Jim Brickman & Donny Osmond
Live Interview

Jim Brickman joined Donny Osmond  LIVE at the HardRock Rocksino in Cleveland, Ohio.  Jim and Donny answered your questions, shared memories from their holiday tours together, and collaborated on a new song!  Watch the full video below and share where you saw Jim & Donny on tour together.

For sound hover over the video and click the speaker in the bottom right hand corner of the video

Jim Brickman & Donny Osmond – August 27, 2017 at the Hard Rock Rocksino, Northfield Park

Transcript from Donny Osmond’s Interview with Jim Brickman

Donny Osmond – I think we’re live, Jim…
Jim Brickman – Hi Everybody!
Donny Osmond – It’s Alive!
Jim Brickman – And we have –
Donny Osmond – Hi I’m Jim Brickman and I’m here with Donny Osmond.
Jim Brickman – Uh I’m getting ready to do the show tonight, as many of you –
DO – Can I come…see the show…you and Mary?
JB – Uhm…I they’re actually selling tickets out front
DO – Are they really?
JB – Yeah out front. If you really want to come I’m sure they’d sell you one.
DO – Ok
JB – It’s good to see you again
DO – It’s great to see you, Jim.
JB – You know you guys, we haven’t been together in a really, really long time.  Like…when did we break up? About…
DO & JB – Sixteen years ago (laughter)
JB – We are – We have so many questions for Facebook Live, we’re coming to you live from my hometown Cleveland, Ohio and uhm I don’t know if we ever played Cleveland on the tour when you were…
DO – I think we did
JB – Did we?
DO – Yeah we did
JB – Oh yeah!
DO – I remember playing Cleveland
JB – Ok, yeah
DO – ‘Cause I remember saying this was your hometown
JB – Yeah, it was uhm there’s nothing like playing your hometown, right?  When you play at home?
DO –  I never play home
JB – Really?
DO – Oh no, I just hardly ever play home
JB – Why?  You can’t be a hero –
DO – Actually I don’t really like to look out and see my neighbors – although, although we did in June or July, this past July we did 2 concerts in Salt Lake City.  It was just over the top, it was great.

JB – Do you ever – do you ever, ever get nervous?
DO – Of course I do
JB – I mean, what’s the – is it right before you walk on stage, every night, when you know someone’s in the audience?  Like when you know I’m going to be in the audience tonight, like I understand why you’d be nervous
DO – You make me very nervous.  Just sitting here next to you Jim
JB – Yeah, yeah that I understand.  But I mean like your family, when it’s people that you know.
DO – No not really, I was joking a little bit about it.  When there’s something new in the show, you don’t really know how it’s gonna go it’s kind of like an excited nervousness.
JB – Right
DO – I remember a conversation I had with Sammy Davis, Jr.  I was a little teeny kid, and he didn’t realize how much he effected me when he said,

‘Being nervous is important because the day you stop being nervous, is the day you should stop being in show business because you don’t care anymore.’ – Sammy Davis, Jr.

JB – That’s right.  It’s absolutely – and it’s a good  nervous feeling when you go out there and then especially when you’re doing something new and you get over that hump, it feels –
DO – It feels so good!
JB – Yeah, yeah it’s a real natural high in so many ways.
DO – Yeah, yeah
JB – ‘Cause I get nervous when my parents were in the –
DO – Oh when your parents were there?
JB – And but mostly it’s because my dad used to laugh at every single thing I would say on stage.  So I would say to the theater do not put them in front row, just put them somewhere –
DO – Put your parents in the lighting booth

Jim Brickman & Donny Osmond performing together

JB – Don’t put my parents in the front row or like my piano teacher
DO – Yeah exactly
JB – It’s like all of sudden you revert to being a little kid
DO – Exactly

JB – We have so many questions from all of our friends who are watching right now.  Actually I know a lot of the answers to these already.
DO – Then why don’t I leave and you just answer them – no all right go ahead, shoot
JB – No, no but like when you – when you have off time – because we were just talking that you’re going to take a vacation soon – what relaxes you the most?

Jim – What is the thing that you do that just you know chills you out when your not play music or something like that
Donny – You’re going to laugh your head off – mow the lawn.

