Donny Osmond Artistfacts

Donny Osmond song list

Donny Osmond Artistfacts

December 9, 1957
Donny first started appearing with his four older brothers in their musical act The Osmonds in 1963 when he was just 5 years old. At first he was a novelty, but by the time the group released their first album in 1970, Donny was the star, singing lead on their hit "One Bad Apple." He was especially popular with young girls, so much so that their record company, MGM, insisted he record solo, which he did, releasing his first album in 1971 when he was 13.
In the early '70s, Donny was making teen pop music as a solo artist while recording more adult fare with his brothers. "We were writing all of this progressive rock and roll music in a studio, and then I'd go into another studio and record bubblegum music," he told Songfacts. "So I was living a double life musically. Actually triple, because I'd go home and listen to Tower Of Power and P-Funk. That was the stuff I was into at home. So I was into funk, recording bubblegum, and writing rock and roll with the brothers. And the problem is my teenybopper career was selling like crazy and it overshadowed anything we did as a rock and roll band.
He had a manufactured "rivalry" with fellow teen idol David Cassidy, but he felt a real kinship with Michael Jackson. They were born less than a year apart and both emerged as breakout stars from their family bands at the same time. After the luster faded from their early solo hits, Jackson was able to transform into an adult pop star, but Osmond couldn't even get a record deal. The two were close, and Jackson offered Osmond encouragement that helped him through this difficult time.
The Osmonds were regulars on The Andy Williams Show in the '60s, but when it came time to create their own variety show, they focused it on Donny and his younger sister Marie, who had a #1 Country hit in 1973 with "Paper Roses." The show Donny & Marie launched on ABC in 1975 when Donny was 18 and Marie 17. The older brothers worked behind the scenes.

The show was a way for the Osmond family to break the cycle of touring and still work together, which was important to them. Donny & Marie stayed on the air for three seasons.
Osmond was really uncool in the '80s and had a hard time getting anyone in the industry to take him seriously. He finally got a record deal in 1988, but it was with the British label Virgin, which didn't release the resulting album in America. In the UK, the album was met with ridicule and Virgin dropped Osmond.

Donny, though, still had some ardent fans in America and was respected in his home state of Utah. A radio station in Salt Lake City started playing his single "Soldier Of Love" without naming the artist - they had listeners guess, which lit up the phones. The New York City station WPLJ then tried the stunt, playing the song for a few weeks while listeners guessed the "mystery artist." When it was revealed to be Donny Osmond, record companies scrambled to sign him. He went with Capitol, which quickly released the single in America, where it climbed to #2, reviving Osmond's career.
Donny has six older brothers (Tom, Virl, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay), one younger brother (Jimmy) and his younger sister Marie. Tom and Virl were born deaf, which kept them from performing with the group.
He married his wife Debbie in 1978 when he was 20 years old. They have five sons: Don, Jeremy, Brandon, Christopher and Joshua.
He's done two runs in Las Vegas, first with Marie at the Flamingo from 2008-2019, then on his own at Harrah's starting in 2021.
Osmond has done very well on reality TV: He won Dancing With The Stars in 2009, and came in second to T-Pain on The Masked Singer in 2019.

Comments: 1

John from Nashville, TnDonny Osmond directed a 1981 concert video by jazz superstar Grover Washington, Jr.

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