The Osmonds
| The Osmonds | |
|---|---|
 The Osmonds |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Ogden , Utah , United States |
| Genre (s) | Rhythm and blues , pop , disco , country |
| founding | 1958 |
| Current occupation | |
| Alan Osmond | |
| Wayne Osmond | |
| Merrill Osmond | |
| Jay Osmond | |
| Jimmy Osmond | |
| Donny Osmond | |
| Marie Osmond | |
The Osmonds are an American musical group whose members come from an extended family. They had their greatest successes in the USA and Great Britain in the first half of the 1970s. Her biggest hit was the 1972 song Crazy Horses . Individual family members also had successful solo careers.
Band history
Beginnings and successes at home
The couple George (1917-2007) and Olive Osmond (1925-2004) from Ogden , Utah , had a total of nine children (George, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy) and 55 grandchildren; the members of the Osmonds all come from this extended family. In the late 1950s, brothers Alan , Wayne , Merrill and Jay began singing together, and they performed at local village festivals and amusement parks. In 1962 they went to Los Angeles to audition for the Lawrence Welk Show. They were not admitted and instead went to Disneyland Resort , where they spontaneously appeared in a competition. They were discovered by Disney talent scout Tommy Walker and hired as the amusement park's barbershop show band. In the same year Andy Williams ' father became aware of her during a performance there . A few days before Christmas, they first appeared in his son's new show and were regularly featured in it until it ended in 1967. They also found time to take part in other television series such as B. The Travels of Jaimie McPheethers , Seven Little Foys . Donny Osmond first appeared with his brothers on the Andy Williams Show in 1964 and then became part of the band. During this time they toured the United States and also traveled to Sweden and Japan. After the Andy Williams Show , they regularly participated in the Jerry Lewis Show until 1969 .
During this time they became better known and developed their talents. They learned 28 musical instruments, perfected their dance routines and learned to deal with the audience.
In 1970 the success of the Jackson Five and the Partridge Family began and Mike Curb decided to sign them as a similar family band to his MGM Records label . Together with the successful producer Rick Hall they recorded their label debut album Osmonds in 1971 . It became a million seller. The single One Bad Apple , composed by George Jackson, was number one in the US single charts for 5 weeks and also sold over a million copies. Within two years, they released five albums, all of which went gold . With Yo-Yo and Down By the Lazy River they had two more top 5 singles and million sellers. Brother Donny started his solo career at the same time.
Osmondmania in Europe
1973 marked a turning point. The enthusiasm for the family bands had waned in the USA, the album Crazy Horses was still very successful, but the title song missed the Top 10. The concept album The Plan , which refers to their Mormon beliefs, no longer achieved their earlier successes, the follow-up album Love Me for a Reason was the band's last top 100 album in the United States. Exactly the opposite was the case in Europe and especially in Great Britain . A real hysteria broke out, which was given the name Osmondmania , especially triggered by the song Crazy Horses . It became a huge hit, reaching number one in Belgium and the Netherlands and number two in England and Germany. In 1973 they received the silver and in 1974 the bronze Bravo Otto from the youth magazine BRAVO in Germany.
The album The Plan came in at number 6 in the UK charts and was the first of five albums to be awarded gold or silver there. In total, they made it into the UK Top 5 with five singles, including the song Love Me for a Reason , which reached number one and gold status. But with I Can't Live a Dream they had their last hit in the official charts of Great Britain and the USA in 1976.
In the five years the Osmonds sold more than 77 million records and were awarded seven silver, eleven gold and one platinum record. They toured numerous countries. Donny and Marie Osmond repeatedly performed with their brothers, but at the same time pursued their solo careers. The family got more and more together, especially when the 1976 television screened the Donny and Marie Show weekly, renamed The Osmond Family Show in 1979 .
Late years
In 1982 the original four Osmonds changed music style and preferred country music as the Osmond Brothers . They entered the US country charts with two albums and 11 songs. As a result, however, the negative news about the family increased. It was revealed that the dominant father, who had served in the army during World War II, had drilled the children into careers. After that he had speculated most of the fortune. Merrill Osmond had to take a personal oath of disclosure. Donny Osmond could not cope with the lack of success and fell into severe depression. Other members also suffered bad luck in their health, for example Alan Osmond fell ill with multiple sclerosis . In 1996 he retired from the Osmond Brothers and Jimmy took his place. In addition, there were disputes among themselves and relationship problems. On the other hand, there were economic and musical successes of Jimmy Osmond. Donny was able to regain a foothold on Broadway in the late 1980s and later performed with Marie in Las Vegas. The brothers also managed to establish the Osmond Family Theater in Missouri for their performances.
As early as 1982, Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family , the first television film about the Osmond family was produced, which thematized the beginnings of the family and their path to success. The biography is based on a book by Marie Osmond , who also plays her mother Olive Osmond in the film . Joseph Bottoms plays father George Osmond .
In 2001 the television movie Inside the Osmonds was released, which is based on the family life and their musical background. The main roles were played by Bruce McGill , Veronica Cartwright , Joel Berti and Trevor Blumas , among others .
In 2008 the Osmonds celebrated their 50th anniversary with a joint concert in Las Vegas , at which all members came together for the first time in 27 years.
