Too Young by Donny Osmond

Too Young

1972

Donny Osmond

Donny Osmond's next single stayed with the theme of teens being told they're too young to be in love, and this time Mike Curb and MGM went back two decades and really chose a classic for him to cover. The original 'Too Young' was released by the legendary, absolutely incomparable Nat King Cole, and he and that still-much-loved velvet voice of his took it to #1 on the Billboard Magazine charts in 1952, making it a million seller while he was at it. It was the theme song of teenage couples all over the US, and it's pretty amazing how many of those teenage couples of 1952 stayed together to celebrate their 50^th and 60^th wedding anniversaries with-in the last few years.

Mike Curb was hoping that MGM and Donny could repeat that success...but again they were covering Nat King Cole. Saying that Donny Osmond could, possibly, match Nat King Cole's a little like saying your neighborhood hot-rodder could, possibly, out-drive Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Still, Donny did a pretty good job with it. They stayed true to the lyrics and melody, but changed up the backing musicians, adding some trumpets and trombone to the mix, as well as throwing in some pretty kickin' drums. The young girls ate it up, but the tune didn't match Nat King Cole's chart performance, or even come close.

 'Too Young' did make it into the Top 20, though, peaking at #13. It debuted on The Billboard Hot 100 on 6-10-72 and spent the next five weeks chart-climbing, to peak at #13 on 7-15-72. It hang on to #13 for two weeks, then drop off the chart two weeks later, on August 5^th, 1972, for a nine week chart run.

Young couples still embraced it...but we're talking really young, as Donny's music was aimed squarely at  what's now known as 'tweens', and they loved the song...just not as much as they loved his earlier work. 'Too Young' is probably best known for being sung to Eve Plumb...best known as Jan from The Brady Bunch...by Donny when they both guest starred on the incomparable Lucille Ball's third hit sitcom 'Here's Lucy'. Eve played Lucy's niece and Donny was himself in the episode, which was entitled 'Lucy and Donny Osmond', and aired originally on November 20^th, 1972.

This one's dropped all but out of sight as far as the Oldies Stations are concerned, and I hadn't heard it in years when I went a-huntin' for it on YouTube. You're actually far more likely to see it on TVLand or MeTV before you'll hear it on an Oldies station...providing, of course, that they show that 'Here's Lucy' ep . 

Still, it'd be nice to think that just a couple of the couples who heard it while holding hands as one of their parent drove them to a movie back in that long ago summer of '72, to be told something like '...OK...move apart...you two are too young to be serious...' 
...hung on, got married, and will hang on to celebrate their own 50th anniversary.

SO Enjoy...Too Young by Donny Osmond. 

And as a bonus, the meeting of two early Seventies teen idols, with an entertainment legend thrown in for good measure...Donny sings 'Too Young' to Eve Plumb on 'Here's Lucy'...starring the incomparable Lucille Ball...on November 20th, 1972. Take a look at Eve's face, BTW...I have a sneakin' suspicion that she wasn't acting when Donny was singing to her!

Hold Her Tight by The Osmonds

Hold Her Tight

1972

The Osmonds

Back in the summer of 1972, The Osmonds managed a little trick that pretty much blew more than a few people's minds while also making a musical deal with the devil. YA see, The Osmonds went all Heavy Metal on everyone. No, I'm not saying that that tried to go heavy metal. They legitimately pulled it off with two of their albums...'Crazy Horses' and 'The Plan', the former being a legitimate hit in the US, clocking in at #14 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, and the latter only charting on the Album Charts in the UK.

The first track on 'Crazy Horses' was a song giving some unnamed guy advice on how to hang on to his girl, and from the first smack of drum-stick and synthesizer-wail of the intro, and Merril's first growling syllable of the vocals it was obvious that this one was most definitely not what most people thought of as The Osmonds's signature sound, and most definitely was serious Rock, and not any Rock, but Heavy Metal at that.

When you listen to it, BTW, listen closely to the bass line. Sound familiar? Ever head of a little group called Led Zeppelin? And a little tune of theirs of some note called 'The Immigrant Song'? Ya have? (If you grew up listening to Rock music in the 70s, of course ya have!!) OK, again...does the Bass line in 'Hold Her Tight sound just a scosh familiar??

It should, as it's pulled almost directly from 'The Immigrant Song's bass line...so much so that it actually caused the closest thing to a controversy that The Osmonds ever saw when some Zep fans all but accused them of plagiarism. Interestingly enough, though, Led Zeppelin didn't so accuse them.

