Down By The Lazy Rver by The Osmonds

Down By The Lazy River

1972

The Osmonds

The Brothers Osmond were hard at work as Christmas 1971 approached, and much of their labor had nothing to do with Christmas shopping. They were still looking for a good, edgy sound of their own. And when I say 'Their Own', I mean written, produced and performed by them. And when I say produced and performed by them I mean with the same astounding work ethic and professionalism that they had become known for.

Allen and Merrill Osmond knocked out this tune about a guy trying to persuade a gal to accompany him to the titular Lazy River with the approval of and, indeed, encouragement of, MGM and proved themselves just as capable of writing a song as they were at singing it. They left the bubblegum far behind while they were at it. 'Down By The Lazy River' was a Rock song and it had a ferocious rhythm and beat and some serious drums and guitar accompanying Merrill's raspy vocals to prove it.

It debuted at a respectable #68 on The Billboard Hot 100 on Jan 22, 1972, and wasted no time making the climb to the Top 10, landing at #7 on February 12^th, and peaking at #4, where it'd stay for two weeks, just under a month later on March 4^th . It stayed in the top 10, at#10 for one more week, then dropped down a single spot to #11 for another week, and dropped off the chart on April 22^nd for a 14 week chart run...not at all bad for their first songwriting effort! OH...it's also listed as #36 on the Billboard Year End Hot 100 for 1972, a year that yielded some seriously awesome music I might add!

The sound was different enough from The Osmonds' previous efforts for fans, when they first heard it, to have sort of a 'Wow!' moment, and a lot of serious Rockers, when they heard Merrill dive right in without any intro and wail 'What cha Doin' Tonite!?!?, and the rest of the Osmonds join in for 2:45 worth of solid Rock, couldn't believe it. It was all over Top 40 radio, and if I recall correctly DJs would sometimes introduce it with the preamble 'By, believe it or not, The Osmonds!' The tune was pretty much a fixture on the radio as Winter '72 became Spring, and you could still hear it as Spring became Summer, even though it had fallen off the Hot 100 in April.

While 'Down By The Lazy River' was almost overplayed in early 1972...probably from sheer disbelief that The Osmonds had spawned a legitimate Rock tune...it's become another song that's fallen off of the Oldies Stations playlists...you'll hear it once in a great while if you listen long enough, but it's a rare treat when that happens.

So Enjoy! The Osmonds' first little bit of proof that they could be Rockers! Down By The Lazy River.