'You're the One That I Want' was written by Australian John Farrar for the 1978 film adaptation of the stage musical Grease. It was performed by lead actors Olivia Newton-John (1948–2022) and John Travolta and become a huge international hit, topping the US charts and spending nine weeks at No. 1 on each of the UK and Australian charts. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with estimates of more than 15 million copies sold overall.

The Grease soundtrack album spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 in Australia and yielded three Top 5 singles for Newton-John. 'You're the One That I Want' was one of two singles, along with 'Hopelessly Devoted to You', written by Farrar for Newton-John's character in the film that had not been in the original stage musical.

Cover image: detail from autographed photo of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in Grease, 1978. NFSA: 780091

CREDITS

Performers Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta Composer John Farrar