GREASE 40: Billboard Magazine Remembers The Movie Musical's Massive Music Hits

On the 40th anniversary of the massive movie musical hit, GREASE, Billboard Magazine's Chuck Arnold remembers the impact of the film's music.

An excerpt from Billboard:

In the past two years, soundtracks to musical films like The Greatest Showman, La La Land and Beauty and the Beast have scored big on the Billboard 200 chart. But even those success stories can't compare to the blockbuster Grease soundtrack, which everyone was hopelessly devoted to after it was released 40 years ago on April 14, 1978.

The double-LP companion to the smash movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John—which didn't hit theaters until two months later, on June 16—was certified 8-times platinum (and has sold more than 6 million copies since the start of the Nielsen Music era in 1991), notched four top five hits on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Grease," No. 1; "You're the One That I Want," No. 1; "Hopelessly Devoted to You," No. 3; "Summer Nights," No. 5), and earned an album of the year Grammy nod. Whether you've ever seen the screen romance of '50s high-school sweethearts Sandy and Danny, chances are you've heard some of the music from one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time.

"I think the songs are timeless," Newton-John tells Billboard. "They're fun and have great energy. The '50s-feel music has always been popular, and it's nostalgic for my generation, and then the young kids are rediscovering it every 10 years or so, it seems. People buying the album was a way for them to remember those feelings of watching the movie and feelings of that time period. I feel very grateful to be a part of this movie that's still loved so much."