Wayne Osmond was (and likely still is) a huge Zep fan, and really admired Led Zeppelin's legendary Jimmy Page, and that's who he was channeling when he wrote the riff for 'Hold Her Tight' (Which, BTW, brings us to something else impressive about 'Hold Her Tight...it wasn't written for them...it was written by them. The Osmonds were proving themselves to be very adept at knocking out their own tunes.)

While lot's of the Zep faithful then, and to this day, say that The Osmonds flat out stole 'The Immigrant Song's' bass line for 'Hold Her Tight', Led Zeppelin themselves embraced The Osmonds, kind of welcoming them into the Heavy Metal fold. (Come Young Osmonds...Come over to The Dark Side... ;) )

Led Zeppelin even invited The Osmonds onstage with them one night during a European tour, and the Osmonds hung out back stage with the legendary band, discussing music and such. If today's technology had existed back in 1972, tell me that little get together wouldn't have made for a viral video of the first magnitude! Zep's larger than life and possibly legitimately-crazy-but-in-a-good-way drummer John Bonham even took his son to an Osmond's concert and then met with them back stage...so Zep had no problem with The Osmonds using the bass line for their own not-so-dastardly musical purposes. And as such little controversies tend to do, it likely boosted record sales for both groups. The Osmonds, BTW, managed to crack the Top 20 with it...

...Hold Her Tight debuted on The Billboard Hot 100 on July 1^st, 1972, and cracked the Top 20, at#20, on it's fourth week in. It peaked at #14 two weeks later, on August 5^th, hanging on there for a pair of weeks before starting back down and dropping off of the charts on August 26^th, for a nine week chart run.

Interesting little factoid here, BTW...Hold Her Tight actually charted higher (#14 Vs #16) than The Immigrant Song, from which it's bass line was, er, borrowed. The Immigrant Song, however, enjoyed a much longer chart run, staying on The Hot 100 for 14 weeks.

When DJs first started spinning 'Hold Her Tight' people had a hard time believing it was an Osmonds tune (Much less written and produced by them) and it actually got a bit of airplay...maybe even more than a bit...on Rock stations, though it wasn't heard as much as 'Crazy Hoses', which is arguably the best known of these two most Rock-centric of Osmond tunes, despite the fact that 'Hold Her Tight' and Crazy Horses both peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 (And yep...Crazy Horses is also getting covered in this set of posts...next up, in fact.)

'Hold Her Tight' very very rarely pops up on Oldies and Classic Rock stations today (Also being over- shadowed by it's better-known album-mate today) but it's still well remembered, well loved by both The Osmonds fans and some Rock fans, and it's one half of one of the most interesting little bits of controversy out of Seventies Rock. And lets be honest here...they flat out nailed the Heavy Metal sound!

So Enjoy! 'Hold Her Tight by The Osmonds! 


And as a Bonus (Bet ya saw this one comin' a mile away!) 'The Immigrant Song' from Led Zeppelin. Listen to the bass line in this one, then compare it to the bass line in 'Hold Her Tight'.

Crazy Horses by The Osmonds

Crazy Horses

1972

The Osmonds

The Osmonds left most of their bubble-gum roots far, far behind with their 1972 album 'Crazy Horses', and set musically-minded tongues a-waggin' while they were at it. Us music-lovin' Seventies kids, you see, had discovered that The Osmonds could actually play (GASP!!!!) Rock!!

The album's title track became, arguably,their second best known (Though, interestingly enough, not their second highest charting) single, playing second fiddle to only 'One Bad Apple'. Trust me on this...'Crazy Horses was a tight, kickin' little Rock tune, and it was different from other Osmonds songs in a couple of respects.

First, Donny wasn't anywhere near it...he didn't sing co-lead, back-up, or as far as I know, even come near the studio on the day it was recorded. Second, Merrill didn't sing lead...Jay did, with Merrill taking the short choruses. Also, The Osmonds really embraced then-new technology when they recorded this one, using a YamahaYC-45D Combo Organ to synthesize the iconic whinnying horses that became the song's signature.

Those very same whinnying horses kicked the song off, making it about as instantly recognizable as any tune ever recorded, but this was not a tune about horses...not the living breathing kind, anyway. This was an early environmental statement that decried the amount of pollution released into the atmosphere by automobiles on a daily basis, with The Osmonds equating cars to horses. (A few people thought the tune was about smoking but this was unlikely as none of the Osmonds smoked...as Mormons, they were prohibited from doing so.)

