The Osmonds’ Greatest Comebacks: From Donny the “Mystery Artist” to Vegas

Lori Acken 2 minutes ago

DONNY AND MARIE, from left: Marie Osmond, Donny Osmond, 1976-79 — Everett Collection

For more than six decades, The Osmonds have remained an enduring and beloved presence in the entertainment industry, repeatedly defying industry changes, personal struggles and shifts in musical trends to keep a hold on their fans hearts. From the older Osmond brothers charting a course from a preteen barbershop quartet to global pop sensations, to Marie Osmond’s development from a country-music cutie to a multi-faceted business mogul, the Osmonds have used an indestructible blend of talent and tenacity to keep coming back — and keep the Osmond name in the entertainment lexicon for generations.

Here’s a look at some of the Osmond siblings’ most remarkable comebacks.

The Osmonds: from barbershop babies to pop music phenoms

Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay Osmond originally first performed as barbershop quartet “The Osmond Brothers” in their hometown of Ogden, UT, in order to raise money to buy hearing aids for eldest siblings Virl and Tom. They proved so popular that dad George soon entered the lads in a barbershop competition in California.

While on a side trek to Disneyland, the little boys made an impromptu performance on Main Street and caught the eye of Tommy Walker, the park’s then-Director of Entertainment and Customer Relations. A series of live and televised performances for Disneyland resulted. Popular entertainer Andy Williams‘ dad saw one and encouraged his son book the Osmonds for his variety show. Andy did — and when the boys charmed his audience with their banter and song, he hired them as regulars from 1962-1967, when The Andy Williams Show ended.

By this time, Donny Osmond had joined the group, drawing even younger fans to the band. The Osmond Brothers became The Osmonds and signed to MGM records, recording their first hit, “One Bad Apple,” in 1971 at the legendary Muscle Shoals recording studio. The catchy tune rose to Billboard’s number one spot and established The Osmonds as pop superstars.

With rock ‘n’ roll on the rise as the ’70s dawned, it didn’t take long for The Osmonds’ clean cut image to grow tiresome — for both music fans and for the brothers themselves. Before their popularity went completely down the drain, “we wanted to freak out and make our own music,” Merrill Osmond told The Guardian in 2017. And freak out they did. Their full-on rock album “Crazy Horses” bowed in 1972 and earned the boys their bona fides as legitimate, Led Zep approved scorcher.

The “Donny & Marie” Era: A Second Wind in the ’70s

By this point, Donny Osmond had established himself as the standout of the Osmond brothers, both as a teen-dream heartthrob and a successful solo artist. Meanwhile, sister Marie began hitting the charts and breaking hearts in her own right as a country-tinged solo artist. To make the most of their fame, the pair teamed up for a series of successful albums, landing the charismatic teens guest spots on talk and variety shows. Soon enough, ABC network president Fred Silverman offered them a show of their own, drawing the entire family right back into the spotlight.

After a four-season run, the show was undone by Donny’s marriage, which brought his teen dreamboat era to an end, too. Marie moved on to a short-lived variety show of her own, followed by a co-hosting gig on Ripley’s Believe It or Not and other TV gigs.

The 1980s: Reunions & Revisions

As the 1980s dawned, the Osmond family struggled financially, in part due to the brothers’ dwindling popularity and in part due to bad investments. Donny — still at war with his teen idol status — retreated from the spotlight entirely. And George Osmond refused to consider bankruptcy as a fresh start for his brood.

With Donny on the sidelines, the elder Osmond ordered Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay to resume recording as The Osmond Brothers. The quartet scored a series of hits on the country charts, and established “Stadium of Fire,” a patriotic music festival in Utah that is now in its 45th year. Though they balked at touring, the brothers quickly became popular in Branson, MO, the newly established home of nostalgic music, and the family debts were soon paid off.

Donny‘s Mystery Hit

Meanwhile, Donny’s attempt to reinvent himself as an adult contemporary artist hit pay dirt in 1989 with his Top Ten hit “Soldier of Love.” But it took some creativity.

Because Donny didn’t have a current US label, the record was released in the UK, where it proved a modest hit. By chance, a British fan sent the track to Jessica Ettinger, radio program director at New York’s WPLJ-FM.

Ettinger liked the groove, but worried that Donny’s lingering reputation as a squeaky-clean teen star would sabotage the track. So her DJs played the record for weeks as part of a “mystery artist” promotion, inviting listeners to guess the lead vocalist. The song reached number two on the Billboard charts, Donny got his credit, and his status as an all-grown-up entertainer took root.

Still, Donny had bigger plans.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Nights On Broadway

In the early ’80s, Donny briefly stepped in for fellow former teen idol David Cassidy (The Partridge Family) in an ill-fated, Broadway bound production of Little Johnny Jones. But an entire decade passed before he returned to the stage.

This time, Donny was a major hit.

Long-haired, buff and bare-chested, Donny took over the title role in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in July 1992. Though the production never appeared on Broadway, he would perform the role — to whooping audiences and critical acclaim — more than 2,000 times across the US and Canada.

In 2006, Donny finally got the chance to redeem his teeny tiny little “Johnny Jones” run with a nine-week Broadway run as dim-bulb hunk Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.

“I opened and closed [Little Johnny Jones] in one night, and I remember thinking, ‘One of these days, I’m going to do it right.’” Osmond said in a statement at the time, according to Playbill.com. “Now, almost 25 years later, I have the chance. I couldn’t do it any more right than joining such an iconic show as ‘Beauty.’”

Marie took her turn on The Great White Way in 1997, taking over the role of Mrs. Anna in The King & I. The ’90s also marked another major career shift for the only Osmond sister.

Marie Means Business

While her brothers were sorting out their musical lives in the ’80s and ’90s, Marie turned her love of dolls into a lucrative business, establishing herself as a talented and ambitious entrepreneur. “I started to design and sculpt dolls in 1990, and continued for 25 years until I retired from creating them,” she wrote in a 2022 Facebook post.

Marie also parlayed her own post-baby weight loss journey into a spokesperson gig for Nutrisystem and penned books about parenting, postpartum depression and other self-help topics. And she quietly showed off her philanthropic side: Marie helped cofound Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, now in its fourth decade, and the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund, which aids children living with hearing loss.

And in 1998, she and Donny teamed up on the TV airwaves again — but this time, the pair hosted a daytime talk show, which ran through 2000, and received nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in both 2000 and 2001.

Donny and Marie: Viva, Las Vegas!

In 2008, Donny and Marie reunited on yet another type of stage — bringing a live version of Donny & Marie to Las Vegas’ Flamingo hotel for what was intended as a six-week run. Their fans came out in droves to see the combo of nostalgia, musical performances and the duo’s signature comedy and banter. Six weeks stretched to eleven lucrative years.

Though the pair have (thus far) sworn off of working together again, Donny recently announced that a special Osmond guest will be joining him in his current Las Vegas residency at Harrah’s. While it won’t be Marie, Donny super fans will be tickled to know that their idol will be performing with …Donny, in the form of a CGI-created teenage version of himself.

Got a great idea for the Osmond siblings’ next incarnation? Tell us about it in the comments below!