The Osmonds — A New Musical. From Rags to Riches and Back Again.
(In loving memory of Jacqueline Hannan 15 September 1959–4 October 2023)
In the 70s most of us teenyboppers fell into one camp or the other in terms of our favourite pop idol. Donny Osmond and David Cassidy, in my recollection, were the two who divided opinion to the greatest extent, although, of course, there were many others to choose from. My fave was Donny Osmond, he of the pearly whites, girly voice in the early days, and a group of big brothers who supported him as backing musicians, but who were also a group in their own right.
Pop Idol, Donny Osmond gracing the cover of a Jackie Collectors’ Edition (author’s own)
In the height of their popularity, it would have been hard to imagine the pressures the group had endured to get to where they were. They seemed to live such a clean living, charmed life with their dazzling white smiles. The reality, however, is told in The Osmonds, A New Musical, which was written by Jay Osmond.
Jay seems to have been perhaps the most reluctant star of the group, who describes the pressure he felt, when at only six years old, the brothers performed regularly on the Andy Williams Show. The group were admired for their professionalism under the strict military-style direction of their father, George, and during their time on the show, were known as The One Take Osmonds due to live performances and few recordings. Not only that, but the group were also paraded out each week to play a different instrument with Jay recalling the horror of being forced to play drums, which he’d never played before.
The Osmonds, A New Musical, came to Edinburgh a couple of years ago and my dear friend, Jacqueline, or ‘Jax’ as she was affectionately known, a Donny superfan since her teenage years, bought tickets for us as my birthday treat. Jax, of course, had been a Jackie Magazine fan in her youth and religiously collected the Donny posters. Her mum, however, didn’t approve of the magazine, so she had to wait until her schoolfriend had read her copy and passed it on to Jax, who waited impatiently to get her hands on it every week. As she got older, Jax did get to see Donny in the flesh at some of his shows when he was in the UK. Jax, an actress herself, was loud, enthusiastic and a real comedienne and she made sure that Donny could see and hear her yelling in true superfan style, sporting her peaked cap and ‘Mrs Donny Osmond’ t-shirt, as she stood waving her arms and singing along. Friends swear that Donny acknowledged her in the audience and serenaded her for her tenacity.
True to form, at The Osmonds Musical in Edinburgh, she played her part, despite the group being played by actors, showing her love whenever ‘Donny’ came on stage. She was 62 at the time and her joy in hearing the music was undiminished. We were only a few rows back from the front and it didn’t take long for her to catch they eye of ‘Donny’ who couldn’t disguise his laughter as he winked and pointed at her while singing a ballad, now apparently, just for her.
The Osmonds — A New Musical, Edinburgh
No-one is immune to tragedy, sadly, and the show revealed that the Osmonds suffered their fair share. Illness and financial woes followed them as an astonishing riches to near rags story unfolded in the musical. The Osmond Brothers, as they were known in the early days, Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay, were from a family of nine children and performed first as a barbershop quartet. Their aim was to earn money for two of their brothers Virl and Tom, who were profoundly deaf and also for church ‘Missions,’ a requirement of their Mormon faith. Rather than proselytise their Church in more conventional ways, they raised awareness with their musical talents.
When dad, George, entered The Osmond Brothers in a barbershop quartet competition at Disneyland, they were discovered in the High Street of the Magical Kingdom, singing along with the resident Dapper Dans. From there, they were propelled to fame on The Andy Williams Show which ran from 1962–1967.
Against their father’s wishes, they branched out to perform rock and roll, finding themselves at number one for seven weeks with One Bad Apple. During this time, Donny entered the scene as a solo act on the pop scene, supported by his brothers. Wayne arranged the harmonies and Virl provided complex choreography.
Donny soon became a hit with Go Away Little Girl and — who can forget — Puppy Love, reaching Nos 1 and 3 respectively. Now known as The Osmonds, the brothers developed a grittier, almost heavy metal style with their album Phase II and a hit with Crazy Horses. Their popularity peaked in the UK in 1973 when thirteen of their singles were hits and the phenomenon of Osmondmania began. Screaming, hysterical girls followed the band, scaling the walls of BBC Television Centre and even causing a balcony to collapse at Heathrow Airport when they arrived in 1973. Donny, meanwhile, was receiving 50,000 fan letters a week.
