Wayne Osmond (Light blue jacket) died January 2, 2025, at the age of 73, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
As the headline came across my feed, I stared silently, stunned. Just two nights ago, I was on a deep Osmond Brothers video dive on New Year’s Eve. Yes, while others were in their choice of locations, I was jamming some family-blending harmony. Mock me if you will, I admit it.
Actually, it was a fun way to bring in 2025. I was in a splendid mood as I remembered simpler, calmer times of growing up in the 60s and 70s, surrounded by stacks of my favorite vinyl 45s, later to be joined by multiple 33 albums and hours of committing liner notes to memory.
Of course, Wayne is the second oldest of the performing brothers. In early TV appearances, older brother Alan, handled many of the questions posed by Andy Williams.
Wayne seemed to be the businessman of the group, making sure everyone was on pitch. You can see him listening intently to the blending vocals and he just seemed in charge of quality control. I could be all wrong, but that’s how I saw it.
Merrill did all the choreography—the man can still outdance John Travolta on any given day. Andy Williams’ father, the dad of the singing Williams Brothers quartet, spotted the Osmonds at Disneyland, and recommended their appearance on Andy’s show.
Jay played the drums and was a bachelor for the longest time of any of the brothers, a fact well known among teenage girls who kept track of such availability. However, your chances of becoming an Osmond statistically was greater if you lived in Salt Lake City and were of the Mormon faith.
Then, of course, there was Donny, who grew up to steal the spotlight but never the patience or respect of his brothers. Fame is like that but brothers are forever. Documentaries and interviews abound that reveal behind the scenes dynamics of growing up Osmond.
Sadly, the real-life experiences of the Osmonds were not as idyllic as you might expect, but what survived it all was their love for one another. It’s only understood from the inside out, much like Texas A&M and the “all things Aggie” culture of Aggieland, but this one family has done more to spread the work of their faith and operate on their true faith/belief system than the Osmonds.
Any card-carrying female Baby Boomer will either shyly confess or begrudgingly admit having had photographs of America’s “Original” Boy Band, the Osmond Brothers, on their bedroom walls. From the early days of their first signature barbershop harmony at Disneyworld to early fame and acclaim on “The Andy Williams Show,” the first version of The Osmond Brothers included Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay.
You also know firstborn brothers, Virl and Tom, whose hearing challenges found them not performing regularly, but they were actively involved in business aspect of their brothers.
From Andy Williams’ launch pad, one appearance led to many more and from the opening notes of “I’m a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas” in 1963, to countless others, the popularity of their TV appearances initiated a robust recording collection and successful touring career that spanned internationally as well as their home base for the Mormon faith at the Salt Lake City Mormon Tabernacle.
Over the years, faithful fans adopted their own “favorite” Osmond. The next video spotlights Wayne, singing lead on “Rainin’,” and it was posted 13 years ago, which is profound to think of other songs on the radio at the time that bear no resemblance at all. Love of music doesn’t end just because an era has passed. It endures.
One of my favorites is “Love Me for a Reason” and virtually any video of this song will show everyone in the audience singing every word along with the brothers, no matter where they perform. The love of sharing music is as important as sitting and listening intently.
Despite the brothers' public appearance that portray the picture of health, there's no way each brother has not dealt with a variety of major health challenges. In 1994, it was discovered that Wayne had a brain tumor but he amazingly made it through surgery and recovery and was able to perform for many years after. Heart disease has not skipped the entire family either, and his passing today was due to "a massive stroke," per his brother Merrill sharing the news on Facebook.
It is hard to say goodbye to a life, a career, or a lifetime career. Over the years the next generation of Osmond Brothers among the cousins has appeared and is not the same as the prior generation but the music goes on.
Watching a video of Donny gently draping his arms around his brother Merrill’s shoulders during his final song of his singing career (April 2, 2022) before Merrill’s final show, his official retirement, my tears flowed as you could see the love and emotion it held, brother for brother, the end of an era officially over for The Osmond Brothers as we’d all grown up knowing them.
As I watched Donny, I shook my head, musing, “It’s amazing that all the brothers are still alive today. When the first one passes away, it will truly be the end of an epic era of music.” To see that headline today was eerie.
No matter what’s going on in life, when there is a passing of an important part of our childhood, it is important to acknowledge the role that these amazing entertainers had in giving us all what we needed and loved at the time. We had joy—abounding, abiding and memories that live on past today.
In conclusion, the course of the Osmond career would include the prolific work of Donny, the popular duo Donny & Marie, who still set attendance records in Las Vegas when they perform, and youngest brother, Jimmy, who joined the group as a regular sooner than he expected and also focused spare time on business merchandising and Osmond Enterprises.
The Hollies may have done it first, but there is no question that no one owns this song more than The Osmonds. Wayne is the first to leave his earthly family behind, survived by his wife Kathlyn, their five children, and grandchildren. Time marches on. God bless Wayne Osmond, and thanks for all the beautiful harmony.
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