Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) is an American musician. He is best known for being a member of the Osmond family of performers. He was the drummer for the group although has now retired from performing continues to work in other areas, such as support for the 2022 musical '' The Osmonds.

Life and career

Jay Wesley Osmond was born in Ogden, Utah, the sixth son of

Olive May Olive May (November 17, 1871 – July 24, 1938) was an American stage actress. She appeared in the popular play ''Arizona'' and appeared in Maude Adams's company. Personal life May was married to playwright Henry Guy Carleton from 1894 to 1898.( ...

(née Davis; 1925–2004) and George Virl Osmond (1917–2007). Four of the Osmonds were cast over a seven-year period on NBC's '' The Andy Williams Show''. 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. The series starred then 12-year-old

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

on a wagon train headed to the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. In addition to drums, he shared lead vocals on the group's hit "

Crazy Horses "Crazy Horses" is a 1972 hit single by The Osmonds, the title track from the album of the same name. The song, the only hit record from the Osmonds to feature Jay Osmond as lead vocalist, reached number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and num ...

," a hard rock song that fit Jay's more guttural voice better than usual lead singers Merrill or

Donny Donnie or Donny is a familiar form (hypocorism) of the masculine given name Donald, Donal, Don, or Donovan. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Donny Baldwin, American drummer best known as a member of Jefferson Starship and Stars ...

; 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 Having a Party may refer to: * ''Having a Party'' (Chips album), 1982 * ''Having a Party'' (Pointer Sisters album), 1977 * "Having a Party" (Sam Cooke song), 1962 * "Having a Party" (The Osmonds song), 1975 {{disambiguation ...

." 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. 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.

Personal life

Jay married Kandilyn Harris on August 25, 1987. They were divorced in 2011. Together, they have three sons: Jason George (born on September 23, 1988), Eric Clinton (born on January 2, 1991) and Marcus Jay (born on 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 who had never heard of The Osmonds before meeting Jay and eventually became involved in the Osmonds' business enterprises, including the Osmonds musical. His step-granddaughter London Brise Mortensen (born on 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.

References

External links

* Osmond, Jay American Latter Day Saints American male singers American rock drummers American rock singers American country drummers American country singers Musicians from Ogden, Utah Musicians from Los Angeles People from Branson, Missouri Living people The Osmonds members Osmond family (show business) 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Country musicians from California Country musicians from Missouri 20th-century American male musicians {{US-drummer-stub