VIDEO Alan Osmond, founding member of the musical group The Osmonds, has died at the age of 76
The American musician Alan Osmond, who sang with his brothers in the group The Osmonds, died at the age of 76, the family confirmed, writes Agerpres.
Singer Alan Osmond – known for songs such as “Crazy Horses”, “Love Mer For A Reason” and “Let Me In” – died on Monday in the presence of his wife and their eight children, according to a statement sent by the artist's family to local television station KSL TV5 in Salt Lake City, a city in the US state of Utah.
Since 1987, he had been suffering from progressive multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves, causing symptoms such as fatigue, numbness, vision problems and difficulty walking, according to the NHS.
Alan Osmond began his career in 1958 when he formed a vocal quartet with his brothers Wayne, Merrill and Jay, before being joined by two other younger brothers – Donny and Jimmy, who later enjoyed success as solo artists – to form The Osmonds.
The band was discovered by Jay Emerson Williams, father of American singer Andy Williams, and starting in 1962 the band became a regular feature on his TV variety show, “The Andy Williams Show”.
Alan Osmond and his brothers made frequent appearances on this popular TV show over a seven-year period, catapulting them to national star status and cementing The Osmonds' reputation as a household name in the American music industry.
Members of the Osmond family made numerous guest appearances on the TV western series “The Travels Of Jaimie McPheeters”, in which they also sang.
In the 1970s, the group became a teen idol and became famous globally, and its records sold more than 77 million copies worldwide.
The Osmonds became a pop phenomenon after older brother Alan took over as a lyricist and songwriter, producing some of the most popular songs in the group's repertoire, such as 'One Bad Apple' and 'Down By The Lazy River'.
In 1972, an animated series broadcast every Saturday morning called “The Osmonds” was launched on the American television channel ABC, which featured the adventures of the members of this family and the most popular songs of the group.
Alan and his family appeared in the popular TV series until its end in 1973, before it turned into a variety show, which also starred his siblings, Donny and Marie.
The Osmonds performed together until the 50th anniversary of The Osmonds in 2007, when Alan and one of his younger brothers, Wayne, retired from music due to health problems. Wayne died in 2025 at the age of 73.
Since then, the band members have reunited several times to perform together in public, the most notable being the event in 2019, when their sister Marie's 60th birthday was celebrated.
In 2025, Alan published his memoir, One Way Ticket, in which he chronicled his journey to stardom as frontman of The Osmonds and detailed his battle with progressive multiple sclerosis.
Alan Osmond married Julia in 1974 and the two had eight children together, who followed in their family's footsteps by forming The Osmond Boys, also known as Second Generation.
