Monday, March 01, 2010

Donny And Marie: Toothy Grin, Squeaky Clean!


The call to gather round the TV set was, "I'm a little bit country, I'm a little bit rock n roll..." It was around the mid-seventies, when the toothy pair (image) appeared on Singapore's small screen. By then our Singapore 60s musicians and guitar groups had either settled in or quit the scene after the great clamp-down. And to those glued to the home screen, *Donny and Marie were no "yellow culture" pair.

The cliche, "squeaky clean" would clearly describe them and with songs like, Puppy Love and Paper Roses, they became a hit with our local audiences. With strong family backing and brothers *The Osmonds, blogger watched in amazement as they appeared week after week singing oldies and newbies. The Donny And Marie Show was something different to our local couch potatoes.

*Donny Osmond's career as a singer and former teen idol began with his brothers. His best known songs include, Sweet And Innocent (1971), Go Away Little Girl (1971), and Puppy Love (1972). He also popularised Any Dream Will Do written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for the 1968 musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is the opening song of the musical, sung by the title character Joseph.


Blogger can only remember Marie Osmond singing a cover, Paper Roses (1973) made famous by Anita Bryant in 1960. With 142 albums the Osmonds have sold 100 million copies, 51 of which have gone Gold or Platinum. Whatever the formula is, they are still a hit when they sing as a duo or when together as family, even up till today.

The Osmonds appeared in their 50th Anniversary World Tour on 17th June, 2008 at The Singapore Indoor Stadium at Kallang. Do you still remember this family? Would you say they made an influence on Singapore's local music scene? Comments?

Image: Google/flickr
Original article: Andy Lim Collection.
Information: (1) Wikipedia and (2) Uniquely Singapore Event Calendar.

11 comments:

Victor said...

I particularly liked their song Morning Side Of The Mountain and their toothy smiles which got them the nickname "Colgate advertisement".

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Yes a beautiful song. Thanks Victor for the connection to You Tube.

Lam Chun See said...

My favourite Donny Osmond song is Twelve of Never, and D&M song is Deep Purple.

In those days there were several shows like this one. Do you remember Des O'Connor (my favourite), Val Doonican, Roger Whittaker?

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Yes Chun See, these two songs are definitely favourites of mine too. But the first song, to me, is best sung by Johnny Mathis with the smooth-as-velvet voice.

'Deep Purple' is a winner, even adopted by the rock group because one member's grandmother love the song.

These three distinguished gentlemen are definitely top of the pops (as in fathers). Whittaker especially, whistles his way through a song.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

"one member's grandmother LOVES the song..."

Anonymous said...

Hi Andy
Have you got any info on Maurice Patton and the Melodians featuring Simon Junior.It seems they were very influential in the 1960's.Nothing much on the internet about them.Can't find much info @ them elsewhere.

Thank you

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Yes, it's a challenge indeed. I have been trying to get some information about this group of musicians and hope to compile something in the near future.

At the moment I am trying to complete a few postings that have been on my list for a while.

I am not sponsored nor supported by any organisation or individual with this project I am doing, so it's a little difficult to gather information because many musicians are reluctant to tell their stories.

I have also lined up some interviews with personalities of 60s music but never had the time to meet them.

I will try to find out more about Maurice and the Melodians. Anyone?

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Is it true Simon Jr can speak the Teochew (Chinese) dialect? Is that why he sings in Mandarin too?

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