Now, I can't say for sure how many of us Seventies Kids caught on to the song's musical Environmental Movement connection...In October of '72 I was fifteen, going on sixteen, so my main interest in cars was getting my license so I could drive one...but we liked it well enough to take it into the Top 20. It debuted just inside the Billboard Hot 100, at#90, on October 21^st, 1972,  and jumped about 20 spots a week until it cracked the Top 20, at #19 on November 25^th 1972, just a couple of days before Thanksgiving. It'd peak at # 14 two weeks later, on December 9^th and hang on at peak for two weeks...matching 'Hold Her Tight's stay-at-peak...before heading back down and dropping off the chart entirely six days into 1973.

I vividly remember hearing that whinnying horse pretty regularly on Richmond's AM Top 40 power house, WLEE, during the Fall and early Winter of '72, and I can almost bet that I heard it on the way from Chester to Boykins for Thanksgiving Dinner that year (And as such, I may have heard it on Tidewater, Va's legendary Top 40 station, WGH, after I switched over to it about halfway through the ride...this assuming my parents let me listen to my station on said ride).

 It even...very occasionally...popped up on Rock stations, (WGOE would have been the Rock station of choice in Richmond) much to the dismay of those who listened exclusively to Hard Rock, because a goodly number of that crew...my brother being among them...would never ever admit that The Osmonds could actually do Rock songs...even though they, well, could. It'd also be the Osmonds last foray into Rock music...the last one to chart at any rate.

It most definitely became The Osmonds most recognizable hit, and it did indeed become their best known hit, but...and this is admittedly from my own personal observations...it's not their first or even second most played hit on Oldies stations today. It takes a back seat to both 'One Bad Apple and 'Yo-Yo'...and, Hard-Rock (Or Hard Rock Wannabee, depending on your viewpoint) though it may have been, it almost never pops up on Classic Rock stations.

On the increasingly rare occasions that you do hear it, it's fun to to wonder if The Osmonds, with just a little more effort, could have been numbered among the Rock Gods of The Seventies. They actually had a good bit of respect from the likes of Led Zeppelin, and lets be honest here...they were good, and they most definitely could play true, gritty, guitar-heavy, Riff-centric Rock songs. And his one is proof.

So enjoy! Crazy Horses by The Osmonds.

The Twelfth of Never by Donny Osmond

The Twelfth of Never

1973

Donny Osmond

As 1972 became 1973, it occurred to a slew of people that Donny Osmond had been kinda absent from the charts over the last several months...he hadn't been seen or heard from on the Billboard Hot 100 since he took  'Too Young' to #14 back in June, and his fans were wondering just when they might see a new single from him. They, if I remember correctly, became downright strident in their pleadings for a new single. So, in order to keep the peace (And make the money) he (And MGM) decided to oblige them. And, as they tended to do with all of his hits, MGM picked an oldie but goodie for him to cover.

They went back to 1957, when a gent named Johnny Mathis released a little tune called The Twelfth of Never' as the 'B' side to his hit 'Chances Are'. 'The Twelfth of Never' was a classic and beautiful love song written from the viewpoint of a guy trying to explain to his lady just how much he loved her.  As all truly classic love songs should be, it was a ballad...slow and sweet and smooth, the kind of song that every girl loves because she truly hopes that it mirrors her guy's true feelings for her. It was...and is...a genuinely beautiful little tune, and it should have charted way higher than the #69 it scored on the Billboard Magazine Chart (The Hot 100's predecessor).

Fast forward sixteen or so years. Donny's young female fans are growing up with him, and I have a feeling his label wanted to try for a sound that was just a scosh more mature for his next single, so they made the arrangements for him to cover this classic, and when they did, they had the good sense and foresight to leave it all but unchanged save for some minor tweaking. Mike Curb co-produced it with Don Costa, and Donny took it into the studio, made a couple of adjustments of his own to fit his voice and style, and pretty much nailed it to the wall, taking it way further up the charts than Johnny Mathis did with the original...Donny's version cracked the Top 10.

