John Farrar | |
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| Born | John Clifford Farrar (1946-11-08)8 November 1946 (age 79) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2; includingSam |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Rock and roll,pop |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | CBS,See4Miles |
| Formerly of |
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Musical artist | |
John Clifford Farrar (/ˈfɑːrər/FAR-ər; born 8 November 1946) is an Australianmusic producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–1964),The Strangers (1964–1970),Marvin, Welch & Farrar (1970–1973), andThe Shadows (1973–1976). In 1980, he released a soloeponymous album. As a songwriter and producer, he worked withOlivia Newton-John from 1971 to 1989. He wrote her U.S. number-one hit singles: "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "You're the One That I Want" (1978 duet withJohn Travolta), "Hopelessly Devoted to You" (1978), and "Magic" (1980). He also produced the majority of her recorded material during that time, including her number-one albums,If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974),Have You Never Been Mellow (1975), andOlivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1982). He was a co-producer of thesoundtrack for the filmGrease (1978).
Farrar also produced Newton-John's first American number-one hit single, "I Honestly Love You", which was awarded theGrammy Award for Record of the Year in 1975. In 1969, Farrar married the Australian singerPat Carroll, who had been Newton-John's singing partner. In July 1970, Farrar and Carroll relocated to the United Kingdom and, since late 1975, they have resided in the United States. They are the parents ofSam Farrar, bassist ofPhantom Planet andMaroon 5, and Max Farrar, a composer and producer whose work includes songs withLewis Capaldi andThe Script.[1]
John Clifford Farrar was born on 8 November 1946, and grew up inMoonee Ponds, a suburb ofMelbourne.[2][3] He has an older brother, Reginald, and the family lived in a large household with aunts and uncles.[4] Farrar's mother bought him a country music guitar, which he began playing at the age of twelve.[4][5]
In 1961, he started playing in a band, The Jaguars, with his older brother Reg. When he was fifteen, the family relocated to nearbyNiddrie.[4][5] In 1963, he joined The Mustangs, alongside Johnny Cooper on vocals, Peter Ramis on bass guitar and Billy on drums.
In late January 1964, he joinedThe Strangers, replacing the founding guitarist Laurie Arthur, adding another lead vocalist to the group.[6][7] Other members were Peter Robinson on bass guitar and lead vocals, Graeme Thompson on drums, and Fred Weiland on guitar and backing vocals.[7] They had formed as an instrumental band inGlenroy in 1961, working in the Melbourne dance scene.[6] In June 1964, the band issued its first vocal single, "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Someone", which reached the top 30 on the Melbourne charts in July.[6] They became a popular backing and session band.[6][7]
In August 1964, The Strangers were hired as the house band for theATV O pop music program,The Go!! Show.[7][8] Both Farrar's future wife,Pat Carroll, and their close friend,Olivia Newton-John, appeared onThe Go!! Show as singers backed by The Strangers. Carroll and Newton-John formed a vocal duo, "Pat and Olivia", and in 1967, they first toured the United Kingdom, including a gig at the infamousRaymond Revuebar club inSoho.[9]
After returning to Australia from a tour, Carroll could no longer work in the UK because her work visa had expired, while Newton-John, who was a British citizen, returned to work in the UK. Farrar dated and married Carroll and, following their wedding in 1970, Carroll stopped pursuing headliner status. She occasionally reprised the duo with Newton-John, and worked as a session singer on Farrar's or Newton-John's work.[6][7] During 1968, The Strangers supported the Australian leg of a tour by the British instrumental group,The Shadows.[5] In June 1970, The Strangers released their most successful hit, "Melanie Makes Me Smile", which peaked at No. 14 on theGo-Set National Top 60 in August.[10]
Farrar left the Strangers in July 1970.
In July 1970, Farrar left The Strangers, and he and Carroll moved to Britain, where he was invited to become a member ofMarvin, Welch & Farrar, a vocal harmony group featuring two former members of The Shadows,Hank Marvin andBruce Welch.[6][7] By that time, Newton-John and Welch were engaged, and Farrar and Welch became two of her songwriters and producers.[11] Welch and Farrar co-produced and performed on Newton-John's cover ofBob Dylan's track, "If Not for You", and the album of thesame title, released in November 1971.