JB – No!  Actually I get that – it’s mindless
DO – I have a tractor at home, a mower – it’s mindless
JB – A tractor?!
DO – Well it’s not a tractor, I call it a tractor, it’s a little lawn mower.  But I get on my little lawn mower, put the headsets on and I go into another world.  I have 2 acres that I just take care of, I’m planting some fruit trees and it’s just my little world I go into because I work hard, I play hard…I told you about December, I cancelled the tour because I’m hitting the big 6-0, it’s no secret.  And I don’t want to be on the road, I just want to be with Debbie so we’re going to – I’m not even going to tell you where we’re going – somewhere in the world, and we’re just going to be alone together.
JB – Nice, and then if to relax you’ll offer to mow the lawn at the place where you’re at
DO –  I’ll mow the lawn at the hotel that we’re staying
JB – Yeah, that would probably go over big
DO – Yeah I think so
JB – Yeah if you get too bored on the vacation.  Uhm you know what’s interesting when I get asked that question about –

Jim – I think what a lot of people don’t understand is that your hobby became your profession.

DO – Yes.  You’re talking about –
JB – Music
DO – Well or being a geek in the music industry
JB – Yeah
DO – I absolutely love it, ever since I was a little kid when I worked in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with Rick Hall we recorded “One Bad Apple” on an 8-track and he had just bumped up from a 4 track.  So and he was mixing this console – you know these kind of potentiometers not these – it was the round knobs.  And uh I remember going into the console and I was so enamored by all the wiring and what was going on electronically – I got the bug right there.  So eventually I built my own studio.

Tracy Silverman, Anne Cochran, Donny Osmond & Jim Brickman during Soundcheck – December 2000

JB – So you recorded “One Bad Apple” in Muscle Shoals?
DO – Yeah
JB – How much of those early albums did you do there?
DO – We did one album there and then the rest was done in Los Angeles.
JB – And you’re touring a lot – I know we probably have a lot of UK friends ’cause you are like a massive star in the UK
DO – Well thank you
JB – You really are –
DO – I did a tour there in January, and it was just unbelievable.  In fact we just released a DVD, it’s coming out here in the States in just a couple weeks.
JB – Really?  Tell us what it’s called
DO – It’s called One Night Only and uh it was recorded in Birmingham, Alabama.
JB – Really?!
DO – And the crowd was just absolutely over the top.  It was the time of my life, two and a half hours, it’s just amazing.

Did You Know?
Donny Osmond and Jim Brickman first met on the Donny & Marie Show

Donny sang Jim’s hit “Love of My Life” and Marie sang “Valentine”
Click Here to Watch the Performances
February 1999

Jim – Wow…you know we recorded – we wrote a song, you and I, in Birmingham, Alabama
Donny – “One Dream” was done in Birmingham?

JB – Yes
DO – You’re kidding me!  Who was –
JB – Beth Nielsen Chapman
DO – Beth Nielsen Chapman
JB – Do you remember how the song goes?
DO – (singing) One Dream, One Hope (talking) uh the verse goes…(singing) There will always be a place
JB – Dream
DO – There will always be a dream (sound of piano playing) What key are you in? (Beginning of the song One Dream)
There will always be a dream
In the heart of each beginner
Like the promise of a thousand springs
Deep inside each sea
And in spite of what is lost
You will always be a winner
From the moment you surrender
Believing, forever
One Dream, One Hope
One chance to see the miracle of grace unfold
Like wings we hold
JB – I skipped to the end DO – You did
Feel it in the air, all this world can be
Each of us will always share, One Dream

Click Here to Get a Copy “One Dream”

