Donny And Marie: '70s TV's Country And Rock 'n Roll Siblings

By | September 26, 2018


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Left: Marie and Donny Osmond performing circa 1980. Source: (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns). Right: Advertisement for Donny and Marie dolls by Mattel. Source: (pinterest.com)

Signaling the last hurrah for TV variety shows, The Donny & Marie Show aired from 1976 to 1979, featuring siblings Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond, with frequent contributions from other members of the Osmond brood. Coming out of Ogden, Utah, the Osmonds were a musically gifted Mormon family who found success as a male vocal group, first a barbershop quartet of the four oldest brothers, then a larger (still all-male) ensemble, finally coalescing around the most commercially successful arrangement of Donny & Marie.

The Osmond Brothers began a journey to share their musical talent with the world and it continued through Donny and Marie. As brother and sister went on to share more than just musical ability with us, they have brought us years of enjoyment.

Marie Osmond's Path To Fame

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Source: (amazon.com)

Being the only girl in the family with eight brothers could have been problematic for Marie Osmond, but she proved that she could hold her own. Her two oldest brothers were deaf, but the remaining five brothers before her were in the family music business. Her younger brother, Jimmy, who was born after her, joined them. While the Osmonds were making their way as performers in the 1960s, Marie was not in the music business. She finally entered that world as a solo artist, at the age of 14, and released her first single in 1973 called “Paper Roses,” which was actually more of a country song. Her brothers were into soft rock so she contrasted them by gearing her music more to a country music fan base. In 1974, she released another single called “In My Little Corner of the World” and, in 1975, released “Who’s Sorry Now.”