How Marie Got Into Music
Unlike her famous brothers, Marie Osmond had never planned to become a singer. But her family’s management encouraged her to do so, and she listened.
Instead singing pop music like her brothers, Marie chose to take her career in a different direction. She marketed herself as a country singer, and it worked.
At the age of 14, Marie scored her first number one country hit when her debut single, “Paper Roses,” topped the Hot Country Songs chart.
As the years passed, Marie would leave her solo career behind from time to time in order to join her brother Donny. The two became known as an unstoppable duo, and even had their own television shows together.
Duo Delivers Pleasing Medleys
These shows produced some unforgettable collaborations between the siblings.
During episodes of their 1970’s show Donny & Marie, the talented brother-sister duo always joined forces for a medley jam-packed with country and pop staples. It was tradition for the two to perform such a medley at the end of all of their shows, and each one kicked off the same way.
The duo would start by singing their famous duet “I’m a Little Bit Country, I’m a Little Bit Rock and Roll.”
After that, Donny and Marie would trade spots in the medley, with Marie performing a country song before Donny would sing a rock and roll or pop hit. By the end, the two would come together to sing one final song as a pair.
The Legacy Of “Country Roads”
While all of the duo’s medley’s were spectacular, one stands out to us. That’s because it features Marie singing what was then one of the most popular songs in music at the time, John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
Denver’s rendition of the song was actually more of a success on the pop charts than the country one, where it never climbed higher than the 50th position. But the song soon became a country staple, with artists such as Olivia Newton-John jumping on board to cover it.
Decades after its release, the song was featured as one of three tracks used to craft the mashup “Forever Country,” which was created to celebrate the CMA Awards‘ 50th anniversary.
How Did Marie Do?
Now knowing how much of a legacy “Country Roads” has in country music, it’s interesting to go back in time and hear someone sing it when it was still fairly new. Marie did a lovely job with the song, as her delicate voice flowed through each and every word.
She slowed her rendition down a bit, making it much more ballad-like than John’s original. The result was something truly beautiful that you don’t want to miss out on hearing.
You can catch Marie’s rendition of “Country Roads” by tuning in to the video below. She starts singing the song around the 2:20 mark.
But the whole medley with Donny is entertaining, so we recommend watching from start to finish!