About Jay

Jay Osmond was born in Odgen, Utah in 1955, the sixth child of George and Olive Osmond and the youngest member of the original group “The Osmonds”. At the tender age of two Jay began singing on stage with his brothers and quickly because a favorite with audiences. At eight years old Jay’s passion for drumming began. He was a natural talent and quickly mastered the drums and became the driving force behind all those great Osmond drum beats. During the 70s Jay was voted one of the Top 10 Drummers in the country. Drumming is still a great passion of Jay's.

In the 60's the family went to audition for Lawrence Welk in California, driving all the way from Utah to California, they were disappointed that they were unable to meet with him that day. Always making the best of all situations the family decided to make it a vacation to Disneyland instead. This turn of events would change their lives when Wayne, Alan Merrill and Jay were discovered by Walt Disney, while singing on the streets of Disney just for fun.

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Walt quickly hired the brothers to performed at Disneyland and Disney TV Shows, including "Disney After Dark". Soon after, they were discovered by Andy Williams and he asked them to come on his show in 1962. They were so popular they were asked to come back and ended up performing on the Andy Williams show for eight years. Younger brother Donny joined them on the show when he was six. During the time on Andy's show he labeled them “The one take Osmonds.” Each week they were encouraged to perform a new routine whether it was playing a new instrument, dancing or even ice skating, each week they met the challenge and nailed it. As they continued to work with Andy both on the show and touring The Osmond Brothers also became regulars on the Jerry Lewis Show in 1968/1969.

As the Osmond became teens, Rock and Roll was calling their names. They made the tough decision to leave the Andy Williams show and go out on their own. That was the perfect move as through the 70s Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay & Donny traveled all over the world performing to sold out audiences in some of the most iconic venues around the world. Their greatest successes included One Bad Apple, Yo-Yo, Down by the Lazy River, Let me In, Crazy Horses & Love me for a Reason. Collectively The Osmonds were awarded 47 gold and platinum records – Surpassing both Elvis and the Beatles in one year. Their best single year in 1972 honored The Osmond's with eight gold records!

Jay was the groups drummer and shared lead vocals on the group's hit "Crazy Horses" a hard rock song the Osmond's wrote. Crazy Horses fit Jay's more guttural voice and with the awesome rocker sound and crazy dance moves, it is still today one of the most requested fan favorites. He also contributed lead vocals to other tracks, usually ones with a harder-driving sound, such as "One Way Ticket to Anywhere" and "Having a Party. "The Brother’s when on to join the Country Music scene in the 80s where they received a CMA award. Jay left the group for a short time in the 80's to pursue a college degree at BYU.

Besides being a world class drummer, musician and recording star, Jay was the Producer on the Osmond Family Specials, the Donny & Marie Show, Side by Side the movie of the Osmond family. He co-produced on albums and music with his brothers. Jay has authored books and was a contributor to various Osmond projects. Jay co-produced "The Donny & Marie Show" in 1976 and was also the musical director and choreographer for Donny and Marie's dance numbers. He also choreographed the Osmond Brothers' numbers for television and stage. He became an executive producer of "The Donny & Marie Show," as well as "The Osmond Family Hour" during 1978.

Jay’s latest accolade, “The Osmonds, Musical” took the Osmond fan world by storm. The musical, written from Jay’s point of view, is based on the life and music of the Osmond Family. It gives the audience an inside look into both the good and the challenging times growing up Osmond. The musical is based in the 60-70s when the band was selling 100 million records and winning 47 Gold and Platinum awards. The musical had its world premiere at the Curve Theatre in Leicester, UK on February 3, 2022, then continue to tour throughout the UK and Ireland. The production is directed by Shaun Kerrison and features choreography by Bill Deamer. Jay Osmond said, “I’ve wanted to tell my story for such a long time and the opportunity to create this beautiful musical, a sort of ‘living autobiography’, seemed the perfect way to do so. I spent my whole life performing live – on stage, on TV specials, in arenas – so the buzz of live theatre felt like the perfect place for me. You can see more information about the musical at: https://theosmondsmusical.co.uk.

Jay is the father of three boys, who all have gifts of musical talent. He married his wife, Karen in 2014 and they have been busy traveling with The Osmond’s Musical and building a life in Wyoming. With a combined total Jay and Karen have a total of eight children and ten grandchildren. Jay enjoys living life with Karen at their Wyoming home and traveling the world. He's working on his master's degree so he can teach and help other children realize their dreams. He feels so blessed to still being able to do what he loves so much, making music, teaching and bringing joy to all.

Jay is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his religious values have influenced his career and life.