Biography: (Date and Source Unknown)
Helen Reddy had a prolific output of hit singles in the '70s but is best remembered for her first #1 hit, the feminist anthem "I Am Woman." Born in Melbourne, Australia the daughter of show-biz parents, she was performing with Perth, Australia's Tivoli Theatre by the age of four. At the age of 15, she left her boarding school to sing and act with a road show; and by the age of 20, she was starring in her own TV variety show, Helen Reddy Sings. She tried to make it in New York in 1966 but would not hit until 1971 with a rendition of Jesus Christ Superstar's "I Don't Know How To Love Him." 1972's I Am Woman, her third album, was the recording that really launched her career, with millions of women around the world adopting "I Am Woman" as the song which defined their feelings towards the patriarchy. The song hit #1 and has been played at practically every feminist rally ever since. The song also won Reddy her one and only Grammy in 1973.
Reddy was also responsible for a string of other hits in the '70's. In 1973, "Delta Dawn" hit #1, "Leave Me Alone" #3 and "Peaceful" #12. 1974's "Keep On Singing" landed at #15, "You and Me Against The World" at #9 and "Angie Baby" at #1. Reddy's last top ten hit was 1975's "Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady." When Reddy wasn't busy touring or recording, she could usually be seen on either her NBC variety show or hosting the late night rock-revue The Midnight Special. Her singing career essentially ended in 1975, but Reddy continued to appear in the public eye by appearing in such movies as Airport 1975, Pete's Dragon and the all time leader for career killing films, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. These days, Reddy heads up her own production company and makes occasional public appearances in support of the causes she holds near to her heart. In 1989, for example, she led hundreds of thousands of people through a rendition of "I Am Woman" at the National Organization of Women's Rally For Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. Most recently, her "I Am Woman" was transformed into a jingle for Lady Foot Locker.
Born into a well-known Australian show business family, Helen Reddy has been performing professionally since she was child.
Five years after coming to the United States, Helen signed with Capitol Records. The very first track she cut was not only her first hit single but also the first hit single for Andrew Lloyd Webber, "I Don't Know How To Love Him".
However, it was a song she penned, "I Am Woman," that became her first number one record. Helen won a Grammy Award for her performance and the song is now recognized as the anthem for the feminist movement.
More top ten singles followed and songs like "Leave Me Alone," (Ruby Red Dress,) "Angie Baby," Delta Dawn" and "You And Me Against The World, " on gold and platinum selling albums led to Helen's international multi-media career. Her Television specials have been seen in over forty countries while her starring role in the Disney film, "Pete's Dragon," continues to attract a new generation of fans.
With these successes solidly behind her, Helen returned to her theatrical roots with starring roles in productions of "Anything Goes," "Call Me Madam," and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." A huge fan herself of English playwright and composer Willy Russell, Helen has become the foremost interpreter of his work, appearing both on Broadway and in the West End of London in the hit musical "Blood Brothers" and four productions of Russell's one-woman play "Shirley Valentine."
Although Helen has been winning rave reviews for her theatrical work, she still continues to appear in concert and with symphony orchestras. Helen returned to prime time network television in May 2000 when she guest-starred on the hit CBS series "Diagnosis Murder", opposite Dick Van Dyke. Helen will release her very first Christmas collection, "HELEN REDDY: "The Best Christmas Ever" in July 2000 through an exclusive arrangement with The Home Shopping Network.
Active in community affairs, Helen served for three years as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for the State of California. Of the many honors she has received, Helen is most proud of the tulip named for her in Holland and she grows the reddish-violet bulbs in her garden in Santa Monica, CA.
2006 Biography
 
 
1999 Biography:
Released in booklet of CD: "The Essential Helen Reddy Collection"
from Razor and Tie music.
Written by Mike Ragogna-June 1998 included in the CD booklet of "The Essential Helen Reddy Collection" One of the best compilation CDs out there. This bio is one of the most-precise bio's I've seen so far.  It also includes song chart information and many rare photos of Helen. Any REAL Helen Reddy fan MUST own this CD! Available direct from "Razor and Tie", or in your favorite music store.


