Donny Osmond continues to inspire

Donald Clark Osmond was born on December 9, 1957. and is a singer, dancer, former teen idol, actor, and television host. During the 1970s he became a heartthrob while performing with four of his older brothers as The Osmonds. The singing family got their start thanks to the father of singer Andy Williams. Jay Emerson Williams saw four of the Osmond Brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay perform as a barbershop quartet on a Disneyland television special, and the brothers were invited to audition for The Andy Williams Show.

Initially, Williams had reservations about having children perform on his program. His father encouraged him to try them out, the Osmond brothers proved to be an asset to the program. They were so popular they became regulars and in 1963, Donny made his debut by joining his brothers. He was only five years old and sang "You Are My Sunshine". The first hit for the singing brothers was One Bad Apple in 1970. The group also had a hit Saturday morning cartoon show. They were often compared to the Jackson 5 and Donny's voice actually resembled Michael Jackson's on some songs.

In addition to singing hit songs with his brothers, in the 1970s, Donny also sang duets with his sister Marie, The duo even had a variety television show Donny and Marie from 1976-1979. Donny also had a successful solo career. Donny and his sister had an 11 year run in Los Vegas at the Flamingo from 2008-2019. The showroom was later renamed The Donny and Marie Theater. Donny Osmond hosted the game show Pyramid from 2002-2004 and also successfully competed on two reality Television shows. He won season 9 of Dancing with the Stars and was named runner-up for season 1 of The Masked Singer as the peacock. For many, however, Puppy Love will always be the song they remember from Donny Osmond.

Osmond was one of the most popular "Cover Boy" pop stars for the teen magazines "16" and Tiger Beat. His first solo hit was a cover of Roy Orbison's 1958 recording of "Sweet and Innocent", which reached No. 7 in the U.S. in 1971. That same year he had hits with "Go Away Little Girl" which went to number 1 and "Puppy Love" which peaked at number 3. In 1972 "Hey Girl/I Knew You When" reached No. 9 and Osmond achieved international fame. In November 20, 1972 ahe made an appearance on the Here's Lucy show, where he sang "Too Young" to Lucy's niece, who was played by Eve Plumb,(Jan on The Brady Bunch). He also sang "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" with Lucy Arnez.

In 1989 Osmond returned to the music scene with the number 2 Billboard Hot 100 number 2 hit "Soldier of Love". Donny was the guest vocalist on Dweezil Zappa's version of the Bee Gees' hit "Stayin' Alive". Osmond sang "No One Has To Be Alone", which was at the end of the movie The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water. He also sang "I'll Make a Man Out of You" for the Disney film Mulan. During the 2000s the singer released an album of his favorite Broadway songs, a Christmas album, and an album of love songs. In 2008 the Osmonds did a farewell concert and their voices sounded the same except Donny's had matured.

On May 8, 1978, Osmond married Deborah Glenn of Billings, Montana. They have six sons: Donald, Jeremy, James, Brandon, Christopher,and Joshua. The Osmonds also have twelve grandchildren. Like the rest of his family, Osmond is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has stated that he wished he could have served a regular full time mission but his parents and the church leaders felt he could do more good in the world by remaining in the public eye, living an exemplary life and sharing his beliefs in every way possible.

On his website Donny.com the entertainer has many pictures from his childhood and teenage days and also discusses his personal faith beliefs. Fans can also keep up with his current touring schedule. Donny Osmond will be opening at Harrah's Los Vegas in August of this year.