Popular Culture The Osmonds

The Osmonds are an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early-to-mid 1970s. Currently consisting of a duo of original members Merrill Osmond and Jay Osmond, the group's best known configurations have been as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and as a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group has consisted of siblings who are all members of a family of musicians from Ogden, Utah, who have been in the public eye since the 1960s.[2]
The Osmond Brothers began as a barbershop quartet consisting of brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay.[2] They were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy, both of whom enjoyed success as solo artists as well.[3] With the addition of Donny, the group became known as the Osmonds; performing both as teen idols and as a soft rock band, their peak lasted from 1971 to 1975.[3] Their only sister Marie, who rarely sang with her brothers at that time, launched a successful career in 1973, both as a solo artist and as Donny's duet partner. By 1976, the band was no longer producing hit singles; that year, they transitioned into television with Donny & Marie, a popular variety show that ran until 1979.
A revival of the original Osmond Brothers lineup in the 1980s achieved moderate success in country music, and both Donny and Marie separately made comebacks in their respective fields in the late-1980s. The Osmonds have sold 77 million records worldwide.[5]
The quartet continued to perform through their 50th anniversary in 2007, at which point Alan and later Wayne retired due to health issues; Jimmy was recruited after Alan's retirement, with the group performing as a trio until Jimmy suffered a stroke and retired in 2018. Alan's son David Osmond performed with the group in 2019. On October 14, 2019, the original Osmond Brothers quartet reunited for CBS' The Talk for their sister Marie's 60th birthday, billed as the last ever appearance for the lineup. The brothers performed "The Last Chapter," written as a farewell song and introduced in 2018.[6] Donny & Marie ended an 11-year Las Vegas residency on November 16, 2019. Merrill and Jay continue to perform and tour,[4] as does Donny as a solo artist.