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
  • A French cover was recorded by Nicole Rieu, "Ma maison au bord de l'eau", was released in 1975.[13]
  • Hank Marvin recorded an instrumental version on his 'Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate' album in 1977 (EMC 3215, 0C 062-06 553)
  • Dionne Warwick performed the song in concert, a version of which is included on the DVD 'The Diva Of Soul Music Live In Concert'.[14]
  • Billy Vaughn covered the track on his 1976 album Melodies of Love.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.)
  • 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]
  • The song was performed as part of the 2007 Broadway musical Xanadu.
  • Australian singer Tex Perkins covered the track on his 2008 album No. 1's & No. 2's.
  • 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.[17]
  • 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 2018 album Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John.[18]
  • Along with her later single "Xanadu", a remixed version by The Olivia Project appears in the Dance Dance Revolution series of video games.

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. "Encyclopédisque - Disque : Ma maison au bord de l'eau". Encyclopedisque.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  14. https://www.discogs.com/Dionne-Warwick-The-Diva-Of-Soul-Music-Live-In-Concert/release/8694366. Retrieved 7 December 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  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. "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Go Down Under (EP Review) - Stereoboard UK". stereoboard.com. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  18. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
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