Wayne Osmond, a singer, guitarist, and founding member of the million-selling family band The Osmonds, known for 1970s teen hits like “One Bad Apple,” “Yo-Yo,” and “Down By the Lazy River,” has died. He was 73.
Wayne died this week at a Salt Lake City hospital of a “massive stroke,” according to his brother Merrill Osmond, who posted on Facebook.
“I’ve never met a man with more humility. Merrill wrote, “A man with absolutely no guile.” “An individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met.”
Wayne Osmond was the fourth oldest of nine children raised in a Mormon home in Ogden, Utah, and the second oldest of the musical performers. Wayne, Alan, Merrill, and Jay’s career began in the 1950s with a barbershop quartet performance.
Their popularity grew in the 1960s after being supported by singer Andy Williams, and they peaked as a quintet in the early 1970s, with younger brother Donny Osmond emerging as a breakout star.
“One Bad Apple” and other songs were frequently compared to the music of The Osmonds’ contemporaries, the Jackson 5, with Donny being positioned as the white counterpart to the Jacksons’ lead singer, Michael Jackson.
By the mid-1970s, the Osmonds’ popularity had faded, despite the fact that Donny and Marie Osmond had successful careers as solo performers and as a brother-sister duo.
In the 1980s, Wayne Osmond regrouped with Alan, Merrill, and Jay as a country act and had a few hits, including “I Think About Your Lovin’.”
However, in the mid-1990s, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and suffered significant hearing loss as a result of surgery and treatment. In 2012, he suffered a stroke that prevented him from playing the guitar.
“I’ve lived a wonderful life. And, you know, hearing isn’t everything it’s made out to be,” he told the Deseret News in 2018. “My favorite thing right now is to take care of my yard. I turn off my hearing aids, deaf as a doorknob, tune everything out, and I’m really happy.”
Wayne Osmond married Kathryn White in 1974. They have five children.
