Merrill Osmond | |
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 Osmond in 2002 | |
| Born | Merrill Davis Osmond April 30, 1953 Ogden, Utah, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1962–present |
| Spouse | Mary Carlson (m. 1973) |
| Children | 6 |
Merrill Davis Osmond (born April 30, 1953) is an American musician, currently in semi-retirement. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and bassist of the family music group The Osmonds and The Osmond Brothers, as well as an occasional solo artist.
Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the fifth of the nine children of Olive May (née Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007).
Starting in 1958, Merrill and three of his brothers (Alan, Wayne, and Jay in their respective age orders) began singing as a barbershop quartet. They were later discovered in 1961 by Jay Emerson Williams, Andy Williams's father, at a performance at Disneyland which was being filmed for the Disneyland After Dark episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. In 1962, the four Osmonds were regular guests over a seven-year period on NBC's The Andy Williams Show, a musical variety program. They also appeared in nine episodes of the 1963–64 ABC western television series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters , with Merrill in the role of young Deuteronomy Kissel. [1]
A tenor/countertenor vocalist well into adulthood, Merrill was either lead singer or co-lead singer (usually sharing duties with younger brother Donny) on almost all of the Osmonds' songs and co-wrote, along with older brother Alan, many of them. [2] Like the rest of his family, he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Donny began to focus on his own career in the late 1970s, Merrill grew out his beard, let it naturally go gray, [2] and, along with his brothers, shifted to country music, recording a number of hits on the country charts in the 1980s; he also had one hit independent of his fellow Osmonds, a duet with session singer Jessica Boucher (younger sister of Savannah and Sherry Boucher), "You're Here to Remember (I'm Here to Forget)," [3] which peaked at number 62 on the Hot Country Singles chart in May 1987. [4] Osmond announced his intent to retire from performing in 2022 and performed his last American show in April of that year, with a UK tour to follow. [5] Merrill's final show took place at the barn, Ringwood on January 19, 2023. Since then, he has performed a limited number of engagements each year, with two scheduled for July 2025. As of early 2024, there were plans to have Nathan Osmond, one of Alan's sons, replace Merrill in certain Osmond enterprises, such as the family's Branson residencies. [6]
Osmond has sporadically hosted the podcast Sound Advice with his son Justin since 2020, produced by KSL radio. [7]
Merrill was the first of the performing Osmond siblings to marry. He wed Mary Carlson on September 17, 1973; they have four sons, two daughters, and 15 grandchildren. Merrill's second son, Justin, is deaf, as are Justin's uncles, Virl and Tom Osmond, Merrill's two oldest brothers. Justin Osmond works with several organizations and launched the Olive Osmond Perpetual Hearing Fund in 2010. Merrill's youngest son, Troy, died in his sleep at age 33 on November 9, 2018 from an undiagnosed heart condition. Merrill's son Travis Osmond performed with the Osmond Brothers irregularly from 1991 until Merrill's retirement in 2024; Travis stated he did not want to pursue a career as a touring musician and instead pursued a career in agriculture, following in a tradition of his great-uncles. [8]
Like the rest of his family, Merrill is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A statement of faith on his Web site expresses support for the Book of Mormon and the prophecies of Joseph Smith, as well as the church's compatibility with mainstream Christianity. [9] In keeping with church tradition, all his sons have served as missionaries.
In a 2021 interview with GB News, Osmond described himself as "very conservative" person. He expressed mixed feelings toward former President Donald Trump, noting that his experience with Trump was that Trump was a "nice guy" but that Osmond was never comfortable with the way Trump spoke. [10]
As of 2022, Merrill and his wife are serving as missionaries for their church at the Washington, D.C. temple. [11]
In May 2017, he received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Dixie State University, now known as Utah Tech University.
Olive May Osmond was the matriarch of the American Osmond singing family.
Donald Clark Osmond 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. In the early 1970s, Osmond began a solo career, earning several additional top ten songs.
Olive Marie Osmond is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musical career, primarily focused on country music, included a large number of chart singles with four reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Her 1973 cover of "Paper Roses," released when she was 14, made her the youngest female act with a number-one country single. Between 1985 and 1986, she also had number-one country singles with "Meet Me in Montana," "There's No Stopping Your Heart," and "You're Still New to Me." As a television personality, she has been a host of Donny & Marie and on The Talk. Her acting career includes appearances in television films and Broadway musicals; she has also written several books and helped found the Children's Miracle Network.
The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet and a quintet. The group has consisted of siblings who are all members of a family of musicians from Ogden, Utah, and have been in the public eye since the 1960s.
Alan Ralph Osmond is an American former singer and musician. He is best known for being a member of the family musical group The Osmonds. At the time, Alan and his brothers were performing as the Osmond Brothers Boys' Quartet.
James Arthur Osmond is an American singer and businessman. He is the youngest member of the sibling musical group the Osmonds. As a solo artist, Osmond has accumulated six gold records, one platinum record, and two gold albums.
Jay Wesley Osmond is an American musician. He is a member of the Osmond family of performers. He wrote the story to the 2022 musical The Osmonds, a musical based on the life and music of the family. The musical was shown around the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2022, after being previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Melvin Wayne Osmond was an American musician. He was the second-oldest of the original Osmond Brothers singers and the fourth oldest of the nine Osmond siblings.
Leigh Adrian Harline was an American film composer and songwriter. He was known for his "musical sophistication that was uniquely 'Harline-esque' by weaving rich tapestries of mood-setting underscores and penning memorable melodies for animated shorts and features."
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters is an American Western television series based on Robert Lewis Taylor's 1958 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, and starring Kurt Russell, Dan O'Herlihy and Charles Bronson. The series aired on ABC for one season, 1963–64, and was produced by MGM Television.
"Soldier of Love" is a 1988 song by American singer Donny Osmond, which became his comeback hit. It first was a Top 30 hit in the UK in 1988 and "Soldier of Love" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989, behind Michael Damian's "Rock On", becoming his sixth and last top-10 hit.
George Virl Osmond Sr. was the patriarch of the singing Osmond family.
"Crazy Horses" is a song by the Osmonds, the title track from the album of the same name. It was released as the album's second single and reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is the only hit record from the Osmonds to feature Jay Osmond as lead vocalist. It has since been covered by numerous other performers.
Thomas Rulon Osmond is a member of the Osmond family, though he rarely performs with his musical family.
Donny & Marie is an American variety show that aired on ABC from January 1976 to May 1979. The show starred brother-and-sister pop duo Donny and Marie Osmond. Donny had first become popular singing in a music group with his brothers, The Osmonds, and Marie was one of the youngest singers to reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts.
George Osmond was a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a judge and state senator in Wyoming, and the paternal great-grandfather of The Osmonds.
Osmond is a surname of English and Norman origin. It is derived from Anglo-Saxon and / or Norman, itself from Old Norse Osmundr ; Osmund, a variant form of Old Norse Ásmundr.
"Let Me In" is a song written by Alan Osmond, Merrill Osmond, and Wayne Osmond and performed by The Osmonds. It was featured on their 1973 album, The Plan. The song was produced by Alan Osmond.
Side by Side: The True Story of the Osmond Family is a 1982 American made-for-television biographical film about the earlier years of the famed entertainment family, starring Marie Osmond as matriarch Olive Osmond, and Joseph Bottoms as patriarch George Osmond. This film was released on VHS tape in 1998 but has never had an official DVD issue.
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