MERRILL
OSMOND They call him “the bear” for a number of reasons. On records his voice is melodic, husky and strong, a combination of his influences that include Elvis Presley and Neil Diamond. He’s the middle child; five out of nine with a head full of hair that merges into a well-groomed beard. He’s rubbed shoulders with the King, met the Queen and befriended the Beatles. Merrill Osmond was the voice behind his family’s biggest hits including the number one smash “One Bad Apple,” and top five “Down By The Lazy River” and “Yo-Yo.” He is complex, compassionate and not shy about affirming his faith, discussing his family or admitting his love of rock music. During their heyday (1971-1974) The Osmonds competed with Janis Joplin, Three Dog Night, Wings, Rod Stewart and a host of rocks luminaries to scale the top of the charts. They were there before The Sweet, Slade or Bay City Rollers, carrying the tag bubble-gum pop as the first boy band.
Long hours and a mom and dad willing to sacrifice
it all for their superstar kids made the Osmonds the biggest household
name among Middle America. “We had a destiny, if you want to call it
that,” says Merrill. “Our parents understood balance. When it came to
moving forward in the entertainment industry they made sure our morals
and values were in check – even though they were completely opposite of
what the music industry was pushing.” In the midst of their image
makeover came a call from the King. “I had no idea my mother knew Elvis
Presley,” continues Merrill. “One day Elvis called to speak with her and
we all thought it was a joke.” Their friendship with Presley spilled
over into their diamond-studded jumpsuits and Karate-styled stage moves.
“He once told me that when your fans bring their kids to your show,
you’ve bridged the generation gap. I think we did that when we sold out
Wembley Stadium for our 50th Anniversary world tour.”
Osmania in the early Seventies was on par with
Beatlemania in the Sixties. The band even hired ex-Beatle agent Ed
Lefler to run their publicity but the relationship turned sour when
prostitutes and drugs were planted in the group’s room. “A lot of people
in the music business wanted to see a scandal with the Osmonds,” says
Merrill. “It was astounding how far they would go for sensationalism.”
The struggle to be taken as serious musicians was a constant battle.
“Ringo Starr wrote a scathing piece in one of the UK magazines just
blasting us,” relates Merrill. “We were big fans so it crushed us – we
didn’t know what to do. Then, a couple days later, Paul McCartney wrote
a rebuttal in the same magazine claiming he liked and admired what we
were doing. Imagine two Beatles in controversy over the Osmonds. We
later met Paul in France and our friendship really took off. He
encouraged us to be original and keep writing.” Merrill admits the
group’s first three albums Osmonds
(1971), Homemade (1971)
and Phase III (1972) were
contrived and designed to be slick pop records that would sell millions.
They did just that… to the tune of 46 million. Then, they met Led
Zeppelin.
“The record company wanted us to put out a record
every six month plus tour and promote,” says Merrill. “It was an
exhausting schedule. We wanted our own place to record and more time to
write so Mike Curb built us a studio on the back of the MGM lot.” When
it came time to do the fourth record the Osmonds no longer relied on
session musicians; they had become self-sufficient as a band and were
writing more power rock. “When we were on tour in Europe, Led Zeppelin
invited us on stage for one of their big events,” continues Merrill.
“Later we hung out backstage and talked about how we really dug their
entire music concept.” The older three Osmonds, Allen, Wayne and Merrill
were coming into their own as songwriters and Wayne really took to Jimmy
Page. “He harnessed that energy and came up with the riff to ‘Hold Her
Tight,’ says Merrill. “That was the heaviest thing we ever wrote…then
came ‘Crazy Horses’.”
The songwriting credits to “Crazy Horses” lists
the older three Osmond brothers. It had a thunderous bass beat, chugging
guitar and electronic whine that not only caught the attention of fans,
but proved the band had the chops to compete with Grand Funk Railroad
and the budding Blue Oyster Cult. “It was our version of hard rock,”
says Merrill, “We gave them their music with our lyrics.” The
rock-oriented Crazy Horses
(1972) marked a dramatic departure and increased confidence within the
band. They formed their own label, Kolob music and set about writing
their most ambitious body of work to date. “I was deeply influenced by
the Beatles ‘White’ album,” says Merrill. “Some very spiritual things
happened to us around that time and we wanted to write about it.” What
developed was a prog-rock concept piece with undercurrents based on
their religious beliefs. “The label hated The Plan
(1973),” confesses Merrill, “but I consider it our ‘White’ album.”
Over time, critics and fans have come to view the
Osmond’s later recordings in a more favorable light. Google “Crazy
Horses” and you’ll find over half a dozen hard rock outfits have covered
the song including Tank, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Pretty Maids,
Mission UK, KMFDM, Mortals, Throat, The Gomers and most recently stoner
band Puny Human. Racer X/Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert covered “Hold
Her Tight” on his Eleven Thousand Notes
DVD all the while the Osmond’s several compilations featuring both
tracks continues to sell. At the height of the group’s commercial
success came a call that would change them forever. Says Merrill, “Right
in the middle of the band, the television offers started pouring in. It
was Red Silverman that contacted us about putting together a variety
show with Donnie and Marie. The mindset of the Osmonds has always been
‘one for all and all for one.’ The band engine came to a full stop and
reversed itself to support the Donnie and Marie show. I became the
show’s Executive Producer and it became the highest-ranking variety show
of all time.”
Next year marks the Osmond’s 50th
anniversary in show business. To celebrate they are planning a world
tour of which several dates have already sold out including the
above-mentioned Wembley shows. “If you would have told me even two years
ago that the ground swell in Europe would be what it is today, I’d have
thought you were crazy,” says Merrill. “We sold out Wembley in seven
minutes twice - now they have extended the tour into Asia and Australia.
The show will be divided into three segments beginning the first hour
with just the brothers, then Donnie and Marie and finally “little”
Jimmy. Says Merrill, “Were going to open up with ‘Crazy Horses’ just to
prove we can still kick ‘em in the teeth live.”
Website:
Merrill
Osmond,
The Cutting Edge
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