| Jay Osmond | |||||||
| Image Upright: | 0.9 | ||||||
| Birthname: | Jay Wesley Osmond | ||||||
| Birth Date: | 2 March 1955 | ||||||
| Birth Place: | Ogden, Utah, U.S. | ||||||
| Yearsactive: | 1958–present | ||||||
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| Children: | 3 | ||||||
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Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) is an American musician. He is a member of the Osmond family of performers. He wrote the story to the 2022 musical The Osmonds, a musical based on the life and music of the family. The musical was shown around the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2022, after being previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jay Wesley Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the sixth son of Olive May (née Davis; 1925 - 2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917 - 2007).
Starting in 1958, Jay and three of his older brothers (Alan, Wayne, and Merrill in their respective age orders) began singing as a barbershop quartet. They were later discovered in 1961 by Jay Emerson Williams, Andy Williams's father, at a performance at Disneyland which was being filmed for the Disneyland After Dark episode of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. In 1962, the four Osmonds were cast over a seven-year period on NBC's The Andy Williams Show, a musical variety program:[1]
They also appeared in nine episodes of the 1963-1964 ABC western television series, The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, with Jay in the role of young Lamentations Kissel.[2]
In addition to drums, he shared lead vocals on the group's hit "Crazy Horses," a hard rock song that fit Jay's more guttural voice better than usual lead singers Merrill or Donny: he occasionally contributed lead vocals to other tracks, usually ones with a harder-driving sound, such as "One Way Ticket to Anywhere" and "Having a Party." Jay continued with Merrill and Wayne (later joined by Jimmy) as a member of the Osmond Brothers when the group shifted to country music in the 1980s.
Jay is last of the original four Osmond Brothers still singing, after Alan retired around 2007, Wayne in 2012, and Merrill in 2022. As of March 2024 Osmond began headlining his own show in Branson, Missouri; Alan's son, country singer Nathan Osmond, will join Jay at the residency in October.[3]
Osmond is the host of the Osmond Family Hour, a weekly Internet radio program.[4]
Osmond wrote the story to the 2022 musical The Osmonds. It is based on the life and music of The Osmonds musical group and family.[5] The musical was originally set to premiere in August 2021, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The musical had its world premiere at the Curve Theatre, in Leicester, England on 3 February 2022. The musical was embarked on a tour around the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2022.
Jay married Kandilyn Harris on August 25, 1987. They were divorced in 2011. Together, they have three sons: Jason George (born September 23, 1988), Eric Clinton (born January 2, 1991) and Marcus Jay (born January 8, 1996). Jay's oldest son Jason married Lauren Merrill on March 11, 2011, and they have one son, Grayson George, born 2013, and two daughters, Roslyn Renee born 2015 and Charlotte Dee born 2018.
Jay married Karen Randall in May 2014. Karen was a fellow divorcee and eventually became involved in the Osmonds' business enterprises, including the Osmonds musical.[6] His step-granddaughter London Brise Mortensen (born October 14, 2006) was accidentally killed on September 18, 2014, at age 7.
Like the rest of his family, Jay Osmond is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.