Clash of the titans: Olivia meets ABBA meets Andy

It was 1978: 'Dallas' was starting its run on CBS, Serial killer Ted Bundy is captured by the feds, Larry Flint gets shot and later becomes paralyzed, Louise Brown (the world's first test tube baby) is born, Argentina takes over the FIFA World Cup and Karol Wojtyła becomes Pope John Paul II.

In the midst of such events, Olivia Newton-John prevailed in a major artistic crossroad. Known for her angelic pipes, flowy dresses and country-tinged numbers, Newton-John shed the 'goody-two-shoes' image once and for all when she co-stared in the movie/musical Grease, alongside John Travolta. The flick and its amazing soundtrack made her a bonafide superstar and a slammin' comodity in Hollywood. In the words of the title of her ninth studio album, the girl was indeed Totally Hot.

Riding on the sucess of Grease, Newton-John was given a second go at a television special, Olivia aired on ABC in the summer of '78. As always, she was accompanied by guests and in this occasion, they were rather exceptional for various reasons: Andy Gibb, the youngest in the Gibb family, had begun enjoying his short-lived teen idol status with his first three singles ("I Just Want to Be Your Everything", "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" and "Shadow Dancing") hitting the top of the charts consecutively. Though Andy and ,Livvy were inmensely known Stateside, ABBA was not.

ABBA and Olivia already had a history together: they both participated in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, where the Swedish foursome won with the now classic "Waterloo". They experienced a steady run of Top 40 hits, especially the chart topper "Dancing Queen", but they were far from being household names like their British peers. The hopes laid on the TV special to do just that, with over 40 million people watching and hearing in the comfort of their homes.

Preparations for Olivia took place in May, with a predominant theme of childhood in mind throughout the entire production. The highlights of it all, however, were the musical performances designed to showcase each of the guests. Besides the dreadful "The Days Of the Old Schoolyard", a fantastic live medley was shown as the main piece featuring most of their tunes, concluding with ABBA's "Thank You For The Music". All three acts took to a more intimate stage, a-la Elvis 1968 Special, to jam it out with popular tunes and even an impromptu Opera lick from Frida.

The purpose for the TV Special worked slightly to perfection: ABBA's single "Take A Chance On Me" hit the Top 3 on Billboard whilist ABBA - The Album was placed in the Albums Chart at #14. The three met a year later for the historic A Gift of Song benefit concert in New York. After that, their paths would never coincide: Gibb succumed to a drug addiction that left him almost broke and affected his heart, dying 10 years after this TV Special aired. ABBA would continue breaking records until their split in 1982. Olivia got "Physical", she married and had a baby, proudly fought breast cancer and still is keeping strong.

Life takes such interesting twist and turns but at least we've got this slice of memorable pop history to dig. An otherworldly supergroup indeed.