Alan Osmond, 1949 – 2026

Alan Osmond, the oldest of the singing Osmonds, died on April 20. He was 76 (there were two older Osmond siblings, but they did not sing). Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay Osmond started as a barbershop quartet, and were soon appearing on The Andy Williams Show and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (younger siblings Donny and Marie didn’t join the group till later). Alan acted as piano and guitar player, songwriter, producer and choreographer for the gang of wholesome, toothy Mormon siblings (tasking time off to serve in the California Army National Guard). Alan’s own children (he had eight sons) also performed, as The Osmonds Second Generation. “We were told we would never make it in show business because we were too goody-goody and clean,” he once said. “You just live your life. You just make decisions and stick by them. Show business is not first in our lives. It’s family.”