The Osmonds

The Osmonds are an American family pop group who achieved enormous worldwide success as teenage music idols in the 1970s.

The group originally comprised brothers Alan Ralph Osmond (born June 22, 1949), Melvin Wayne Osmond (known as Wayne Osmond) (born August 28, 1951), Merrill Davis Osmond (born April 30, 1953), Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) and Donald Clark 'Donny' Osmond (born December 9, 1957) .

Career

The Osmonds' career started with a big break at Disneyland, followed quickly by regular appearances on The Andy Williams Show in the early 1960s. In the mid-60s they performed with Sweden's most popular singer Lars Lönndahl, and gained a lot of popularity in Sweden. However, their most successful period was the early 1970s, when they achieved a string of chart hits.

They were joined for a time by younger brothers Donny Osmond (born December 9, 1957) and subsequently 'Little' Jimmy Osmond (born April 16, 1963). They had a self-titled Rankin/Bass-produced Saturday morning cartoon series on ABC-TV from 1972 to 1973. Donny, and to a lesser extent Jimmy, both achieved success as solo artists, as did their one sister, (Olive) Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959). Marie's signature hit was the country song "Paper Roses" (hence the recurring theme on their variety show where Marie sang, "I'm a little bit country," and Donny responded by singing "and I'm a little bit rock and roll"). Jimmy achieved particular success in the UK and Japan (most notably for his single "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool"), while Donny and Marie's success was nearly worldwide. Donny and Marie also performed as a duo, and hosted their own variety show, Donny & Marie, on ABC from 1976 to 1979.

The family members are well-known as devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Osmonds are of English descent on both their paternal and maternal sides, as well as Welsh descent on their maternal side. [1]

Musical success

The Osmonds' breakthrough US hit, "One Bad Apple", featuring lead vocals by Merrill and Donny, bore an uncanny similarity to the 'bubblegum soul' sound of their contemporaries, The Jackson 5. The song spent five weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1971, and even hit #6 on the R&B chart. The single and the accompanying debut album (called "The Osmonds") were recorded at Muscle Shoals by the legendary R&B producer Rick Hall.

The follow-up to "One Bad Apple", "Double Lovin'" stalled at #14, but the mildly psychedelic "Yo-Yo" climbed all the way to #3 in late 1971. "Yo-Yo" marks the point where the brothers began recording as a self-contained rock and roll band (instead of relying on session musicians.) In spite of their squeaky clean image, the Osmonds had a soulful, sometimes raucous sound which was a precursor of the power pop of later years. (For a time in the mid-1970s, they were the one of the few rock acts on TV, since the entire Osmond family appeared on a variety show which was mostly devoted to Donny and Marie, but where the Brothers were given a segment or two each week to rock out.)

Their first single release of 1972, "Down By The Lazy River", headed to #4 and finally broke the group in the UK, where it peaked at #40. Their British fanbase exploded overnight. All members of the Osmond family, counting group and solo recordings, charted an astonishing thirteen singles in the UK charts during 1973.

Their 1972 LP Crazy Horses and its title track were met with mixed critical reaction. The album attempted a more rock-oriented sound and image, its lead track, "Hold Her Tight" bearing a marked similarity to Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song with its churning bass line and wailing guitar breaks. The album, however, was a real testament to the brothers' ability to write and play (they played all the instruments on the album) and featured some serious songwriting, singing and playing chops.

Following quickly on its heels was the ambitious 1973 release, The Plan, perhaps best described as a Mormon concept album with prog rock aspirations. These albums were followed with gentler, more sentimental songs such as "Let Me In" and "Love Me For A Reason". This music, combined with the brothers' good looks and clean image, greatly appealed to the teenybopper market. Like the word 'Beatlemania', a new word, 'Osmania', was coined to describe the phenomenon.

The Osmonds today

Wayne, Jay, Jimmy, and sometimes Merrill continue to perform as The Osmond Brothers, with frequent appearances in Branson, Missouri, as well as the UK, both as a quartet with Jimmy. Merrill also performs as a solo artist, performing regularly in Branson, Missouri and Europe. Alan no longer performs except on very rare occasions, as he suffers from multiple sclerosis (although his typically positive Osmond motto is 'I may have MS... but, MS does not have me!'). Today, their sound is more country & western, with a bit of rock, and adult contemporary thrown in.

Jimmy performs in Branson and the UK, as well, and has become a successful businessman. He appeared in the UK series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

Marie has been a radio host and makes and sells dolls. At the end of March of 2007, it was announced Marie and her second husband, producer Brian Blosil are divorcing after nearly 20 years of marriage.

