OSMONDS - (WOULD IT MAKE YOU) THINK

(WOULD IT MAKE YOU)

THINK

OSMONDS

SONGWRITER: BODIE CHANDLER

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: THE OSMONDS

LABEL: WARNER BROS

GENRE: ROCK

YEAR: 1971

The Osmonds are an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early-to-mid 1970s. Currently consisting of a duo of original members Merrill Osmond and Jay Osmond, the group's best known configurations have been as a quartet (billed as the OsmondS Brothers) and as a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group has consisted of siblings who are all members of a family of musicians from Ogden, Utah, who have been in the public eye since the 1960s.

The OsmondS Brothers began as a barbershop quartet consisting of brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay. They were later joined by younger siblings Donny and Jimmy, both of whom enjoyed success as solo artists as well. With the addition of Donny, the group became known as the Osmonds; performing both as teen idols and as a soft rock band, their peak lasted from 1971 to 1975. Their only sister Marie, who rarely sang with her brothers at that time, launched a successful career in 1973, both as a solo artist and as Donny's duet partner. By 1976, the band was no longer producing hit singles; that year, they transitioned into television with Donny & Marie, a popular variety show that ran until 1979.

A revival of the original OsmondS Brothers lineup in the 1980s achieved moderate success in country music, and both Donny and Marie separately made comebacks in their respective fields in the late-1980s. The Osmonds have sold 77 million records worldwide.

The quartet continued to perform through their 50th anniversary in 2007, at which point Alan and later Wayne retired due to health issues; Jimmy was recruited after Alan's retirement, with the group performing as a trio until Jimmy suffered a stroke and retired in 2018. Alan's son David Osmond performed with the group in 2019. On October 14, 2019, the original OsmondS Brothers quartet reunited for CBS’ The Talk for their sister Marie's 60th birthday, billed as the last ever appearance for the lineup. The brothers performed "The Last Chapter," written as a farewell song and introduced in 2018. Donny & Marie ended an 11-year Las Vegas residency on November 16, 2019. Merrill and Jay continue to perform and tour, as does Donny as a solo artist.

Osmonds is the debut album released by The Osmonds, the first under MGM as The Osmonds and the first to feature Donny. The first single from the album, "One Bad Apple", became a number-one hit according to the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The second single from the album, "Sweet and Innocent", reached number seven, with the single sleeve crediting group member Donny Osmond as the artist. The album reached number 14 on the Billboard Top Lps chart on February 27, 1971. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 13, 1971.

Dave Thompson of AllMusic criticised the album's "Motown medley that contrarily ranks among the least soulful excursions you could imagine" and said that the album "nevertheless finds them [the Osmonds] still putting performance ahead of personality, and barely hinting at the heights they would soon be scaling".

You speak of freedom as if it's just a word

Something you don't think of because you're so secure

Well I wonder what would happen

Do you think you might complain

If one day you woke up and found yourself in chains

Would it make you think, think about life

Would it make you think, think of what's right

Would it make you think, make you think

Yeah, make you think

Sorry can't touch you, you're too far out ahead

Got no need to worry about who's dying or who's dead

Take away your shelter, lay you naked on the ground

With no one to help you, do you think you like being down

Would it make you think, think about life

Would it make you think, think of what's right

Would it make you think, make you think

Make you think

If some day you looked up, saw the burning sun

Shining down upon you and a voice said, "Tell me, son

Have you been a true good brother?

Have you been a friend to all?"

Would that kind of grab you, put your back against the wall?

Would it make you think, think about life

Would it make you think, think of what's right

Would it make you think, make you think

Yeah make you think whoa, think

Hey, would it make you think, think about life

Would it make you think, think of what's right

Would it make you think, make you think

Yeah, would it make you think, whoa, think.