JB – Yeah!  Pretty good!
DO – That was in Birmingham
JB – That was in Birmingham
DO – Do you stay in touch with Beth?
JB – Yeah, of course!
DO – Tell her I say hi
JB – I will
DO – She’s an amazing lyricist
JB – That’s a good song
DO – Marvelous song
JB – We wrote it at a piano store
DO – That’s right, we wrote it for the 2002 Olympics and they didn’t use it.  Their loss.
JB – Do you have a – you mentioned “One Bad Apple,” do you have a favorite from those classic songs?
DO – Oh…(Singing) And they called it Puppy Love…You know you’ve gotta sing “Puppy Love.”  I do “Puppy Love” in the show.
JB – I think there would be a stampede if you didn’t
DO – You know there’s a couple songs…”Twelfth of Never.”  (singing) You ask, how much I need you.  Great song!  “Hey Girl” was a great song.  As far as the brothers…”Crazy Horses.”  Love “Crazy Horses.”  “Down by the Lazy River.”
JB – Yeah  – Oh, yeah!
DO – I love “Down By The Lazy River”
JB – That’s a good one!  Do you do uhm do you still do “Soldier of Love” in the show?
DO – “Soldier of Love” I came up for a unique arrangement for “Soldier.”  Changed it up from the original, I can’t wait for you to see it in the show.

JB – Good stuff!  Well we’ve got a lot of Facebook questions for Donald Osmond.
DO – You know my real name?
JB – Yes, December 9th
DO – Oh my goodness!
JB – Well ’cause i was on tour with you and it’s like been engrained in my head because it was always your birthday on tour.
DO – That’s right
JB – And believe me did I have to hear about it.  All right (laughter)
DO – All right what’s the next one
JB – All right, so what is your favorite part of performing on tour?
DO – Well that’s like trying to pick a favorite child
JB – Well like do you like to – Do you enjoy uh meeting people before & after, do you enjoy the singing, the dancing –

Donny – I enjoy getting lost in the music on stage because like we were talking earlier, um it’s it’s a different language as you know.  When you really through yourself into the music

I may sound a little ethereal here a little too much but it’s true, if you’re a musician you’ll understand what we’re talking about – you really get lost in the music and I love that.  I do a tribute to Andy Williams in the show
JB – Oh!  Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!
DO – I sing “Moon River” and there’s visuals on the screen.  The first time I did it, it was so hard to get through
JB – Oh, I can imagine
DO – But when I’m singing “Moon River,” you just get lost in that.
JB – Yeah!  You’re – you’re – it just takes you to, just like it takes the people who are watching you and your listeners to another place
DO – Yeah
JB – It’s coming from an authentic connection to that emotion
DO – It is – it really is
JB – Wow that is – wow
DO – So I think it’s just being on stage and in the moment is what I love
JB – Wow.  If there was a duet partner
DO – Besides you
JB – Besides me, yeah well I was about to say I mean that goes without saying, that you haven’t collaborated with that you would want to

Donny – You know who I think would be fun to do something with…
on many different levels is Janet Jackson.

JB – Oh yeah!
DO – ‘Cause Mike and I were really, really, really good buddies.  I mean we talked to each other on the phone a lot…
JB – Well you had so much of the same kind of upbringing, right?
DO – Our lives were so similar uhm we were about the same age.  He was the 7th child in his family, I was the 7th child in mine, our mother’s birthdays were the same day –
JB – Wow…you both have a brother named Tito
DO – Tito, we both have Tito – but um I think doing something with Janet, would be kinda of – and it’s still kind of like the Donny & Marie thing, it’s the male and female
JB – Yes, exactly!
DO – But something with Janet would be fun
JB – Do you keep in touch with her, I mean do you talk –
DO – Not with Janet, I talk to the guys every once and a while.

You know Mike and I were going to do something together, just before he passed away…

And we had the track all ready, it was going to be – (singing) I wish those days could come back – I mean you know those lyrics – come back (scatting) And I played the track for Mike and I brought it over to his house and he was like oh this is going to be unbelievable.  I even went to Stevie and played him the tracks and he said this is gonna be huge. And we set the date to record the vocals, and uh he called me a couple weeks before that and said I’ve gotta postpone it.  Actually he said (higher pitch voice) I have to postpone it. (laughter)
JB – I love how you call him Mike – I called Mike
DO – Well that’s a –
JB – Yeah, I know
DO – You know that’s how we’d talk to each other – and uh he says I’ve got a lot of problems right now that I’ve got to deal with the press and all that stuff.  Can we postpone it, I said absolutely we’ll do it when it’s right and it never happened.
JB – Wow…you should record that
DO – I did!
JB – Oh you did?!  Is it on this new album?
DO – I did, no it was a couple of albums ago –