Donny maintains a successful touring and recording pop career in the UK, and occasionally the US. He was a theatrical hit, starring for over 2,000 performances in the lead role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Up through December of 2006 he starred as Gaston in the stage production of Beauty and the Beast.

All of the brothers are married with some of them having large families themselves. Alan's eight sons sometimes perform as "The Osmonds - Second Generation" or "2ndG". Due to a resurgence of interest, they toured the UK in 2006.

In August of 2007, the Osmonds performed their 50th Anniversary in Las Vegas.

On October 9, 2007 on The Paul O'Grady Show, Donny Osmond announced that they were getting back together and touring the UK in May, 2008.

Patriarch George Osmond died at 90 in Salt Lake City on November 6, 2007.

Discography

This list comprises all of the Osmonds record releases as a pop and country act. It does not contain any special releases, compilations, or other types of releases. Singles have been listed where known.

Osmonds - 1970

Label: MGM Records SE-4724

Singles: One Bad Apple (#1 Pop/#6 R&B), Sweet and Innocent (originally billed to the Osmonds)

Homemade - 1971

Label: MGM Records SE-4770

Singles: Double Lovin', Chilly Winds

Phase III - 1971

Label: MGM Records SE-4796

Singles: Yo-Yo, Down By The Lazy River

The Osmonds Live - 1972

Label: MGM Records 2SE-4826

Crazy Horses - 1972

Label: MGM/Kolob Records SE-4871

Singles: Hold Her Tight, Crazy Horses

The Plan - 1973

Label: MGM/Kolob Records SE-4902

Singles: Let Me In, Goin' Home

Love Me For A Reason - 1974

Label: MGM/Kolob Records SE-4939

Singles: Love Me For A Reason, Having A Party

The Proud One - 1975

Label: MGM/Polydor

Singles: The Proud One, I'm Still Gonna Need You

Around The World: Live In Concert - 1975

Label: MGM/Kolob Records SE-5012

Brainstorm - 1976

Label: Polydor/Kolob Records

Singles: I Can't Live A Dream, Back On The Road Again,

The Osmonds Christmas Album - 1976

Label: Polydor/Kolob Records

The Osmonds Greatest Hits - 1977

Label: Polydor Records PD-2-9005

The following four albums did not feature Donny

Steppin' Out - 1979

Label: Mercury SRM-1-3766

Singles: Steppin' Out, Emily, Rainin', I I I

Note: This was their last album as a pop group

The Osmond Brothers - 1982

Label: Elektra Asylum Records 60180

Singles: Never Ending Song of Love, I Think About Your Lovin'

One Way Rider - 1984

Label: Warner Brothers Records 1-25070

Singles: She's Ready For Someone To Love Her, Where Does An Angel Go When She Cries, One Way Rider

Single

Suzanne - 1985 (?)

Trivia

• There are also two older Osmond brothers, Virl and Tom, who were both born deaf.
• The Osmond Brothers' sonic similarities to The Jackson 5 have been a source of both criticism and humour throughout the years. Critics charge that the Osmonds were subconsciously mimicking the Jacksons' sound for a white audience, while the group's fans contend that their best work is equal to, or at least more ambitious than, the J5's hits. As early as 1972, one of Cheech and Chong's many "Dave" comedy routines finds stoners Dave and Pedro watching a TV movie called The Jackson 5 Story, Starring The Osmond Brothers. Pedro shuts off the television and says 'TV's a bummer, man.'
• Comedy music group The Credibility Gap released a single, entitled "Foreign Novelty Smash", which was described as 'The Osmonds imitating The Jacksons in German'. The song's lyrics consist of random German phrases.
• "Crazy Horses" has been covered by many bands, among them: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, KMFDM, a German industrial band, on their single "Godlike", Demented Are Go, a welsh psychobilly band, on their debut album In Sickness & In Health and Lawnmower Deth on their album "Return of the Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns".
• Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert covered "Hold Her Tight" on his solo CD Eleven Thousand Notes.
• In a 2005 Sprint PCS advertisement, a still youthful-looking Donny himself jokes that Sprint allows him to save whenever he calls family members including Jimmy, Marie, and Tito Jackson.
• Donny Osmond made a cameo appearance in Weird Al Yankovic's video White & Nerdy
• The band were lampooned because of their strikingly similar gleaming dental work - the British satirical sketch show Not The Nine O'Clock News once read a spoof headline which said: 'In the Osmonds' split up, Donny Osmond has been awarded custody of the teeth.'
• An episode of the British sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf, entitled "Polymorph", features the character Rimmer issuing his own Space Corps Directive, which states: 'Never tangle with anything that's got more teeth than the entire Osmond family.'

External links

• Official website