Farrar also worked as a backing guitarist and vocalist withCliff Richard.[6][7] Marvin, Welch & Farrar put out two albums, aneponymous one in 1971, andSecond Opinion (in both quadraphonic and stereo formats) in 1972. In 1973, a third album featured just Marvin and Farrar.[6][7] The Shadows reformed soon after, and Farrar joined as second lead guitarist and vocalist. In 1975, the group represented the UK in theEurovision Song Contest with "Let Me Be the One".[12] In 1973, Farrar had appeared in the same contest as a backing guitarist and vocalist for Richard's entry, "Power to All Our Friends". The following year he backed and produced Newton-John on her effort, "Long Live Love".[12]
From 1971 to 1976, various members of The Shadows were employed as session musicians for Newton-John's early albums, recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios. Aside from Farrar and Welch, they includedBrian Bennett,Alan Hawkshaw,Alan Tarney,Dave Richmond, andTrevor Spencer. Some other session musicians were the fellow AustraliansKevin Peek andTerry Britten, who had both worked with Richard, and some other musicians. They worked under co-producers Farrar and Welch until midway through Newton-John's second album,Olivia. Thereafter, Farrar was her main producer. He produced her number-one albums,If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974),Have You Never Been Mellow (1975), andOlivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 (1982).[5] Farrar also produced Newton-John's first American number-one hit single, "I Honestly Love You", which was awarded theGrammy Award for Record of the Year in 1975.[13] His last production for Newton-John was her album,Warm and Tender in 1989.[5]
In 1974, Farrar used thetalk box on an instrumental track, "No, No, Nina". The device, which was based on effects devices that were first developed in the late 1930s, had been used byJoe Walsh on the 1973 USTop 40 single "Rocky Mountain Way". In 1976,Peter Frampton released twoTop 10 US singles from theFrampton Comes Alive! album that used the talk box as well. Farrar's talk box track was held back from release by EMI until 1997, when it appeared on the CD album,The Shadows at Abbey Road, containing mostly unreleased material. A vocal version of "No, No, Nina" appeared on theSpecs Appeal album as a Eurovision contender track, but it was voted sixth out of six initial entries.[citation needed] Aside from instrumentation and vocals, Farrar worked as an arranger on The Shadows' albums:Rockin' with Curly Leads,Specs Appeal,Tasty andLive at the Paris Olympia.[5]
Farrar's work with Newton-John embraced a wide range of styles, from "You're the One That I Want" (duet withJohn Travolta) to "Physical". Farrar's biggest success with Newton-John as a writer-producer came with the film version of the musical,Grease. In 1977, during filming, its producers were replacing some ofJim Jacobs andWarren Casey's pieces from theoriginal score and wanted some more commercial songs, including a solo number for Newton-John, so Farrar wrote and submitted two originals, "Hopelessly Devoted To You" and "You're the One That I Want". Both were accepted, despite strong reservations from directorRandal Kleiser, who believed that the songs didn't fit the style,[14] and became two of the soundtrack's most successful singles, being international number-one hits during 1978.
In June 2004, Farrar recalled writing the two songs: "'You're the One That I Want': The weird thing was it was the fastest song I ever wrote. It came so fast, the actual melody and the feel of it. 'Hopelessly Devoted To You': I spent the longest period writing the lyrics of any song I've ever written. Every thesaurus and every rhyming dictionary I had, just trying to really make it work properly".[15] Other number-one hits for Newton-John that were written and produced by Farrar are "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "Don't Stop Believin'" (an easy-listening chart-topper from 1976, not the Journey song of the same name), and "Magic" (1980). Farrar produced one side of theXanadu soundtrack for the 1980 film of thesame name.[16] The other side featured tracks byElectric Light Orchestra and was produced by their guitarist-vocalist,Jeff Lynne.[5] In March 1981, Farrar was nominated for aGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song for the song "Suspended in Time" fromXanadu.[17]
In 1995, Farrar collaborated with Newton-John and lyricistTim Rice on the score of Cliff Richard's musical,Heathcliff based on theEmily Brontë novelWuthering Heights.[18] Farrar also co-wrote songs for a musical based on the 1959 film,Gidget, which, as of April 2012[update], had been indefinitely postponed.[18] Farrar runs the Moonee Ponds Studio at Sweetwater Road in Malibu.[19]
Farrar and Carroll are the parents ofPhantom Planet andMaroon 5 bass guitaristSam Farrar (born 29 June 1978), and Max Farrar, composer and music producer.[1] Farrar is the father-in-law of formerAgent Sparks member Stephanie Eitel, who is married to Sam.[20] As of April 2012[update], Farrar and Carroll reside inMalibu, California.[18]
According toAllMusic John Farrar has been credited with: vocals (lead, backing), guitars (lead, rhythm, bass guitar, acoustic, slide guitar, acoustic slide, electric slide), piano (electric), keyboards, mellotron, synthesizer, vocoder, synclavier, mandolin, and horn.[16]
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Main article:The Strangers (Australian band) § Discography
Main article:Marvin, Welch & Farrar § Discography (MW&F)
Main article:The Shadows discography
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