It debuted on The Billboard Hot 100 on March 3^rd, 1973, and kinda took it's sweet time climbing the chart...it didn't break into the top 20 until it clocked in at #18 on it's fifth week in, and just barely cracked the Top 10, at #10, two weeks later on April 21^st. It peaked at #8 on April 28^th, 1973, hung on there for a pair of weeks, then dropped off the charts pretty quickly, disappearing on May 19^th.   This would also be his very last Top 10 hit as a solo artist for a decade and a half...he wouldn't crack the Top 10 again until June, 1989, when he'd take 'Soldier of Love' to the Billboard Hot 100's runner-up spot.

The Twelfth of Never was, IMHO, probably Donny's prettiest solo single. Even though he's considered the king of Bubblegum by many, this one, well, wasn't. It was a ballad, as well as a classic love song, and a truly lovely one at that. It was also just about made for Donny Osmond's voice and singing style, and he recognized this and made it his own. While it's been covered by over two dozen artists, including Olivia Newton John and Barry Manilow, Donny's version not only scored the highest chart position by far (Admittedly on the strength of young girls buying the single), from comparing his version to the other covers I've listened to, IMHO it was also the best of the bunch by miles.
 
I gotta admit, I don't remember hearing this one on the radio (Then again, I wasn't a fifteen or sixteen year old girl in '73) and it's, sadly, become one of those songs that you almost never hear on the Oldies stations any more. And that's too bad, because it really is that pretty.

So enjoy...Donny Osmonds best love song. The Twelfth of Never, by Donny Osmond.  The Graphics for this one absolutely rock.


And as a bonus...Johnny Mathis' beautiful original version of the tune. This was a truly classic Love Song in every sense of the word.

Love Me For A Reason by The Osmonds

Love Me For A Reason

1974

The Osmonds

Every guy's had a girl that just strung him along. Every. One. Of. Us., and this tune about a guy telling his girl to stop doing just that could have well been an anthem for every guy who's ever managed to survive the living hell that's that kind of relationship (Again...all of us). It would also end up being the Osmonds' very last Top 10 hit.

 The Osmonds dropped their Rock persona, going with a softer sound, and let someone else do the writing, specifically legendary Motown songwriter Johnny Bristol, who'd left Motown and, after a short stint at CBS, became one of their label mates when he joined MGM as a solo artist only the year before. OH...it wasn't actually written for them...Johnny actually released 'Love Me For A Reason' as a track on his own 1974 album 'Hang In There, Baby' but it was never released as a single so it just kinda sat there and moldered not getting the attention that it deserved. Record label suits really really hate it when songs with potential (Add profits behind the word 'Potential) just sit and molder..

Sooooo, Mike Curb listened to it, said 'Hmmmmm' and 'What if', had a meeting of the minds with various suits at MGM at which he likely said something like 'I know who 'Love Me For A Reason' would be absolutely perfect for', and met with nods of agreement. Then they called the Osmonds, and the label's staff song-writers, had all of them take a listen, and all of them nodded and said 'YEAH!!!!.

They took Johnny Bristol's soulful, very distinctively Motown-like sound, smoothed it out a bit, changed a couple of lyrics ('Hun' to 'Girl' in the chorus and Johnny's slightly racier lyrics before 'I'll have to pass girl...' to 'So if love everlasting...Isn't what you're asking' in the second verse being the most noticeable) and told The Osmonds to have at it. The group went with their original vocal set-up...with Merrill singing lead...with this one, leading it off with a distinctive instrumental intro, and released to to the world.

It debuted at # 83 on The Billboard Hot 100 on the last day of August, 1974, and took it's time chart-climbing, not popping the Top 20, at #17, until October 12^th, then sneaking into the Top 10, at #10, a week later on October 19^th.  It'd hang on to #10 for a pair of weeks before making a quick drop off the chart, disappearing form the charts a couple of days before Thanksgiving, 1974. It did even better on both the Adult Contemporary(What was then called Easy Listening) and the U.K Singles charts, snagging #2 on the former and spending three weeks at #1 on the latter.

The Osmonds final Top 10 song was, in many peoples opinion, one of their best efforts...They didn't stray that far from the original basic melody, and tempo, simply changing the key to fit their voices, and changing several movements with-in the song, so the sound was just a scosh too mature to be considered bubblegum. It was a very pretty, soulful tune, and to be absolutely honest, was my favorite 'Osmonds' song by a long-shot. And while, as with all of both The Osmonds' and Donny's bigger hits, the young female population was the driving force behind most of the sales, the tune was originally written about the romantic perils us guys face...and I think a lot of guys identified with it, whether they would admit it or not.

