Wayne Osmond was ten years old when he and three of his brothers first sang on The Andy Williams Show in 1962, dressed in matching suits and harmonising like a barbershop quartet. Within a decade the Osmonds were one of the biggest-selling acts in the world. Wayne, the group’s guitarist, died on January 1, 2025, at a hospital in Salt Lake City after suffering what his brother Merrill called a massive stroke. He was 73.
A family band from Utah
Wayne Osmond was born on August 28, 1951, in Ogden, Utah, the fourth of the nine Osmond children. He and his older brothers Alan and Merrill and younger brother Jay began singing at church and community events, and an appearance at Disneyland led to their booking on Andy Williams’ television show, where they became regulars through the 1960s. As the group grew up, Wayne became its lead guitarist and one of its harmony singers, and the act expanded to include Donny and later Jimmy.
One Bad Apple and Crazy Horses
In 1971 the Osmonds went to number one in the United States with “One Bad Apple”, a song that sounded so much like the Jackson 5 that many listeners assumed it was them. The brothers then began writing their own material and turned to harder rock. Wayne co-wrote “Crazy Horses” with Alan and Merrill, a 1972 hit with a screaming guitar-and-synth riff about pollution that surprised fans who knew the group for ballads. In Britain, “Osmondmania” filled airports and concert halls with screaming teenagers.
Illness and later life
In the mid-1990s Wayne was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Surgery and treatment saved his life but cost him much of his hearing. A stroke in 2012 left him unable to play the guitar, ending his time on stage. He married Kathlyn White in 1974, and they had five children. He was the first of the performing Osmond brothers to die; his eldest performing brother, Alan, died in April 2026.
For a group that sold tens of millions of records, the Osmonds’ sound depended on brothers who had been singing together since before most of their fans were born. Wayne’s harmonies were part of it from the first television appearance to the last.