Discography
Albums
- Songs We Sang on the Andy Williams Show (1963)
- We Sing You a Merry Christmas (Christmas album, 1963)
- Preview: The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963)
- The New Sound of the Osmond Brothers Singing More Songs They Sang on the Andy Williams Show (1965)
- The Wonderful World of the Osmond Brothers (1968)
- Hello! The Osmond Brothers (1970)
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1971 | Osmonds | - | - |
US14th  (43 weeks)US |
|
| Homemade | - | - |
US22nd (34 weeks)US |
||
| 1972 | Phase III | - | - |
US10 (35 weeks)US |
|
| The Osmonds Live | - |
UK13 (22 weeks) UK |
US13 (29 weeks)US |
Live album
|
|
| Crazy Horses |
DE26 (5 weeks) DE |
UK9 (19 weeks) UK |
US14th (22 weeks)US |
||
| 1973 | The plan | - |
UK6th (25 weeks)UK |
US58 (20 weeks) US |
|
| 1974 | Our best to you | - |
UK5 (20 weeks)UK |
- |
Best of album
|
| Love Me for a Reason | - |
UK13  (9 weeks)UK |
US47 (14 weeks) US |
||
| 1975 | The Proud One / I'm Still Gonna Need You | - |
UK9 (7 weeks)UK |
US160 (5 weeks) US |
|
| Around the World - Live in Concert | - |
UK41 (1 week)UK |
US148 (8 weeks) US |
Live album
|
|
| 1976 | Brainstorm | - | - |
US145 (6 weeks) US |
|
| The Osmond Christmas Album | - | - |
US127 (5 weeks) US |
Christmas album
|
|
| 1978 | The Osmonds Greatest Hits | - | - |
US192 (3 weeks) US |
Best of album
|
| 1996 | The very best of | - |
UK17th (6 weeks)UK |
- |
Best of album
|
| 2003 | Ultimate Collection | - |
UK4 (18 weeks) UK |
- |
Best of album
|
| 2008 | 50th Anniversary Reunion Concert | - | - |
US177 (1 week) US |
|
| 2012 | Can't Get There Without You | - |
UK56 (1 week) UK |
- | |
More albums
- Steppin 'Out (1979)
- The Osmond Brothers (Country album, 1982)
- One Way Rider (Country album, 1984)
- The All-Time Greatest Hits of the Osmond Family (Box, 2000)
- 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Osmonds (2002)
- Osmondmania! (2003)
-
Very Best of the Osmonds (2008, UK:
platinum Platinum) - Merry Christmas (2016)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
 CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1970 | One Bad Apple Osmonds |
- | - |
UK89 (2 weeks) UK |
US1 (15 weeks)US |
in UK only in 1988 in the charts
|
| 1971 | I can't stop |
- | - | - |
US96 (1 week) US |
First published in 1967 as The Osmond Brothers
|
| Double Lovin ' Homemade |
- | - | - |
US14 (9 weeks) US |
||
| Yo-Yo Phase III |
- | - | - |
US3 (13 weeks)US |
Original: Billy Joe Royal (1966), author: Joe South
|
|
| 1972 | Down By the Lazy River Phase III |
- | - |
UK40 (5 weeks) UK |
US4th (14 weeks)US |
|
| Hold Her Tight Crazy Horses |
- | - | - |
US14 (9 weeks) US |
||
| We Can Make It Together |
- | - | - |
US68 (10 weeks) US |
||
| Crazy Horses Crazy Horses |
DE2 (23 weeks) DE |
CH5 (9 weeks) CH |
UK2 (22 weeks) UK |
US14 (12 weeks) US |
re-entry twice in the UK in 1995 (50th place) and 1999 (34th place) for 2 weeks each
|
|
| 1973 | Goin 'Home The Plan |
DE19 (8 weeks) DE |
- |
UK4th (10 weeks)UK |
US36 (8 weeks) US |
|
| Let Me In The Plan |
- | - |
UK2 (14 weeks)UK |
US36 (10 weeks) US |
||
| 1974 | I can't stop |
- | - |
UK12 (10 weeks) UK |
- | |
| Love Me for a Reason Love Me for a Reason |
DE39 (1 week) DE |
- |
UK1 (9 weeks)UK |
US10 (13 weeks) US |
||
| 1975 | Having a Party Love Me for a Reason |
- | - |
UK28 (8 weeks) UK |
- | |
| The Proud One The Proud One |
- | - |
UK5 (8 weeks)UK |
US22 (11 weeks) US |
||
| I'm Still Gonna Need You The Proud One |
- | - |
UK32 (4 weeks) UK |
- | ||
| 1976 | I Can't Live a Dream Brainstorm |
- | - |
UK37 (5 weeks) UK |
US46 (9 weeks) US |
|
More singles
- Movie Man (1973)
- Back on the Road Again (1976)
- Rainin ' (1979)
- Steppin 'Out (1979)
Country songs as The Osmond Brothers
- I Think About Your Lovin ' (1982)
- It's Like Falling in Love (Over and Over) (1982)
- Never Ending Song of Love (Original: Delaney & Bonnie & Friends ; 1982)
- She's Ready for Someone to Love Her (1983)
- Where Does an Angel Go When She Cries (1984)
- If Every Man Had a Woman Like You (1984)
- Anytime (1985)
- Baby, When Your Heart Breaks Down (1985)
- Baby Wants (1986)
- You Look Like the One I Love (1986)
- Looking for Suzanne (1986)
swell
- ↑ The Osmonds on rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ↑ The Osmonds: how we made Crazy Horses , on theguardian.com, January 23, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ↑ a b Sources for gold / platinum awards: USA (RIAA) / UK (BPI, database search)
- ↑ Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family in the Internet Movie Database . Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ^ Inside the Osmonds in the Internet Movie Database . Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: Germany - Switzerland - UK - USA
Web links
- Official website (English)
- The Osmonds on allmusic.com
- The Osmonds on discogs.com
- As Marie's son is found dead, has the curse of The Osmonds struck again? , on dailymail.co.uk, March 2, 2010