Song of the Day: 'Deeper Than the Night' by Olivia Newton-John

 

Day two of Songs That Peaked at No. 11: I know I never shut up about Olivia Newton-John's "Totally Hot," her first post-"Grease" album. While it was a hit, it was by far her best album and should have been the mega smash "Physical" was a couple years later. The first single, "A Little More Love" reached No. 3 when it was clearly a No. 1 -- and a million times better than letting somebody's body talk. And equally depressing was that its follow-up, the romantically desperate "Deeper Than the Night," only hit No. 11, while the title track stalled at No. 52 as the third and final single. What is WRONG with people? An edit of "Please Don't Keep Me Waiting" could have been a great single, too. (I love the last two minutes of wailing that my friend calls Olivia's "Yoko Ono moment," but could have easily been trimmed for radio.) The ONJ-penned "Borrowed Time" is a masterpiece with a beautiful arrangement, and Eric Carmen's "Boats Against the Current" is another winner on a record full of them.

To add insult to injury, ONJ's next single -- "I Can't Help It" with Andy Gibb, which was written by brother Barry while he was on a roll with Barbra Streisand's "Guilty" -- only hit No. 12 the following year. (Suddenly 11 doesn't seem so bad!) Perhaps the record-buying public would have preferred a 45 of his version with Punky Brewster?