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).
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.
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 (also called "One Bad Apple") 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 Donnie 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.
 |
The front and back covers of their 1972 LP |
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.
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.
*
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)
*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.'Additionally, 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.'
*
Official website
