Music legend James Osmond, best known as Jimmy, took time out to speak to Mature Times reporter Izzy Ferris about his impressive career and his upcoming tour.
The family man is well known for his part in the 70s band, The Osmonds, and also has an impressive number of solo albums and a number of acting credits.
Now, aged 51, Jimmy is about to embark on his final tour with his siblings, but says their age will not stop them doing what they do best.
Taking about the length of his impressive career, he said: “You really have to love what you do to last this many years in a profession.
“There has been no ‘best moment’ for me, I like it all and I feel everything has been a different experience.
Rewarding
“When you are working on a project you enjoy, with people you care about, it is a lot more rewarding.
“I’m blown away by how long we’ve managed to make our careers last. Obviously I’m the rookie in the group and I’ve been going for about 37 years. It’s absolutely incredible.
“I think it helps that we’ve kept everything fresh and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Obviously we put a lot of hard work into it too!
“Everyone knows our songs and it’s such an amazing feeling being on stage and having people sing your songs back at you.”
Jimmy joined his brothers’ musical group, The Osmonds, a few years after their launch in 1958 and they have since had a huge amount of hits.
The youngest in the group says that the key to getting along with his brothers – Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay and Donny – is to agree to disagree.
He said: “I’m not really reuniting with my brothers – I’m always with them! We do about 50 shows a year and even when we’re not doing shows, we’re together.
“We love what we do. We put up with each other pretty well.
“There are times when it is really difficult but we have each had the opportunity to do our own stuff and that really helps – you don’t just feel like a third leg.
“I think part of the reason we get on so well is because we are very aware of our differences and we’re all comfortable with who we are as individuals.
“At the end of the day we came together because we want to be together and we’ve learned how to get along over time.”
Determined not to let age get the better of them the brothers are embarking on the Once in a Lifetime tour.
They will be playing eight arenas while in the UK in June with tickets still available to purchase.
Jimmy said: “This tour is the last one. We’ve done it three times already and they have always gone down so well.
“We learned a long time ago that these shows aren’t about us – they are about the people who come along to watch them.
“All we’re really expecting from this tour is to have a good time, that’s all we really want at the end of the day.
Nostalgia
“What we love about the tour is the fact we can use our music to take people back in time. They will become nostalgic and remember all the great times they had back in the day – thanks to our music.”
“We always have fun with the other people on the tour too, we play football and other games backstage – we get up to all sorts of things. With those guys it’s not work, it’s just hanging out with your friends.”
Jimmy added that keeping fit and healthy is something that is important to him and he feels it all comes down to the attitude you adopt.
He told Mature Times that you didn’t have to be physically fit when you reach your 50s, but a good outlook on life would get you a long way.
He said: “I’m not the fittest person but I think I have a very healthy perspective and I truly believe that is just as important.
“If you have the right attitude you can continue for a lot more years than you could otherwise. The attitude we adopt is powerful.”
