Sound Advice with the Osmonds

Whether they are the master-of-the-corny-joke, or whether you've never even met them, we can all appreciate a dad and learn something from them.  Merrill and Justin Osmond talk about their own fathers, what it was like growing up in an Osmond household, and what fathers can do to make a positive impact on their children.

Surrounded by screaming fans at Madison Square Garden, Justin Osmond watched his dad and uncles onstage perform some of the hits that made the Osmonds mega-stars of the 1970’s.  However, Justin's profound hearing loss prevented him from understanding what his own father was singing about.  In the middle of 20,000 people, Justin had never felt more alone.  

One of the requirements for the Osmond Brothers to perform on "The Andy Williams Show" was to do something new each week. One particular week, the show centered on ice skating and featured Olympic Gold Medalist Peggy Fleming. Wanting to perform, the brothers spent the next week learning to skate, and on set pulled off a spectacular routine in one take.

In the early years, Olive Osmond spent countless hours with her older two sons helping them adapt to profound hearing loss. Later on, when the younger sons and daughter achieved worldwide success, she set up a foundation to help children everywhere find the tools and education to better adapt to hearing loss. Today, Justin continues her work with others in the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund--a labor of love that's brought as much joy to him as it has to the recipients.

In the early 1970's, Elvis Presley recommended that the Osmond brothers get ahold of a friend of his--Chuck Norris. The brothers began to learn Tang Soo Do karate, and during one of their workouts Norris did a roundhouse kick that accidentally struck Merrill--shattering his back. And through it all, a powerful lesson learned.

Born with profound hearing loss into a very musical family, Justin Osmond immediately had his work cut out for him.  He was told there was no way to play a musical instrument.  One day, after turning off his hearing aids, he put a violin up to his chin and discovered he could "hear" the violin through the vibrations of the strings.  That, coupled with hard work and help from others, allowed Justin to defy the odds and master the violin.

One of the Osmond family's close friends was the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley. He treated Olive Osmond as if she were his own mother—calling her at all hours. When Elvis and the Osmonds were both performing in Las Vegas, he offered the brothers a bit of advice that has stuck with the entire family in the five decades since.