The Osmonds

After the Jackson 5 scored their breakthrough in 1970, another set of five brothers already familiar to audiences for nearly a decade seemed poised to attain comparable teen-idol status. With youngest sibling Donny serving as the central attraction in much the same way Michael did for the Jacksons, the Osmonds capitalized on that opening and enjoyed peak popularity throughout 1971 and 1972. Although the group’s collective chart dominance faded and had vanished by late 1974, the brothers launched enduring entertainment careers for Donny and their sister Marie while the remaining members later mounted a viable return as country performers.

The sons of George and Olive Osmond from Ogden, Utah—Alan (June 22, 1949), Wayne (August 28, 1951), Merrill (April 30, 1953), and Jay (March 2, 1955)—first harmonized in 1959, sharpening their stagecraft at county fairs and amusement parks while concentrating on barbershop arrangements and occasional gospel numbers. In 1962 George escorted the quartet to Los Angeles in hopes of an audition for The Lawrence Welk Show; after Welk declined to hear them, he softened the setback with a Disneyland excursion, where the siblings delivered an impromptu performance alongside a park-employed barbershop quartet. The Osmonds were promptly hired as regular evening entertainers, and within weeks the father of singer and new variety-show host Andy Williams spotted them, prompting a recommendation to his son. Five days before Christmas 1962 the group made its national-television bow on The Andy Williams Show, where they remained regular guests until the program ended in 1967. Roughly a year after that first appearance, Donny (December 9, 1957) formally joined, and the act gradually expanded its style to encompass polished pop material.

Once The Andy Williams Show concluded, the Osmonds moved to The Jerry Lewis Show and remained there through 1969. The 1970 surge of family-oriented bubblegum acts, notably the Jackson 5 and the Partridge Family, positioned the Osmonds for mainstream success. MGM president Mike Curb signed them and dispatched the group to Muscle Shoals, where studio owner and noted R&B producer Rick Hall oversaw sessions. Staff songwriter George Jackson supplied the surefire single “One Bad Apple (Don’t Spoil the Whole Bunch),” which appeared on the debut album Osmonds. Issued at the start of 1971, the track climbed to number one and held the summit for five weeks, finally translating the Osmonds’ long-standing visibility into recording stardom. Additional hits followed rapidly through 1972: “Double Lovin’,” the Top Five singles “Yo-Yo” and “Down by the Lazy River,” “Hold Her Tight,” and “Crazy Horses.” Album sales matched the singles’ momentum; Osmonds earned gold certification, as did the four subsequent releases—Homemade (1971) and the 1972 trio Phase III, The Osmonds Live, and Crazy Horses. Donny’s parallel solo trajectory also accelerated, with “Go Away Little Girl” reaching the top of the charts in 1971.

Momentum eased in 1973 when The Plan, a concept album exploring the family’s Mormon beliefs, failed to match prior commercial results, although the project found unexpected favor in the United Kingdom. That same year thirteen-year-old sister Marie Osmond began appearing with the group, though never as an official member, and she scored a solo success with “Paper Roses.” Shifting public tastes combined with numerous side projects ultimately curtailed the original lineup’s viability; “Love Me for a Reason” from 1974 became the quintet’s final Top Ten single, by which time Donny and Marie had each established independent careers, frequently collaborating as a duet act in subsequent years. The group did not formally dissolve until 1980, yet it had long ceased to register as a pop force.

Donny staged a modest late-’80s resurgence as a contemporary dance-pop vocalist and Broadway performer, then reunited with Marie in the late ’90s for the daytime talk program Donny & Marie. Marie placed several singles on the country charts during the ’90s and appeared on one season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars in 2007. Beginning in the early ’80s the four eldest brothers—Alan, Merrill, Wayne, and Jay—performed as the country outfit the Osmond Brothers and enjoyed solid sales. They maintained an active touring schedule, frequently playing the resort community of Branson, Missouri, where they once operated their own theater. Alan stepped away from the stage in 1996, with Jimmy Osmond assuming his role. The act continued issuing recordings, chiefly through their own website. A 2008 release, Live in Las Vegas 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert, documented a celebratory performance. In 2012 Donny rejoined his brothers for the adult-contemporary album Can’t Get There Without You, which incorporated updated production. That reunion proved brief; the next two projects were holiday collections—2015’s Merry Christmas, featuring Merrill, Jay, and Jimmy on traditional and newer seasonal songs, and 2018’s Very Merry Rockin’ Good Christmas, an energetic set fronted by Jay and Merrill.