It was all over the radio for several weeks as the 1974 Holiday Season approached, and was one of those songs that you really couldn't help but like (OK, my opinion there, but I'm sticking with it!) and I know of several people who weren't big 'The Osmond's' fans (And definitely not Donny Osmond fans) who liked this song, though they would never ever actually admit to liking it...or lip syncing to it while they were driving down the road. And lets be honest here...lots of adults liked this one. They didn't score that #2 on the Easy Listening charts with trading stamps (Remember trading stamps?? ;) )

The Osmonds aren't the only group to make a hit out of it, either, BTW...Boyzone covered it two decades after The Osmonds released it, taking it to #2 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1994, as well as making it the 20^th best selling 90s song in the UK...that's for the entire decade, BTW. The drums are more pronounced in their version, and, like all artists, they tweaked it a bit to match their own vocal style, but Boyzone stayed pretty faithful to the Osmonds version, and did an awesome job with it (And a couple of time, in the chorus, kinda actually sounded a little bit like them) but lets be honest here...The Osmonds still own this one, bigtime.

'Love Me For A Reason'  also helped show just how versatile the group actually was...they had proven that they could sing just about any genre of music and sound good doing it. The tune's had some serious staying power, too. It's on Oldies Station playlists even now, and though those stations' DJs don't spin it anywhere near as often as they used to, if you're lucky enough to be listening at the right time, you'll hear that flowing instrumental intro, and when The Osmonds swing into 'Girl, when you hold me...How you control me' ...you'll probably sing along with it. Admit it...ya know ya will!

So Enjoy!  The Osmond's very last Top 10 hit.  Love Me For A Reason... 



A trio of bonuses for this one...first up, The Osmonds perform 'Love Me For A Reason' live at an unknown venue in 1974. They own this song...no other way to put it!

Second up...Johnny Bristol's original, very Motown-leaning version. I still can't figure out why this one didn't chart any higher than it did...it's that good.

And finally...Boyzone's very well executed 1994 cover of the tune, which became the best selling British single of the Nineties.

I'm Leaving It All Up To You by Donny and Marie

Leaving it All up to You

1974

Donny and Marie

Donny Osmond wouldn't see another solo hit for a decade and a half, and the Osmonds' days as a major force in Pop (And some would argue, if very briefly, Rock) had pretty much ended, but MGM decided there was still some mileage (And most importantly profit) left in them.

See, there was yet another musical Osmond, and this one was every bit as talented and way prettier than the rest of The Osmonds...and her name was Marie. She hadn't just been hanging around gossiping with her girlfriends, shopping, and obsessing over male singers not her brothers over the last few years, either...Marie had gone the Country route with her own music, and had already made a name for herself in that genre while she was at it. In 1973, at 14 years old, she took her cover of the Anita Bryant's 1960 Pop-Country cross-over ballad 'Paper Roses' to #1 on the Country charts, and # 5 on the Hot 100...

So the suits at MGM, Mike Curb among them, looked at Donny and Marie, wondered if the two of them would work as a Duo (Wonder if they even really had to think about that one????) and wondered if there was a song out there that was just freakin' made to be covered by a boy/girl duo. Guess what gang...there were two of 'em. The first one, in fact, topped the Billboard Hot 100 as a girl-guy duet back in 1963

That was the year that the newly-minted Pop duo of Dale and Grace (Dale Houston and Grace Broussard) covered a tune called 'I'm leavin' It Up To You' that had been written, recorded and released (But apparently didn't chart,) by Don Harris and Dewey Terry. Dale and Grace saw their cover of the song climb to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for two weeks, in November of 1963. Their version of the song was a classic Sixties pop tune, and it's passed the test of time with flying colors.

Then Linda Ronstadt covered it on her 1970 album 'Silk Purse', and, with the addition of some steel guitar, took it in a more country direction. It was never released as a single, but still got a good bit of airplay on both Country and Top Forty stations as I recall.

Then four years later, in mid-1974, Mike Curb and the rest of the suits at MGM were looking for a song for Donnie and Marie to cover as a duet...and someone brought this tune to their attention. They buttonholed Donny and his pretty and uber-talented little sis, let them take a listen, and from what I've heard Marie really fell in love with it (I've also read, in a comment or two on a couple of YouTube vids, that she was the one who actually suggested it).