With her lyrics "I am strong, I am invincible," Helen Reddy provided the anthem of the '70's for women redefining their role in the evolving political and social climates of the decade. And although their creative approaches differ, artists like Tori Amos, Paula Cole, Shawn Colvin and Sheryl Crow carry the same torch and continue raising women's issues through their music in the language of their peers - a tradition that started with Helen's unsubtle #1 hit of a quarter century ago, "I Am Woman."
Like other women who helped to define a generation through their music (Carly Simon, Olivia Newton-John, Linda Ronstadt), Helen's mark is left by much more than a simple catch-phrase or one bit hit. Looking back at her 21 charting pop records and string of 14 Top 10 Adult Contemporary hits, Helen truly was invincible. For five years straight, she was on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart every week, with entries written by future classic songwriters ranging from the soulful rockers Van Morrison and Leon russell to the gentle balladeers such as Kenny Rankin, Paul Williams and (Lord) Andrew Lloyd Webber. In fact, it was Webber who gave Reddy her first hit when she charted in February of '72 with "I Don't Know How To Love Him" from his rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar.
It was appropriate and perhaps a bit synchronistic that Helen's first smash was born of the stage, since Helen was apparently "born in a trunk"' on October 25, 1941 in Melbourne, Australia. She was part of a showbiz family, the daughter of actress and future soap-opera star Stella Lamond and Max Reddy, a popular writer, producer and comedian. Performing from age four and working full time from age 15 across her native Australia, Helen already had her sights on a more distant destination: America.
Over the years, Helen learned about the theater and performing live, acting, dancing and singing. When her parents returned from a visit to the States, they brought back US Top 40 singles exposing Helen to rhythm and blues by artists like Ray Charles and Chuck Berry as well as the jazz that she admired. With an amalgam of various musical styles, she blossomed into a successful solo performer, earning her own radio show in the '60s called Helen Reddy Sings which aired twice weekly on the Australian Broadcasting Commission (think BBC). In '66 Helen flew to New York City, the result of winning Australian TV's Bandstand International, a contest with 1,358 contestants fronted by Mercury Records. In addition to $400, she won an audition with the label but after arriving in America to collect the prize, a company rep took her to lunch and announced that Mercury would not give her a deal.
With her 3-year old daughter Traci in tow, she lived on whatever work she could find and struggled for awhile in New York, then in '67 moved to Chicago. A couple of breaks came for the aspiring singer by ways of appearances on the Mike Douglas and Steve Allen shows, and the recording of her first 45 "One Way Ticket." But her '68 move to LA was the one that made the difference. Capitol Records signed Helen in '71, her first single being "I Believe In Music" whose "b" side "I Don't Know How To Love Him" clicked at radio. (Though not a hit for Helen, the Mac Davis-penned "a" side was taken to #22 by the Detroit group Gallery a year later.)
Encouraged by her #13 chart performance, Capitol requested an album. The Larry Marks-produced LP, titled after her big hit, included her first, non-single and comparatively understated version of "I Am Woman" (sans the familiar big female chorus, and with a comparatively different arrangement). It also featured Helen's next hit, a cover of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" that became her first AC Top 10; her self-penned "Best Friend" was also included on the album, and was featured in her first starring film role where she played a "singing/flying nun" (as Helen put it) in Airport '75. Her self-titled second album (with Marks again at the helm) was rushed out for the '71 Christmas season, its standout track being the Reddy original and frequent "b" side "More Than You Could Take" which smartly lamented a relationship's end.
About a year and a half after her first Capitol hit, the original version of "I Am Woman" was included in the movie Stand Up And be Counted (starring Stella Stevens). Since the film was a cult hit, the song was expanded to three verses and re-recorded for a single release. In '72, it briefly charted, then disappeared. But where most artists would move on to the next release, a very pregnant Reddy (expecting with son Jordan) hit the promotion trail and made 19 TV appearances singing the anthem; the women of America voiced their approval. "I hate the song, but my wife makes me play it" became many DJ's favorite disclaimer as they reluctantly spun the vinyl, and combined with Helen's efforts, the 45 recharted, claiming a #1 Pop status. Its irrepressible message, constant airplay and sales of over a million copies finally made Helen Reddy a household name. More TV appearances and even network specials followed. What few people hadn't heard of Helen by this point surely did the following March when the headlines focused on her Grammy acceptance speech: After accepting the award for Best Female Performance, she closed by thanking "God, because SHE makes everything possible!"
To read the remainder of the above biography purchase the CD:

"I AM WOMAN: The Essential Helen Reddy Collection"
 
1998-1999 Biography

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
BORN: 25 October 1942, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, A big-voiced interpreter of rock ballads, with a reputation as a high-profile feminist and campaigner on social issues, Helen Reddy came from a show business family. She was a child performer and had already starred in her own television show before winning a trip to New York in an Australian talent contest in 1966. There, an appearance on the influential Tonight Show led to a recording contract with Capitol, and a 1971 hit single with 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar . The following year, the powerful feminist anthem, 'I Am Woman', which she co-wrote with Peter Allen, went to number 1 in the US, and sold over a million copies. It also gained Reddy a Grammy for best female vocal performance (part of her acceptance speech went: 'I want to thank God because she makes everything possible'), and was adopted by the United Nations as its theme for International Women's Year. Over the next five years, she had a dozen further hit singles, including 'Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress), 'Keep On Singing', 'You And Me Against The World', 'Emotion', and two contrasting number 1s, Alex Harvey 's modern country ballad 'Delta Dawn' (1973), and the chilling, dramatic 'Angie Baby' in 1974. Her 1976 hit, 'I Can't Hear You No More', was composed by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, while Reddy's final Top 20 record (to date) was a revival of Cilla Black's 1964 chart-topper, 'You're My World', co-produced by Kim Fowley. Reddy also became a well-known television personality, hosting the Midnight Special show for most of the 70s, taking a cameo role in Airport 75 and starring in the 1978 film Pete's Dragon. She also sang 'Little Boys', the theme song for the film The Man Who Loved Women (1983). Disenchanted with life in general during the 80s, she performed infrequently, but made her first major showcase in years at the Westwood Playhouse, Los Angeles, in 1986. Since then she has appeared in concert and cabaret around the world. In 1995 she was performing at London's Café Royal in the evenings, while rehearsing during the day to take over from Carole King in the hit musical Blood Brothers on Broadway.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998