Osmonds

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Osmonds' Bio: The Osmonds' career started with a big break at Disneyland, followed quickly by regular appearances on The Andy Williams Show in the early 1960's. 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 and middle 1970s, when they achieved a string of chart hits.

They were joined for a time by younger brothers Donny and Jimmy Osmond. They had a self-titled Rankin/Bass-produced Saturday morning cart oon series on ABC-TV from 1972 to 1973. Donny, and to a lesser extent Jimmy, both achieved success as solo artists, as did their only sister Marie. Marie's signature hit was the country song "Paper Roses" (hence the recurring theme on their variety s how 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 Liverpoo l"), 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 Osmonds' breakthrough U.S. hit, "One Bad Apple", featuring l ead vocals by Merrill and Donny, bore an uncanny similarity to the so-called "bubblegum soul" sound of their contemporaries, The Jackson 5, and was seen by many at the time as another example of a white pop group "covering" the successful s ound or style of a black group since the Osmonds had adopted that sound only after the Jackson 5 had already had several hits. Previously, when performing on the Andy Williams Show, they had specialized in a pop "barbershop quartet style of singing.[citat ion needed] The song spent five weeks at No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the winter 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 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 se lf-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.[citation needed] (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.)[citation needed]

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 fan base 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 ma rked 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 progressive rock aspirations. These albums were followed with gentler, more sentimental son gs 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, "Osmondmania", w as coined to describe the phenomenon.

Not only just a vocal group, each brother also played an instrument and sometimes played and composed their own tracks: Merrill (bass), Donny (Keyboards), Jay (drums), Alan (guitar, trumpet), Jimmy (drums, piano) & Wa yne (guitar) … Read more