Donny Osmond

Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol.

He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums.

Osmond was born on December 9, 1957, in Ogden, Utah, as the seventh child of Olive May (née Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007).

He is the brother of Alan, Jay, Jimmy, Merrill, Wayne, Marie, Tom, and Virl Osmond.

His first solo hit was a cover of Roy Orbison's 1958 recording of "Sweet and Innocent", which peaked at no. 7 in the U.S. in 1971.

The brothers continued to perform on the show throughout the 1960s, along with an occasional visit from their sister Marie.

Alan, Jay, Merrill, Wayne, and Donny were members of the popular singing group the Osmonds (known as the Osmond Brothers before Donny joined them in 1963).

Osmond was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah along with his siblings.

In his youth, Osmond held a ham radio license, listed as KA7EVD.

Andy Williams' father, Jay Emerson Williams, saw the Osmond Brothers (Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay) perform on a Disneyland televised special as a barbershop quartet.

The group was then invited to audition for The Andy Williams Show.

Williams initially had reservations about featuring children on the program, but was encouraged by his father to try them out.

The Osmond Brothers proved themselves as an asset to the program, soon becoming regulars on the show and quickly gaining popularity.

In 1963, Donny Osmond made his debut on the show at the age of five singing "You Are My Sunshine".

Then, in the early 1970s, Osmond began a solo career, earning several additional top ten songs.

Osmond became a teen idol in the early 1970s as a solo singer, while continuing to sing with his older brothers.

Osmond was one of the biggest "cover boy" pop stars for Tiger Beat and 16 magazines in the early 1970s.

Osmond's follow-ups Steve Lawrence's "Go Away Little Girl" (1971) (U.S. no. 1), Paul Anka's "Puppy Love" (U.S. no. 3), and "Hey Girl/I Knew You When" (U.S. no. 9) (1972) vaulted him into international fame, further advanced by his November 20, 1972, appearance on the Here's Lucy show, where he sang Nat King Cole's "Too Young" to Lucy's niece, played by Eve Plumb, and sang with Lucie Arnaz ("I'll Never Fall in Love Again").

He further gained fame due to the success of the 1976–1979 variety series Donny & Marie, which Osmond hosted with his sister Marie Osmond.

In the 1980s, all of the Osmonds abandoned their earlier image—which had originally been crafted to appeal to young viewers—hoping to reach a more adult audience.

While his brothers moved toward country music to modest success, Donny was able to revive his career in popular music.

He made an unlikely appearance as one of several celebrities and unknowns auditioning to sing for guitarist Jeff Beck in the video for Beck's 1985 single "Ambitious", which was produced by Paul Flattery and directed by Jim Yukich.

This was followed in 1986 by an equally unlikely cameo in the animated Luis Cardenas music video "Runaway".

He spent several years as a performer, before hiring the services of music and entertainment guru Steven Machat, who got Osmond together with English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel to see whether Machat and Gabriel could turn Osmond's image into a contemporary young pop act.

They succeeded, returning Osmond to the US charts in 1989 with the Billboard Hot 100 no. 2 song "Soldier of Love" (originally announced on radio stations as "from a mystery singer") and its top twenty follow-up "Sacred Emotion".

Launching an extensive tour in support of the Eyes Don't Lie record, he enlisted guitarist Dick Smith of Earth Wind & Fire and Kenny Loggins, along with keyboardist Mark Jackson.

The song was co-written with former teen idol Gary Barlow, from the 1990s UK boy band Take That, and reached number 8 on the UK charts.

Osmond was the guest vocalist on Dweezil Zappa's star-studded version of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" which appeared on Zappa's 1991 album Confessions.

The song also included guitar solos from Zakk Wylde, Steve Lukather, Warren DeMartini, Nuno Bettencourt, and Tim Pierce.

Osmond sang "No One Has To Be Alone", which was heard at the end of the film The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.

He also sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You" for Disney's Mulan.

The Donny & Marie duo also released a series of top ten hits and gold albums, and hosted a syndicated and Daytime Emmy Award–nominated 1998–2000 talk show.

In the 2000s, he released a Christmas album, an album of his favorite Broadway songs, and a compilation of popular love songs.

He also hosted the game show Pyramid from 2002 to 2004.

In 2004, he returned to the UK Top 10 for the first time as a solo artist since 1973, with the George Benson-sampling "Breeze On By".

Following Marie's stint on Dancing with the Stars in 2007, the pair teamed up for a limited six-week engagement in Las Vegas.

His 17th solo album (and 61st album including those with his siblings) The Soundtrack of My Life features a collection of cover songs with personal meaning to Osmond.

He enlisted Stevie Wonder to play harmonica on the track "My Cherie Amour".

Donny & Marie retired from headlining an 11-year Las Vegas residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas in 2019.

He also successfully competed on two reality TV shows, winning season 9 of Dancing with the Stars and being named runner-up for season 1 of The Masked Singer.