Wayne Osmond, singer of The Osmonds, has died aged 73

Wayne Osmond, a founding member of the family group The Osmonds, which had a string of hits in the 1970s, has died aged 73.

Wayne was a singer and guitarist and co-wrote many of their biggest hits including Crazy Horses, Goin' Home And Let Me In.

“Wayne brought so much light, laughter and love to all who knew him, especially me,” wrote Brother Donny. “He was the ultimate optimist and was loved by all.”

Meryl Osmond called his late brother “a genius in his ability to write music” who managed to “capture the hearts of millions of people and bring them closer to God”.

He continued: “I have never known a man with more humility. A man of absolutely no guile. An individual who was quick to forgive and had the ability to show unconditional love to everyone he ever met.”

Meryl and Donnie said the cause of death was a stroke.

Born in August 1951. in Ogden, Utah, Wayne was the fourth oldest of nine children and grew up in a Mormon family.

As a child, he began playing in a barbershop quartet with siblings Allen, Meryl and Jay.

Until 1961 the harmonizing brothers are regular performers at Disneyland in California. A year later, they made their television debut on The Andy Williams Show.

They quickly became regulars on the show, earning the nickname the “one-take Osmonds” for their flawless, tirelessly rehearsed performances.

Younger brother Donnie joined the lineup in 1963. and they began to expand their repertoire to include pure pop songs.

Their initial singles flopped, but after the success of the Jackson 5 showed that family pop could be commercially successful, MGM Records signed the group and sent them to work at the famed Muscle Shoals R&B studio.

There they were given a song called One Bad Apple (Don't Spoil the Whole Bunch), which was originally written for the Jacksons but was rejected by their record label.

Sassy, ​​bubbly and bright, the song topped the US singles chart for five weeks in 1971. and established the band as a chart presence a decade after their professional debut.

For a while, the siblings generated the same kind of fevered excitement as The Beatles.

When the band arrived at Heathrow Airport in 1973, 10,000 teenage fans packed the roof gardens of a nearby office block to see them on their arrival. Part of the balcony railing and wall collapsed into the crowd, slightly injuring 18 women.

As they left, hundreds of fans crowded their limousine. A New York Times reporter said “they were lucky to escape alive“, as the Guardian said the scenes almost led to a ban for pop groups entering the UK via Heathrow.

But pop music is a fickle industry, and The Osmonds' record sales began to decline by the mid-1970s.

At the same time, Donny and Marie Osmond were offered their own TV variety show, which became a huge hit in the US and was shown on BBC One in the UK.

As a result, the band went on hiatus and eventually disbanded in 1980, although they regularly reformed for county fairs and reunion tours in the following decades.

Wayne Osmond suffered from a number of health problems throughout his life. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor as a child, which led to cognitive problems.

In 1994 he noticed that the condition was getting worse.

“I noticed I couldn't play my sax anymore because my head was throbbing,” he later recalled. “And my knees were falling out from under me when I was on stage. It all started happening within a week.”

The subsequent surgery and related cancer treatments resulted in significant hearing loss that lasted for the rest of his life. He also suffered a previous stroke in 2012.

In 2019 the musician joined his siblings Alan, Meryl and Jay for their latest appearance on the TV show The Talk.

Performing in front of a screen showing a montage of their career highlights, the original quartet performed a song called The Last Chapter, written as a thank you to their fans.

Sister Marie, who presented the show, joined them afterwards to pay tribute, saying: “I am so honored to be your sister. I love you guys. You worked so hard. Enjoy your retirement.”

Wayne spent his retirement indulging in hobbies including fly fishing and spending time with his family. He maintained an optimistic outlook, telling Utah's Desert News newspaper that the hearing loss doesn't bother him.

“My favorite thing now is tending to my yard,” he said. “Turning off my hearing aids, deaf as a handle, setting everything up, it's really joyous.”

He is survived by his wife Kathleen and five children, Amy, Stephen, Gregory, Sarah and Michelle.

He is also survived by his eight siblings: Virl, Tom, Alan, Merrill, Jay, Donnie, Marie and Jimmy.