Wayne Osmond in concert with The Osmonds at Wembley Arena, London, May 30, 2008. Photo: Getty Images
Wayne Osmond was a founding member of the million-selling family act The Osmonds, who brought lead guitar, vocals and occasionally drums to the ensemble. The fourth-oldest of nine children raised in a Mormon household in Ogden, Utah, Wayne — the second-oldest among the musical performers — began singing in the 1950s when he, Alan, Merrill and Jay sang as a barbershop quartet. Their popularity grew in the 1960s after being supported by singer Andy Williams, and they peaked as a quintet in the early 1970s, having been signed by MGM as as potential rival to the Jackson 5. The band’s first hit was the chart-topping One Bad Apple — ironically, a Jackson 5 discard. Other hits included Yo-Yo, Down By the Lazy River and Crazy Horses, a storming track based on a rock riff of Wayne’s which was completely at odds with the Osmonds’ usual teen-pop fare. The Osmonds star fell as that of younger siblings Donny and Marie rose. In the mid-1990s Wayne Osmond was diagnosed with a brain tumour and lost much of his hearing from the surgery and treatment. A stroke in 2012 left him unable to play guitar. Wayne Osmond died on January 1 aged 73. — Agencies.
