Donny Osmond

Donny first started appearing with his four older brothers in their musical act The Osmonds in 1963 when he was just 5 years old. At first he was a novelty, but by the time the group released their first album in 1970, Donny was the star, singing lead on their hit "One Bad Apple." He was especially popular with young girls, so much so that their record company, MGM, insisted he record solo, which he did, releasing his first album in 1971 when he was 13.

In the early '70s, Donny was making teen pop music as a solo artist while recording more adult fare with his brothers. "We were writing all of this progressive rock and roll music in a studio, and then I'd go into another studio and record bubblegum music," he told Songfacts. "So I was living a double life musically. Actually triple, because I'd go home and listen to Tower Of Power and P-Funk. That was the stuff I was into at home. So I was into funk, recording bubblegum, and writing rock and roll with the brothers. And the problem is my teenybopper career was selling like crazy and it overshadowed anything we did as a rock and roll band.

He had a manufactured "rivalry" with fellow teen idol David Cassidy, but he felt a real kinship with Michael Jackson. They were born less than a year apart and both emerged as breakout stars from their family bands at the same time. After the luster faded from their early solo hits, Jackson was able to transform into an adult pop star, but Osmond couldn't even get a record deal. The two were close, and Jackson offered Osmond encouragement that helped him through this difficult time.