JB – Because you have a new record, right?
DO – Yes
JB – I mean as long as we’re doing Facebook Live we might as well talk about it.
DO – Well this is the album right there, why don’t you grab one of those
JB – We just happen to have it
DO – Yeah, boy talk about timing.  This is The Soundtrack of My Life, this is the 60th album.  So I wanted to do something kind of different.
JB – I love that title

Get Your Copy of The Soundtrack of My Life Here

DO – Yeah, isn’t that cool? Something different for the 60th so I decided to do cover versions of songs that really, really influenced me as i was growing up.  And Steve Wonder did “Mi cherie More” he played harmonica on it.  So you know songs like that that really influcenced me a lot.  “Moon River” is on it although I did a completely different arrangement – you’ve gotta hear the vocals on “Moon River” because I put it in a key that wan’t in my key, as a weird challenge
JB – Lower or higher?  (Laughter)
DO – And then I just did some really cool things with the melodies but this new DVD that’s coming out that will be my 61st album.
JB – Wow – to tie in the whole 60 thing.

Question from Tina – “How did you – Jim – and Donny first meet?”

JB – We were just talking about that
DO – Yeah, on the Donny & Marie talk show
JB – Yeah, I got booked on the Donny & Marie Show and I think once you heard me play the piano you said, well –
DO – This is a natural fit – it is
JB – Yeah, yeah.  No but then we did Children’s Miracle Network telethon together
DO – That’s right
JB – It was sort of this all of a sudden we met like once and over the course of the next year, we just kept seeing each other all the time
DO – I know, yeah
JB – It was really –
DO – Our paths have crossed so many times
JB – It was really great.  You’re voice – I mean I know we’re just like hanging out in the dressing room – but your voice sounds really good
DO – Well thank you
JB – How do you take care of your voice?
DO – Well that’s a good question because 2 years ago I lost it.  I was um actually let’s go back further than that when I was doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I was in Boston and I was really sick –  I shouldn’t have been on stage but I went on anyway – and at the end of the show, um I’m flying over the audience singing this really high note and I felt this pop in my throat.  It didn’t hurt or anything and it came back – and excuse the visual here – but I was coughing up blood so I knew that I did some damage here.  So I went and saw the laryngologist the following day thinking he’d say just take a couple days off and he gave he a piece of chalk and a chalkboard and he said this is how you’re going to communicate for the next 6 months you just hemorrhaged your chord.  And I thought you’ve got to be kidding me.

He gave me a piece of chalk and a chalkboard and said this is how you’re going to communicate for the next 6 months you just hemorrhaged your chord.  And I thought you’ve got to be kidding me.  So for 6 months, nothing.

DO – Fast forward to 2015 um I started losing my high end and I’m thinking oh maybe I’m just hoarse or something.  I went back to the same doctor and he said you now have a polyp on your left chord and you’re going to have to have an operation.  I mean this is the same guy who got Adele back on stage –
JB – Wow
DO – Steven Tyler, all these people and uh he’s a miracle doctor.  And it happened in Boston, same place I had my first hemorrhage, right?  And he took care of it and I’ve been very, very careful with my voice since, it’s actually stronger now.
JB – It sounds – I mean I haven’t heard you sing in a while but it really sounds there’s something about it that feels like it’s getting better
DO – (raspy) Well thank you I really appreciate it
JB – Which is unusual I mean age – people’s voices change and yours doesn’t seem like it is
DO – Yeah, yeah – well thank you

Did You Know?
Donny Osmond appeared in Jim Brickman’s TV Special My Romance

Click Here to Listen to Donny’s Performance of “Love of My Life”

Any plans for you and Jim to collaborate on a new song?

DO – We should man!
JB – Well there’s a piano just sitting here, come on
DO – We should!
JB – I mean, yeah! Why not
DO – Why not

Question from Linda – I finally saw you and Marie in Vegas this year, is it true that you’re there for one more year?

