Contents

Let Me Be There (album)

Let Me Be There
Studio album by Olivia Newton-John
Released	November 1973
Recorded	May-June 1973
Studio	MCA Recording Studios in Universal City California
Genre	Country country pop
Length	42:09
Label	Festival / MCA (US)
Producer	John Farrar Bruce Welch
Olivia Newton-John chronology
Olivia (1972) Let Me Be There (1973) Long Live Love (1974)
Singles from Let Me Be There
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" Released: January 1973 "Let Me Be There" Released: September 1973

Let Me Be There is the third studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. It was originally released in November 1973 as Music Makes My Day in the United Kingdom, by Pye International Records, and shortly after in Australia as Let Me Be There, which became its most recognisable name. In the United States and Canada, Let Me Be There was released with an alternative tracklist, combining songs from the original release with other tracks from Newton-John's previous albums If Not for You and Olivia.

Let Me Be There marked a shift in Newton-John's career. She achieved considerable success during her early years in the United Kingdom with some folk-inspired singles, but Let Me Be There would make the United States her largest market at the time, being considered her breakthrough album in this country and influencing an inclination to a more country pop sound that would define most of her next records in the 1970s. The songs "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Let Me Be There" were released as singles from the album.

Release[edit]

The American publication of the album by MCA Records used the cover art from Olivia's 1972 LP record Olivia, which was not released by MCA. Some of its songs were taken for the US publication, such as song titles from the British publications of the albums If Not for You and Olivia.^{[citation needed]} The album was not released outside of North America, the UK, Ireland and Australasia. An album with the same title and cover art was released in Japan, but with the same track listing as First Impressions.

Though the title song was a commercial failure in England, it was Olivia Newton-John's first American top ten hit, successfully boosting her singing career in North America. She had previously charted in the Billboard Top 40 with the song "If Not for You".

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

AllMusic editor Joe Viglione wrote in his retrospective review: "It's early Newton-John, a bit naïve and far from the sophistication of her Warm and Tender release on Geffen, but it works, especially because it contains her first two hit records."^[1]

Chart performance[edit]

The album was released to capitalise on the success of its title track that had earned Newton-John a Grammy for Best Country Female. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1974,^[2] and it peaked at No. 54 on the US Pop chart and at No. 1 (for two weeks) on the Country chart.

Track listing[edit]

All songs produced by John Farrar and Bruce Welch.^[3]

Music Makes My Day[edit]

Let Me Be There[edit]

In the United States, the album was released with artwork from her 1972 Olivia album and some different songs from this and some earlier Newton-John albums.

Personnel[edit]

Performers and musicians

• Brian Bennett – drums
• Terry Britten – guitar
• Vicki Brown – background vocalist
• Pat Carroll – background vocalist
• John Farrar – arranger, background vocalist, instruments, producer
• Mo Foster – bass
• Cliff Hall – piano
• Jean Hawker – background vocalist
• Alan Hawkshaw – arranger, piano
• Dave Macrae – piano
• Margo Newman – background vocalist
• Olivia Newton-John – vocalist
• Kevin Peek – guitar
• Mike Sammes – background vocalist
• Trevor Spencer – drums
• Alan Tarney – background vocalist, bass
• Bruce Welch – guitar, producer
• Mark Warner – guitar

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

References[edit]