The cost of being a famous kid was known by Donny Osmond at first hand. At 14 years old, he became a worldwide sensation with Puppy Love which made many teenage girls faint. In the 1960s, four out of his seven brothers formed the Osmond Brothers and were regular performers on The Andy Williams Show. He could never have guessed that even half a century later he would still be singing it and making women cry. “I didn’t want to sing Puppy Love at some point,” says Osmond who is now aged 63.
The Pressures of Early Success
“There was an article that came out in Rolling Stone magazine when I was a teenager, they said ‘The worst day in rock and roll history was the day Donny Osmond was born!’” he recalled. “And do you know how devastating that was to me? I mean, today, now I can laugh about it because I’ve pretty much embraced everything, but as a teenager, that can wreck you. And it really ruined me for a little bit.” So he decided to lash out, just once, by trashing a hotel room in Kentucky. “I messed it up big time,” Osmond said laughing. “My dad was mad because he had to pay the bill.”
It wasn’t easy growing up in public – not much easier when public went away –and young people like Justin Bieber and Britney Spears had hard times too according to him.“It’s probably worse now than it used to be especially with social media But I think what happens is that you become a puppet to your image,” he said.
Life with Michael Jackson
He had the benefit of another friend who was going through the same steps — though his comrade, Michael Jackson ended up faring much worse. They were children when they first met at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto in 1971, where they performed with their brothers. “I remember seeing Michael peek out from behind the curtain and watch me during my performance. This was really amazing in retrospect but then it felt like ‘There is my buddy looking at me stage right’ “, he said on reflection.
Nevertheless, these were all known by everyone. When they went to see “The Dark Crystal”, Jackson insisted that they wear disguises. “We were just trying to be normal,” Osmond said. Nevertheless, Jackson had other advice for him: “I told you Mike how will I go back to charts? How do I get out there?” He replied: “Well what you need to do is change your name because your name is poison!”
Comeback and Reflection
“However, what is interesting about this is that he told me this in 1983 and it wasn’t until 1989 that ‘Soldier of Love’ became a hit without my name. So, Michael was correct.” However good the song was DJs wouldn’t spin anything by Osmond. So, they played it without telling people who sang it till its popularity grew huge such that we could not conceal any longer. “But the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me was losing my career”, reflected Osmond as he observed that failure makes one appreciate success more.“And it’s so strange for me to hear me say that because the ’80s were the worst decade of my life because I didn’t have a career.”
Osmond later on planned with Jackson to record a duet remake of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish,” however Jackson had to reschedule due charges of child molestation (Jackson was acquitted). Donny and Michael were friends, “We lost a genius and not just upon his passing, but upon the changes in his life. But the Mike that I hold onto in my mind is the kid I met in Toronto.” The last time they spoke was when Jackson called about a year before his 2009 death.
Las Vegas and Legacy
On May 8, 1978, Osmond married Debra (née Glenn) of Billings, Montana, in the Salt Lake Temple. They have five children together: Don, Jeremy, Brandon, Chris and Josh. The Osmonds became grandparents for the first time in 2005 and now have 14 grandchildren.
This involved competing on – and winning— “Dancing With the Stars” in 2009. It was filmed next door to where he recorded “Puppy Love” all those years ago at a Los Angeles studio. For his fans today though he still does “Puppy Love” as an homage to his beginnings.“I loved the fact that all these girls [were] screaming my name. It was a tough transition, don’t get me wrong, but when I sing ‘Puppy Love’ every night, I don’t make fun of it; I do it with beautiful orchestration.”