Reddy for anything

Young Chang

This may sound “wacko,” vocalist Helen Reddy warns, but she’s willing

to spill about her latest interest.

“Hypnotherapy,” she admits.

Reddy’s been studying up on the science in preparation for her pending

full-time move to Norfolk Island in the South Pacific, where she lives

about half of the time now. She’s sold her Santa Monica home to start a

quieter life away from the spotlight, and she knows what her next role

will be.

“What does the island need? There are no psychological counseling

services there,” said the voice behind the hit “I Am Woman.” “So I will

be qualified at the end of all this to deal with most of the problems

people have -- ranging from nail-biting to insomnia to all of the little

things.”

But before she leaves, she’s got some ends to tie up and some fans to

please. Her more than 30-year, Grammy-winning career isn’t going to stop

just because she’s 58. And the performer herself isn’t one to tire.

She will sing many of her classic hits with the Pacific Symphony

Orchestra today and Saturday for the Pops Concerts Series at the Orange

County Performing Arts Center.

“Her voice is in perfect shape,” said John Forsyte, the orchestra’s

president. “And she’s on and she involves the audience and has a good

sense of humor.”

Forsyte got a sense of this last year when Reddy sang at a Pacific

Symphony Orchestra gala. She quite nearly “brought the house down,” he

remembers, so orchestra leaders sought after a public performance.

Reddy, an Australia native, hit it big from the get-go. Her first

chart-topping single, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” was also Andrew

Lloyd Webber’s first single hit. “I Am Woman” became a No. 1 album and

still resonates today in association with the feminist movement.

Other hits include “Leave Me Alone,” “Angie Baby,” “Delta Dawn” and

“You and Me Against the World.”

With Mother’s Day approaching, the last song deserves even more of a

spotlight. It’s about love between a parent and a child. The piece begins

with Reddy’s now-grown daughter saying, “Tell me again, mommy.” It ends

with, “I love you, mommy.”

“I thought it was destined to be a classic,” said Reddy, who is now a

grandmother. “It had been written as a man-woman love song, but it didn’t

really translate as a man-woman love song. I felt it would work as a

parent-child love song, and there certainly didn’t seem to be too many of

those around.”

Reddy is also known today for her film, television and stage

appearances. The Disney movie “Pete’s Dragon” is one that brings a smile

to fans’ faces. In 1977, with a cast that included Mickey Rooney, Red

Buttons and Shelley Winters, the vocalist gained fame on screen while

earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance of the movie’s

theme, “Candle On the Water.”

She’s had starring roles on Broadway and other productions, including

“Blood Brothers,” “Shirley Valentine” and “The Mystery of Edwin Drood.”

“But I perform so rarely these days that I really enjoy it,” she said.

“I’ve been working since I was 4 years old, and it’s sort of time for me

now to do what I want to do.”

Such as buy a house in the South Pacific, have fun with the fact that

Holland has named a tulip after her and figure out what else she could do

to pay the world back.

This was her mentality in the late ‘70s, when she served for three

years as commissioner of parks and recreation for the state.

“I wanted to serve in some capacity,” she said. “This country’s been

very good to me, and I wanted to give something back.”

FYI

WHAT: Helen Reddy will perform with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra

WHEN: 8 p.m. today and Saturday

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

COST: $23-$72

CALL: (714) 755-5799