975-03-08. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  5. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  6. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  7. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  8. "Charts.nz – Olivia Newton-John – Have You Never Been Mellow". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  9. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  10. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  11. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  12. "Top 100 Hits of 1975/Top 100 Songs of 1975". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  13. "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Go Down Under (EP Review) - Stereoboard UK". stereoboard.com. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  14. "Encyclopédisque - Disque : Ma maison au bord de l'eau". Encyclopedisque.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  15. "Tune Up! – Feel Fine / Have U Ever Been Mellow (2006, 320kbps, File)". Discogs. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  16. "Tune Up! – Ravers Fantasy (2010, 320kbps, File)". Discogs. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  17. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
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