Movie musicals are one of Hollywood’s oldest traditions, bringing the electricity of live theater onto the big screen for a global audience. Even 45 years on, Grease stands as one of the most popular ever made, with the high school comedy film crossing generations thanks to its broad appeal.
While less common today, cinematic musicals tended to prioritize star power over suitability for the role, which meant that actors – some of whom couldn’t sing a note – were suddenly singing with incredible pipes, through a little movie-magic trickery. This typically involved vocal mixes or entire voice replacements, where a professional singer would take over for the lead actor behind the camera. The most notable examples include Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964) and Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), both dubbed over by professional soprano Marni Nixon, often referred to as a “ghost singer.”
This practice still occurs in modern films, although in a slightly more nuanced way. While Rebecca Ferguson was fully dubbed over by professional opera singer Loren Allred in The Greatest Showman (2017), other film roles, such as Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and Zac Efron in the first High School Musical movie (2005) used a mix of their own vocals with Freddie Mercury’s and Drew Seeley’s, respectively.
Often, movies still prioritize actors renowned for their previous work rather than professional singers. For example, La La Land (2016) received criticism for what some viewers perceived as lackluster vocal performances by actors Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, although the majority lauded both actors for their performances.
Did John Travolta sing in Grease?
By the time Grease came around, John Travolta was already a rising star, thanks to hit films like Carrie (1976) and Saturday Night Fever (1977), as well as his natural on-screen talent and charm. While the internet is rife with rumors that Travolta was lip-syncing in the musical movie, and understandably so, all vocals were provided by Mr. Danny Zuko himself. While not a professional singer, Travolta being well-fitted for the role helped sell the inherent cool of Danny, making up in magnetism where he may have lacked in singing abilities.
In fact, the producers of Grease liked Travolta’s singing and swagger so much that, despite Danny not originally having the lead vocals in the song “Greased Lightning,” they gave them to the leading man anyway. “I wanted the number,” Travolta admitted to Vanity Fair in 2016, “and because I had clout, I could get the number.”