They stayed absolutely true to the melody with only a couple of tweaks here and there, and the only change they made to the lyrics was the addition of 'all' in the lead off line (And title) of the song. They done good, as the old fella says...I'm leaving It (All) Up To You' would be their top-charting single as a duo. Donnie and Marie recorded it in June of 1974, and it debuted on The Billboard Hot 100, at #90, on July 6^th, '74. It grabbed a following fairly quickly, cracking the Top 20, at #19, on Week 6, and the Top 10, at #9, a week later on August 17^th, 1974. It'd spend the next four weeks climbing through the Top 10, peaking at # 4 on September 14^th, and staying there for a single week. It'd drop off of the charts fairly quickly, dropping out entirely on October 12^th. And, somehow, I get the feeling that this kind of became The Osmonds'/Donny Osmond's/Donny and Marie's sort-of forgotten hit.

This one got lots of air-play on both WLEE and Richmond's upstart FM Top-40 station, WRVQ as my Senior year in high school started, and I remember hearing it, but there was so much truly awesome music...much of it destined to be classic music...around back then that it kind of got overshadowed. Think about it...when you think 'Top 10 Hits in 1974'. how far down the list is 'I'm Leaving it All Up To You' by Donny and Marie Osmond?? Is it even on your list? Thought not. Full disclosure here...it's not even in the first 20 songs I'd think of.

Both the original and Donny and Marie's cover of the tune can be heard very occasionally on Oldies stations , though not as often as they should be heard...both are great little tunes, that'll have you head swaying and at least humming along with 'em before the first few bars are finished. Interestingly enough, you're almost as likely to hear Linda Ronstadt's very Country-leaning version of the tune as either the original Dale and Grace version or Donny and Marie's cover...even though her version was never released as a single.  It's been quite awhile, though, since I've heard any of them on an Oldies station. 

Thing is, that's not fair to either the song or the singers, because it really is a great little tune and Donny and Marie's cover of the song really is that good...their voices blend into near perfect harmony, and both of 'em really can sing (And I use the present tense because, well, they can still sing.). Of course, when a legitimately good song like this sort of gets pushed back into the shadows of time a bit that says something about the quality of music during the era during which it was released...I keep telling you guys, Seventies Music really was the most awesome music ever.

So Enjoy! I'm Leaving It All Up To You' by Donny and Marie Osmond.


A pair of bonuses with this one...First up, the original, from 1963, by Dale and Grace.



Next up...Linda Ronstadt's cover from her 1970 album Silk Purse. You don't even have to listen all that hard to hear her cover's obvious Country leanings.

An interesting little factoid about the Dale and Grace version...In one of the all time dark coincidences of all time, the song was #1 during the Week of November, 1963 that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F Kennedy in Houston, Texas, and Dale and Grace were scheduled to perform that same night...they had actually waved to the President only minutes before he was assassinated.

Morning Side of The Mountain by Donny and Marie

Morning Side Of The Mountain

1974

Donny and Marie Osmond

MGM...like any and all businesses anywhere...likes to strike when the iron is hot, and they really wanted to get another single out while the soothing notes of 'I'm leaving It All Up To You' were still echoing in the heads of the music-buying public at large. Donnie and Marie had proven that they were more than able to sell records as a duo, so the obvious, sensible and likely profitable thing to do would be to record and release a second single. And, though they didn't realize it until the search for this second single was well under way, they already had Donny and Marie's next Top 10 hit in their own house, tucked up in the back of a shelf in one of the spare room closets, so to speak.

See, back in 1951 the team of Lawrence Stock and Dick Manning wrote, and Tommy Edwards recorded, a little tune about a boy and a girl from different worlds, towns and maybe even regions...two kids who would have very likely fallen head over heals for each other had they ever met, but, alas, they never did and one of the great loves of modern times never got to bloom. Stock and Manning used a mountain as the metaphor for what ever barrier separated our star-crossed never-got-to-be-lovers and Tommy Edwards took it to #24 on the charts. He then re-recorded it in 1959, annnnnd...took it to #27. It wasn't gonna set the music-world on fire. So it was put on a shelf to gather dust and slowly slip from the memories of most people other than Tommy Edwards and various record label execs...OH!...did I mention that Tommy Edwards' label was MGM???

And lets be honest here...it was all but freakin' written for a girl/boy duet. So, as all the MGM execs pondered on just how they were going to strike while the afore-mentioned iron was still hot, someone said something like 'Wait A minute!” or 'AHA!' or some other exclamation of enlightenment, turned to the rest of the MGM suits-in-attendance, and said 'Anyone remember that old Tommy Edwards song...?

