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Famous LDS People: Musicians

Then Donny gained experience from his Broadway debut in an ill-fated revival of George M. Cohan's Little Johnny Jones. "I opened and closed that show in one night on Broadway," he recalled, "and I remember thinking--because it was just devastating--'One of these days, I'm going to come back and do it right.'"

Donny spent the next several years honing his talents as performer and producer, working with the likes of Jeff Beck, Boy George and Chicago. In 1987, Peter Gabriel invited him to record at his studio in Bath, England. The resulting demos recharged Donny's recording career, catching fire with the release in 1989 of "Soldier of Love," which hit the Top 30 in the U.K. and -- some 13 years after his previous Top 40 chart-maker -- No. 2 in the U.S.

Generating new heat in his singing career, Donny took another important creative step. "I checked myself into acting classes, and studied for quite some time at the Beverly Hills," he said, "not knowing what I was going to do -- just to be prepared."

Without realizing it, he was preparing for one of the greatest successes of his entire career, a Canadian and U.S. tour in the title role of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sir Tim Rice's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Though he had been tempted to pursue an offer to race cars full-time on the professional circuit -- he had taken first place at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Pro-Am -- Donny turned down a racing contract in 1991 to sign a six-month contract to do Joseph. Although he would have to put everything else on hold, the calculated risk turned into a rewarding, triumphant six-year association. To date, the Joseph original cast recording is quadruple platinum in Canada and recently went gold in the U.S. Last year, the film version of the musical, starring Donny, premiered to stellar ratings on PBS's Great Performances series.

This record of achievement happily confirms the fact that, after his first bruising experience in the theater, Donny has developed the chops to "come back and do it right."

Now 46 years old, Donny has been married to his wife Debbie for 25 years, and is also the father of five boys, ranging from 24-year-old Don Jr. to 5-year-old Joshua. Donny says, "The fact that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has stirred many interesting questions as I've traveled all over the world. I've received so many letters and e-mails asking me about my beliefs as a Latter-Day Saint (Mormon). Many of the questions include how have Debbie and I been able to keep a strong marriage over the past 25 years and deal with the challenges of raising a close and happy family in such difficult times?" To help answer these questions and to spread the gospel, Donny includes several gospel discussions on his web site. He says these teachings "Explain a way of life that means more to me than anything this world can offer and how it gives me stability in a business that can sometimes be uncertain, compromising and stressful. It's the pattern that gives me direction in life." To read more about it, see www.osmond.com

Information provided from: Greg Prato & Steve Huey, All Music Guide; Osmond Network; SHeDAISY.com; LDSMusicNews