The band continued to explore diversity in their music and it was perhaps because of this that their popularity began to diminish. Their album, The Plan saw them move into prog rock which was perhaps a new genre too far with overly wholesome, even religious overtones.
Much of this is brilliantly charted in The Osmonds Musical, written by Jay, who is portrayed as particularly reluctant to be in the spotlight, craving a life away from fame and celebrity. The show explains that The Osmonds and TV network, ABC, partnered in financing a state-of-the-art studio in Utah. They envisaged that this could be used not only for their shows but for a host of other shows and performers. The Donny and Marie Show was produced and recorded in the new studios. The pair were thrown into the limelight as the older Osmonds retreated into the background, with disastrous consequences. The pressures mounted and a number of health issues followed, with Donny suffering stage fright, Marie developing an eating disorder after a misjudged comment about her weight by a TV executive, and Merrill developed bipolar disorder. Other misjudgements included turning down parts in the film Grease, as they felt it didn’t reflect their religious beliefs. There followed a film production of their own, which failed to reach commercial success, and continued their path to disaster.
The Osmonds’ troubles didn’t end there, however. They discovered that investors in their studio business had been embezzling money for which some were prosecuted and imprisoned. Dad, George Osmond, would not allow the brothers to declare bankruptcy, which would, no doubt, have gone against his religious ethics. Such action would have released them from their financial obligations, leaving creditors without any opportunity for payment. The Osmonds decided to work their way out of their predicament. It meant a necessary return to the music business.
Donny’s career was successfully resurrected when he starred on Broadway in various shows and took the lead in Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. A residency in Las Vegas with sister Marie beginning in 2008, ended only in 2019. The remaining Osmond brothers returned to perform country music, but health woes continued to dog them. Wayne suffered a brain tumour, followed by a stroke. The tumour had left him deaf and the stroke left him unable to play guitar. Alan contracted multiple sclerosis. To their credit, the brothers eventually managed to work their way out of debt, however, and repay those who were owed money.
The Osmonds, A New Musical, documents the history of the brothers, bringing to the fore, the struggles they endured but also their rise to fame and fortune during a magical period, that many of us, mostly girls, I suspect, who were young in that era, recall with delight and affection. The show includes many of their hits and the audience are invited to sing along with lyrics lighting up on a board throughout the show. It’s feel-good entertainment, resurrecting the life and times of the clean cut, ever smiling Osmonds, and a show to be recommended not just for those of a certain age, but anyone who loves to hear catchy, memorable songs that are joyful and harmonious. Sadly, the Osmonds don’t get as much airtime today as others of their era, but perhaps they will, with the new show, enjoy a resurgence in popularity.
On the night that Jax and I saw the Osmonds Musical, it was a joy to watch her swaying and singing along like a lovesick teenager, not least because she was undergoing yet another round of gruelling chemotherapy for the ovarian cancer she’d managed to outwit for five or six years, despite an initial prognosis of only weeks to live. Jax survived with astonishing positivity and by setting goals for herself. Sadly, she didn’t reach one goal to see Donny in concert in Glasgow last December, for which her friend Lesley had already bought the tickets. She passed away on 4th October 2023 as, according to her doctors, the longest surviving ovarian cancer patient in Fife, and possibly the UK. Shortly before she passed, we laughed as I said how proud she would have been to be Mrs Donny Osmond. ‘Oh no,’ she replied. ‘He would have been proud to be Mr Jacqueline Hannan!’
As indeed, he might. Whenever I hear their music, particularly Donny’s, I will always remember the joy that they brought to one talented and exuberant lass from Fife. I’m sure Jax is giein’ it laldy, singing those songs wherever she may be.
In memory of Mrs Donny Osmond — Jacqueline Hannan — 15 September 1959–4 October 2023
