The Osmonds

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

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

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, Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959). Jimmy achieved particular success in the UK, 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 are well-known as devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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. Their follow-up, "Double Lovin'" stalled at #14, but the mildly psychedelic "Yo-Yo" climbed all the way to #3 in late 1971.

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 brother's 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, and 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. 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 recently 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.

Donny maintains a successful touring and recording pop career in the UK, and occasionally the US. He was a theatrical hit, starring for a time in the lead role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

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 are to tour the UK in February and March of 2006.

Discography

One Bad Apple (March 1970)
Down By The Lazy River (March 1972)
Crazy Horses (November 1972)
The Plan (January 1973)
Goin' Home (July 1973)
Let Me In (October 1973)
One Way Ticket To Anywhere (November 1973)
I Can't Stop (April 1974)
Love Me For A Reason (August 1974)
Having A Party (March 1975)
The Proud One (May 1975)
I'm Still Gonna Need You (November 1975)
I Can't Live A Dream (October 1976)

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.
KMFDM, a German industrial band, covered "Crazy Horses" on their single "Godlike".
Mr. Big shredder, 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.
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.'

External link

Official website

Family musical groups | Latter Day Saints | Utah musical groups