The Osmonds hit Stockholm recently. Fifteen excited teenage girls fainted when the famous brothers of pop put on their stage show at the Grona Lund, the foremost summer venue in Stockholm. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In the early ’70s, television sets across America were lighting up with the sounds of two squeaky-clean family bands. One was born out of Motown. The other out of Mormon country. And despite their different roots, their careers were closely—and intentionally—linked.
“Their father said, ‘I want my kids to sound like the Jacksons.’ That’s how serious it got,” Mason explains.
The Osmond Brothers had been performing on The Andy Williams Show for years, but it wasn’t until the Jackson 5 broke into the mainstream with “I Want You Back” that their dad, George Osmond, saw the writing on the wall. He wanted his sons—especially young Donny—to capture that same magic.
“They weren’t trying to be like the Jackson 5. They were told to be,” Mason says. “Producers gave them songs with the same chord progressions, the same bubblegum feel.”
Motown, meanwhile, wasn’t letting the Jacksons coast on charm. Barry Gordy was laser-focused on elevating their sound, demanding more mature material. While the Osmonds were singing “One Bad Apple,” the Jacksons were singing tracks written by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, and The Corporation.
“Barry said, ‘They’re not gonna be little kids forever. Make ‘em sound grown.’ That’s why they never got stuck.”
The rivalry wasn’t just creative—it was physical. Mason remembers hearing that Donny Osmond once pushed himself so hard trying to match Michael’s intensity that he was literally sick onstage.
“At the end of the show, Donny was spitting up blood. That’s when they quit,” Mason says. “That’s when they said, ‘We can’t keep up.’”
Despite all the effort, the Osmonds never quite broke the same cultural ceiling. They had hits, sure—but they didn’t have Thriller. They didn’t moonwalk. They didn’t become the King of Pop.
“The Osmonds had TV. The Jacksons had soul. There’s a difference.”
Mason doesn’t downplay the Osmonds’ hustle or talent. But he makes it clear: only one of those families made music history.