SO they got Donnie and Marie Osmond in on it, probably let the two of them listen to Tommy Edwards' original version, and I have a feeling that the two of them smiled those famous smiles of theirs and had already figured out exactly how they were going to sing it before the song was half over.

I wish I could have found more behind the scenes info (Or, indeed, any behind the scenes info ) about the recording of their hits, because if Donny and Marie Osmond stayed true to form, both musically and professionally...and I have absolutely no reason to think they didn't...they probably had what would become arguably their best remembered hit down before lunch on the day they recorded it. Really, gang, this tune was all but made for them.

They stayed faithful to both the lyrics and melody, taking it up-tempo and changing the instrumentals (Read that 'Getting rid of the flute).  Vocals-wise, Donny took the first verse, Marie took the second, and the two of them harmonized on the third. They followed this same theme throughout the song's just under three and a third minutes. Very effectively I might add, and it was pretty much a hit from the first time a DJ spun it.

Notice I didn't say a huge hit, or even big hit, but it drew a following...it debuted on The Hot 100 at #74 on Nov 16^th, 1974 and jumped about 10-12 spots a week for the next five weeks before barely cracking the Top 20, at #20, three days after Christmas of 1974. It slipped into the Top 10, at #9, 18 days into 1975 and peaked at #8, a week later, on January 25^th, 1975. It'd stay there for a pair of weeks before heading back down, dropping off the chart on the first of March for a not at all shabby sixteen week chart run.

I think everyone who was around in the mid Seventies remembers this one, and not just us Seventies Kids, because of the video...one of the first 'Music Videos'...for a short version of the song that was shown on The Donny and Marie variety show. This, keep in mind, was at least two years and change after the song actually charted. The two of them also performed the song when they appeared on numerous other variety and Late Night talk shows during that same time-frame. Really, it was hard to get away from 'Morning Side Of The Mountain' over the course of the next several years...it pretty much became their unofficial theme song (Much as 'A Little Bit Country...Little Bit Rock And Roll' became their ...and their show's, or at least a major segment of the show's...official theme song.)

And it really was...and still is...a great little tune. Their voices blended perfectly, it was a fun little song to listen to (And sing along to), and it was performed by a pair of...well...pretty natural performers. It wouldn't break through any new boundaries, or set new benchmarks, or even break any records...but it was and indeed, still is, pretty well loved and well remembered, and you can still hear it...and, BTW, I'm not talking about hearing it on the radio (In fact it's been a good while since I've heard it on an Oldies station) I'm talkin' live, Because Donny and Marie are still performing at The Flamingo in Las Vegas, usually to sold out crowds, and 'Morning Side Of The Mountain' is one of the songs they regularly perform.

The magic's still there, too, from what I've seen and heard...They've been regular performers at The Flamingo since 2009, their contract has been extended through the end of 2015, and they've been voted 'Best show in Las Vegas' several times, because of the same thing that was evident in The Morning Side Of The Mountain from the first time they went in the studio to record it...they truly are that close, and they really do love to perform together. You just absolutely can not fake that kind of chemistry

And to think it all started because MGM wanted to see if they could squeeze a second Top 10 hit out of 'em.

So Enjoy! The Duet That, happily, will probably never die...Morning Side Of The Mountain by Donnie and Marie Osmond.


A trio of bonuses on this one. First bonus...Donny and Marie's official video for the song. This is the vid that appeared on their variety show, Donny and Marie', a couple of years after the song had dropped off of the charts. There's a shot, about midway through the vid, of Marie riding hell-bent-for-leather, straight at the camera, with a huge smile on her face and her hair bouncing on her shoulders...a really, truly beautiful shot of her. I'm firmly convinced every teenage boy in the U.S. who didn't already have a bit of a crush on the Prettiest Osmond fell head over heels for her because of that few seconds of video.



Second bonus, Donny and Marie perform Morning Side of the Mountain live at Ceaser's Atlantic City, in August of 2012, proving that they do indeed still have it!  They changed it up here...Donny led it off instead of Marie...and you also get to hear the good natured bantering that's always been a trademark of their act.


Final bonus...The original, by Tommy Edwards, from 1951. He nevver got it int the Top 2, despite re-recording and re-releasing it. Donny and Marie proved what they should have realized from the get-go. This was made to be a boy-girl duet! And they needed to loose the flutes!