DONNY OSMOND - It's Been a LONG ROAD

The entertainer shares thoughts about fame, fatherhood, lessons learned, and his new tour

- Lucille Barilla

Donny Osmond remembers excitedly listening to the Top 40 countdown on Feb. 13, 1971, when “One Bad Apple” by the Osmonds hit number one. “We heard the intro of our song,” recalls Donny to Closer. “My brothers and I were together, screaming our heads off! We were number one! It’s a moment I will always cherish. I’m getting chills remembering it right now.”

In a career that spans six decades, Donny, 65, has been a teen idol, a pop star, a TV host, a Broadway leading man, a Las Vegas sensation and more.

And he’s not done yet! After wrapping up the month of May at Harrah’s Las Vegas, he will be heading out on his first North American tour in seven years. “Everything I’ve done in show business is in this show,” he explains. “It’s six decades in 90 minutes.”

So, your entire public life is represented in your new show?

This show spans from the beginning of my career to the present. That’s the exciting concept of it. There’s a segment in the show I call “the Request.” It’s incredibly complicated technically but very simple on the outside. Anyone can request any song I have ever recorded, and we will perform it. That’s a lot of material.

Would you even sing something obscure like “Old Man Auctioneer” off your 1976 album Disco Train?

Somebody just requested that! That album — just stop! [Laughs] But we did it. We pulled it off. It’s fun for us and keeps everyone on their toes because the show changes every night.

It must take an unbelievable amount of energy.