DO – We signed for one more year, this will be our tenth year.  We were supposed to be there for six weeks and uh who would’ve thought that we’d be doing 10 years.
JB – Do you enjoy being there?
DO – I actually do – the first show I did there I was 7 years old.  I was opening up for Shirley Bassey and  uh Mickey Rooney would come in and do some spots – with my brothers, we were the opening act.
JB – Wow!  Did she sing Goldfinger?
DO – She did, she actually did.
JB – Wow!
DO – Yeah, it was so cool.  And then uh we would open and the show girls would come out after us and I mean I’m 7 years old and I’m backstage – I have to tell  you this one experience real fast – I’m backstage, this little 7 year old so naive.  And I’m standing in front of a mirror and I didn’t know I was standing in front of a mirror and a showgirl – basically wearing nothing – she wanted to check her costume.
JB – (laughing) I’m sure she did
DO – And she stood right in front of me, checking everything and I thought – I must have been so red – I thought what is this lady doing in front of me stop, stop!  And then I realized there’s a mirror behind me (laughing)
JB – Oh my gosh, crazy!
DO – The experiences I’ve had!
JB – No kidding!  All right we’re running out of time ’cause the show is going to start any minute.  You’re in it right?
DO – So they say
JB – So we should probably wrap this up
DO – What I tell people is that if you’ve never seen our show it’s the best show you’ll ever see and Marie does a couple of numbers too
JB – Oh, wow.  So many good things

Is there anything on your bucket list for like the big 6-0, talking about this year you know and really spending time Debbie and going and chilling out somewhere.  Do you have anything that you haven’t done that you would wanna do?

DO – You know, I’ve been asked that question and I just can’t find anything.  I’ve really had a fulfilling life, I don’t – no regrets – um…yeah there’s always projects in the back of your mind and I’m developing a television show right now that I’m pitching here in a couple weeks.
JB – Wow
DO – And I’m hoping that works um but it’s – I won’t say it’s a bucket list item – I really don’t.  I just enjoyed my life, I’m not anywhere near retirement or quitting.  But uh I just love what I do.  It’s different these days Jim, as you well know, than it was back in the ’60s and ’70s when you have to plan way ahead in advance.  You have to learn to turn on a dime these days because opportunities present themselves quickly and go away quickly.  So you have to be – I have a great team of people, creative people, around me.  And if I feel like doing something, I’m at that point in my career when it’s like I feel like doing that – BOOM let’s do it!

You know and it’s a great place to be.

JB – One of the things I’m interested, which I’ll lastly say is one of the things I’ve always admired about you is the uh reinvention and one of the things I find when I meet people who are on the show or I do a duet with like Johnny Mathis, or you’re talking about Stevie Wonder or something.  These are all people that have spent their lives like you as an entertainer and they know that it does this and that it’s always going to like everybody’s life does
DO – And every life does every career does it
JB – And to keep that steady and to have the attitude that you’ve always had and to be so centered about your family and about the things that matter to you, it’s uh it’s a really amazing thing to teach to your children and for your fans to see
DO – Well thank you
JB – Because it’s uh you know it can be so fleeting
DO – It is
JB – And for young people who are getting into the business, they think it’s something that many times it isn’t you know?
DO – Well that’s what it looks like
JB – That’s what it looks like
DO – On television you know it’s like here you’re now gonna have a recording contract, uh and it does happen for some people.  But my opinion is that when you do win a countdown show or whatever you or a game show or whatever you want to call it, that’s just your first step.
JB – Yes
DO – Then the work starts
JB – Yes, exactly right
DO – You look at Carrie Underwood, she won American Idol but she’s a star because have you seen her touring schedule?  Kelly Clarkson, another one.  Those are the only 2 I can think of from American Idol that have really done something with their career but they

Donny Osmond, Jim Brickman & Anne Cochran Backstage – 2000

have worked hard for it.
JB – Yeah and um it’s a testament to – to you that you’ve been able to do that.  You know you start out thinking you see it in a certain way and then you end up talking to Jim Brickman with a toy piano in a dressing room.
DO – But these are the real moments, this is what’s real you know?
JB – Actually I really do love this piano, you’re going to love this Roland Go Piano.  All right thank you so much uh uh break a leg tonight.
DO – Ok and play something as we say goodbye
JB – Ok
DO – We’re going to write something right now (singing) I’m here with Jim
JB – Oh it’s an organ now?
DO  – Oh ok (singing) I’m here with Jim, in Cleveland.  We’re having fun
JB – What rhymes with land? Oh hold my hand!
DO – Bye Everybody!

