NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Wayne Osmond, a singer, guitarist and founding member of the million-selling family act The Osmonds, who were known for such 1970s teen hits as 鈥淥ne Bad Apple," "Yo-Yo" and 鈥淒own By the Lazy River,鈥� has died. He was 73.
Sibling Merrill Osmond posted on his Facebook page that Wayne died this week at a Salt Lake City hospital after suffering a 鈥渕assive stroke.鈥�
鈥淚've never known a man that had more humility. A man with absolutely no guile,鈥� Merrill wrote. 鈥淎n individual that was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met.鈥�
Wayne Osmond was the fourth oldest of nine children raised in a Mormon household in Ogden, Utah, and the second oldest among the musical performers. The siblings' career began in the 1950s when Wayne, Alan, Merrill and Jay sang as a barbershop quartet.
Their popularity grew in the 1960s after being supported by singer Andy Williams, and they peaked as a quintet in the early 1970s, with younger brother Donny Osmond the breakout star. 鈥淥ne Bad Apple鈥� and other songs were often compared to the music of The Osmonds' contemporaries, the Jackson 5, and Donny was positioned as the white counterpart to the Jacksons' lead singer, Michael Jackson.
The Osmonds' popularity faded by the mid-1970s, although Donny and Marie Osmond both enjoyed successful careers as solo performers and as a brother-sister duo.
In the 1980s, Wayne Osmond regrouped with Alan, Merrill and Jay as a country act and had a handful of hits, including 鈥淚 Think About Your Lovin.'鈥�
But in the mid-1990s he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and lost much of his hearing from the surgery and treatment. A stroke in 2012 left him unable to play guitar.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a wonderful life. And you know, being able to hear is not all that it鈥檚 cracked up to be, it really isn鈥檛,鈥� he told the Deseret News in 2018. 鈥淢y favorite thing now is to take care of my yard. I turn my hearing aids off, deaf as a doorknob, tune everything out, it鈥檚 really joyful.鈥�
Wayne Osmond married Kathlyn White in 1974. They had five children.
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This story has been updated to correct that Wayne Osmond was the fourth oldest sibling, not the second oldest
The Associated Press
