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YES! WEEKLY - Greensboro, North Carolina
September 19-25, 2007
OSMOND SONG RECORDED BY LOCAL BAND
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Clay Howard has a copy of his album
signed by the Osmond Brothers
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Local musician rethinks the Osmond Brothers
~ by Clay Howard
My wife loves Donny Osmond. Well, she
did when she was a little girl. Since we have been married, I
have continued to buy her Donny Osmond records and other
paraphernalia. In addition to his CDs, I have found and
purchased a Donny and Marie play set from 1976 that our daughters
love, an Osmond Cartoon DVD and multiple LPs. Last Christmas I bought her the Donny autobiography, Life is
Just What You Make It, and once she finished it, I have to admit, I read
it too. In it he mentions the Osmond Brothers' Crazy Horses LP
numerous times. |
I missed the Osmond mania of the early '70s.
I had no idea that the Osmond Brothers actually wrote and played
instruments, and never suspected that they might have actually been good.
But I am here to admit that I was wrong.
Laugh if you want, but those guys - Alan,
Wayne, Merrill, Jay and yes, Donny - can actually play not one, but
multiple instruments. And they can write a darn good pop tune.
"Crazy Horses" came out in 1972, when I was 4. I heard the title
track in a dance remix a couple of years ago, and thought it was cool.
After reading the Donny book, I searched out a copy and, what a
tune...what an album. If your only exposure to the Osmonds is "One
Bad Apple," this one will surprise you.
As my band,
Stratocruiser, was finishing our
latest CD, Egg Shells, I suggested we record our own version of the song,
"Crazy Horses" to add to the final project. I thought it would be
really cool to have a quote from one of the Osmonds to help sell the CD,
so I searched for any contact info that I could find. Believe it or
not, I found an address and sent an e-mail to the personal assistant of
Jay Osmond, the lead singer of the song. Honestly, I expected no
reply, as rarely does something like this pan out.
Surprise...
One day later, I received a
return e-mail from his personal assistant, letting me know that she would
love to pass along our version of the song to Jay. I mailed her the
CD and she again replied and said that she was very impressed. She
also mentioned that the Osmond Brothers would be playing at the
Walker
Center in Wilkesboro on September 6, and that she could probably arrange
for me to meet them, so I immediately bought tickets.
I took my wife to the Wilkesboro show, and
even though Donny was not performing, we both had a great time. To
demonstrate how genuine the Osmonds are, minutes before they hit the stage,
Jay Osmond's personal assistant, Terri, came out, introduced herself and
told me, "Jay sent me out here to apologize to you - they are not playing
'Crazy Horses' tonight."
After the show, I had a chance to meet the
guys. Jay Osmond came out and immediately introduced himself to me,
saying "Are you Clay? Been looking forward to meeting you. I
am very impressed with your version of our song. Great work!"
Jimmy Osmond echoed his sentiments, and Wayne Osmond, co-writer of the
song, gave his kudos as well. I then had the brothers autograph my
copy of the Crazy Horses LP as Terri snapped a photo of the event for me.
The best part of the whole experience?
Had to be finding a great record from the past, having the opportunity to
interpret it and share it with a few people. Meeting the original
creators of the song was just icing on the cake. And their blessings
on our recording of their song - very cool.
Clay Howard is a local musician who
works for the Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship. |
