the osmonds

the osmonds, osmonds, donny osmond, marie osmond, the osmond brothers, jimmy osmond

THE OSMONDS 50TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION.
There is nothing wrong with "The Osmonds 50th Anniversary Reunion" show that airs during Ch. 21's fundraising drive tonight.

The problem is, there just isn't that much that's right about it.

Public TV stations do well during pledge drives with specials that feature mass-appeal pop music, the category into which the Osmonds fall. But there's good pop music and there's bland pop music, and the good stuff sounds a whole lot better than this homogenized and ultimately pretty nondescript lounge music.

That said, for Osmonds fans, it delivers. They're still making the same kind of music they were making when they were having hits a few years back, and their voices have held up pretty well.

They don't sound exactly like they did on the vintage clips from Andy Williams' TV show, where they got their start, but then, they aren't 5 years old anymore, either, and "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" apparently has dropped out of their repertoire.

That's a shame because those clips are nostalgic and provide some nice harmonies.

Like many reunion shows, this one is broken into segments so viewers can get some quality time with each part of the group or, in this case, the family that they best remember.

The brothers' quartet does several numbers on its own, with slick renditions of the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" and their own big hit "Proud One."

These numbers have a Vegas look to them, with a lot of colored lighting and singing along and smiles as wide as the Great Salt Lake.

Donny and Marie, not surprisingly, get solo turns. Marie does a short medley that features her biggest hit, "Paper Roses," while Donny's features "Puppy Love" and "Soldier of Love."

Those two then sit down with each other for an extended set of duets, including "Morning Side of the Mountain," "A Little Bit Country and a Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll," "It Takes Two" and "I'm Leaving It All Up to You."

Unfair as it may be, it's hard not to notice that each of those songs sounds better by someone else.

The Osmonds have sold hundreds of millions of records, so obviously a lot of people like their clean, wholesome style, and tonight's reunion special won't disappoint those fans. But music can and does have more substance than this.
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The Osmonds are an American family pop group who achieved enormous worldwide success as teenage music idols in the 1970s.

The group originally comprised brothers Alan Osmond (born June 22, 1949), Wayne Osmond (born August 28, 1951), Merrill Osmond (born April 30, 1953), Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) and Donny Osmond (born December 9, 1957). They were later joined by younger siblings Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) and Jimmy Osmond (born April 16, 1963).

Older brothers George Virl Osmond, Jr. (born October 19, 1945), and Thomas Rulon Osmond (born October 26, 1947) were born deaf and did not appear on any of the records. In 1978, they made their performing debut with their siblings on The Donny & Marie Christmas Special and made occasional appearances from then on.
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