Still singing Osmonds survive ups, downs of performing together 53 years

Steve Penhollow

Being a teen idol kinda sucks.

So reports Jay Osmond, who insists that he was not at all envious when his brother Donny became the Osmonds’ de facto epicenter of female fan fervor in the early 1970s.

“I remember so much of the pressure that was put on Donny,” he said in a phone interview. “I never went through a thing where I thought, ‘I envy your situation.’ Because it was not really an enviable position.

“That up-and-coming star Justin Bieber reminds me so much of Donny,” Osmond said. “Donny went through so much of that. I hope that young guy can hold it together.”

It’s been 53 years since four adolescent Osmond brothers began singing barbershop music in and around their hometown of Ogden, Utah.

Several hundred occupational course corrections later, the Osmonds are still touring.

Three of the brothers – Wayne, Merrill and Jay – will appear Saturday at the Honeywell Center.

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