Wayne Osmond was a founding member of The Osmond Brothers, the family singing group that later became The Osmonds.
- Died: January 1, 2025 (Who else died on January 1?)
- Details of death: Died at a Salt Lake City hospital of a stroke at the age of 73.
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Wayne Osmond’s legacy
Osmond grew up in Ogden, Utah, the fourth eldest of nine siblings. By the time he was eight years old, he was singing with brothers Alan, Merrill, and Jay in a barbershop quartet. They initially performed for their Church of Latter-Day Saints congregation, but their sound soon caught on with a larger audience. In the 1960s, The Osmond Brothers were regular performers on “The Andy Williams Show” and “The Jerry Lewis Show.” They were eventually joined by younger brother Donny and sister Marie, prompting a name change to The Osmonds. (The youngest Osmond child, Jimmy, sang with them too, and enjoyed a notable solo career on stage and screen.)
After more than a decade together, the siblings wanted to stretch their repertoire and become a pop-rock group. They began recording singles like the 1971 No. 1 hit, “One Bad Apple,” playing their own instruments as well as singing. Osmond played lead guitar, and he contributed baritone vocals. Even as they enjoyed chart success – and took on a harder rocking sound with tracks like 1972’s Top 20 single “Crazy Horses” – the Osmonds retained the squeaky-clean lyrics and lifestyle on which they had always relied.
As their fame began to falter in the mid-1970s, the family focused on breakout careers, including the variety TV program “The Donny & Marie Show.” Osmond and several of his brothers worked behind the scenes on the show. They later refocused as The Osmond Brothers again, continuing to tour.
Osmond was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1997, and it was expected to be fatal. Instead, surgery was successful, and he was cancer-free, though he lost most of his hearing in the process. This affected his musical career, though he still performed with his brothers occasionally in later years.
Notable quote
“We’re Latter-Day Saints, and we have a very high moral and ethical code that we live by . . . it’s not something that’s forced upon us. … But when you have certain values that you really like, and you like being part of that organization, then it behooves you to kind of live up to those standards.” — from a 2004 interview for Deseret News
Tributes to Wayne Osmond
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
