Song of the Day: 'Sam' by Olivia Newton-John

I found myself discussing my love for Olivia Newton-John last week on "The Derek and Romaine Show," with Derek naturally assuming "Grease" lured me in. But the truth is I loved Livvy long before then, dating back to her "country" period. and "Have You Never Been Mellow" and "I Honestly Love You." ("If Not for You" was my favorite as a kid, followed by "Making a Good Thing Better" and "Come on Over.") All this led me to playing my entire (iPod-loaded) collection Saturday night during dinner and into the night. Michael, who isn't into "chick music" the way I am even had to acknowledge that ONJ released some awfully good songs over the years -- singling out "A Little More Love" ("Even if you didn't love Olivia you had to admit this was a good song," he preached to my choir), "Suddenly" and this classic from her 1976 LP, "Don't Stop Believin'." How it only peaked at No. 20 on the pop charts is beyond me, but the adult contemporary audience recognized its brilliant, taking it all the way to the top. That Vegas show is calling me ...