More on Donny Osmond

Donny was born December 9, 1957 to George and Olive Osmond in Ogden Utah. He is the seventh of nine children: eight boys and one girl. The entire Osmond Family have a long and varied career, which had a humble beginning singing barbershop harmony on Main Street Disneyland. Soon thereafter, Donny and his siblings became very successful teen idols worldwide.

Today, Donny performs at the Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel with his sister, Marie. The show began back in September 2008 and was originally scheduled to run for 6 months. The response was so overwhelming that the Flamingo immediately asked for a two year extension. The Donny & Marie Show is scheduled to continue through 2014. To date, Donny & Marie have been awarded “The Best Show in Las Vegas” for 2102, 2013, & 2014, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal

During 2010 to 2012, and concurrent with his nightly performances at the Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel, Donny hosted two daily internationally syndicated radio shows for McVay Syndication in a partnership with TeshMedia Group: The Donny Osmond Radio Show and Donny’s 8-Track Playback. Formatted to fit both Hot AC and Classic stations, his lifestyle-driven music radio show delivered helpful and insightful information to listeners who are looking for “a friend to help them through the day.”

On occasion, Donny has co-hosted the nationally syndicated nightly entertainment newsmagazine, “The Insider,” and as a special correspondent for its sister show “Entertainment Tonight.” He, along with his sister have recently co-hosted two primetime television specials, “Miss USA” and “America’s Favorite Mom.” The two have a long history of working together that began in the late 70s on the original Donny & Marie show.

2008 was a milestone year for the entire Osmond family, particularly Donny’s brothers: Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay – The Osmond Brothers — it marked their 50th anniversary as performers. To commemorate it, the family gathered for a concert which was videotaped and broadcast nationally on PBS as a pledge drive special. Following the concert, the seven performing Osmonds went on a month long tour through the UK, Australia and Asia. It was the first time in 27 years all performing Osmonds were on one stage and also marked the final world tour for the Osmond family as an entire group. An expanded version of the PBS anniversary concert is now available on DVD at donny.com.

Donny has sold over 100 million records over five decades, and has received 33 gold records, 18 of them before the age of 13. His album, Somewhere In Time, released in 2002, went platinum in only 8 days — a first for the music veteran, and he toured the United Kingdom a year later. The tour was a success, and Donny Osmond: LIVE quickly climbed to the top of the UK charts, becoming one of the best selling DVDs of the year.

Reuniting with Marie on TV, he co-hosted the nationally syndicated daytime talk show Donny & Marie, for which he was not only Emmy-nominated for “Best Talk Show Host”, but also for “Best Producer”.

Donny has learned to persevere and to follow his own path, and never rests on his past achievements. He is constantly thinking of the best way to stay ahead of the curve, which is probably why he chose to host the wildly popular Pyramid game show, and was again nominated for an Emmy for “Best Game Show Host.” And, of course, who could forget his appearance on the celebrity edition of Fear Factor where he placed his head in a box of hundreds of disgusting insects.

One of Donny’s greatest achievements occurred in the early 90s when he played the title role in the North American production of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Following a six-year commitment encompassing more than 2,000 performances, Donny retired his colored coat; again achieving great success and recognition for his performance.

Donny Osmond: The Ultimate Entertainer

It has been said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and tribulation. Donny Osmond has stood at the highest peaks of success any man could hope to attain in a lifetime. But, all of these success stem from his upbringing. His parents, George and Olive Osmond, taught their children to work hard and aim high to realize their greatest ambitions.

Donny has generated millions of dollars over the years for several charitable organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Best Buddies, The Children’s Miracle Network, and The One Heart Foundation. Donny is the author of The New York Times bestselling book Life Is What You Make It, in which he revealed his battle with social phobia, a common but debilitating anxiety disorder that threatened not only his career, but his very life as well. He narrated the PBS documentary “Afraid of People”, bringing this little known phobia to the public’s attention.

For five decades, Donny Osmond has been making a difference in people’s lives. He has continually proven himself to be not only a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter, but also a compassionate humanitarian, a man of principle and faith, and most importantly a good son, husband and father.

Donny and Debbie, his wife of 36 years, have five children and eight grandchildren.