Steely Dan! Donny & Marie Osmond! What Could Be More Natural Than This Musical Mashup?!?!
Here’s an amazing video that has been catching fire all over the internet – I’ve had a number of friends posting this amazingly horrific video of Donny and Marie Osmond performing a Steely Dan song on their 70’s TV show.
But actually, this has been floating around for almost 5 years! It’s amazing how social media can keep these things alive!
Let’s get into what happened here: Donny and Marie Osmond were part of the singing Osmond family, and when they got really popular in the 70’s, they were given their own primetime variety hour.
So of course, in order to stay “with the times”, they routinely “covered” popular songs of the era – and added their own dance number to it – and that’s what happened when someone came across the band Steely Dan, which is named after a dildo in the book “Naked Lunch.”
The song that Donny & Marie chose to cover was Steely Dan’s hit single “Reelin’ In The Years” from their debut album “Can’t Buy A Thrill.”
Here is the song performed by Steely Dan on Burt Sugarman’s Midnight Special in 1973!
OK, you have that classic Steely Dan sound in your head? Well, get ready to have it run through a “TV Variety Show Time Machine!”
The clip is from the Donny & Marie Show that aired on January 13, 1978.
First, get ready for an “outer space” into…
Once you’ve had the chance to catch your breath, you begin to notice the lyrics, which remind you of something – you’re just not sure what it is, until the chorus is revealed – here it is!
Thanks to “DavEvans066” for posting this on youtube! As I said, it’s been around for years, but it’s a classic TV moment worth re-visiting!
As for Steely Dan, you know that all turned out well for them, but did you know that the singer on this first album sued them? Read about it here:
https://johnrieber.com/2015/03/16/icy-cool-steely-dan-classic-70s-music-lawsuits-over-dirty-work/
Finally, this is a terrific song that is performed horribly – but what about a song that is performed well, but is still the worst of all time?
That’s when you get this: click here to listen to the worst song of all time!
Sorry to make you suffer through that!
Thanks to Donny and Marie for the classic TV moment!
Categories: 70's Music, Art, Bloopers, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Music, Obscure Music, Talent/Celebrities, TV Show, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
This did make me chuckle a lot.
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As a devoted Dan fan for 45 years, I can honestly say “yeeeeesh.”
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How could you inflict this mush on a Steely Dan fan like me? I had to stop it when the ice-skating girls came on. Ice skaters?
I always detested the grinning Osmonds. I thought that ‘Crazy Horses’ was one of the worst songs ever, and when the small one did ‘Long Haired Lover From Liverpool’, I could happily have drowned him in a trough. Donny was on a TV chat show here recently, and came across as a nice guy. But he wasn’t singing…
The gig sounds really good, but Steely Dan should be the headline act!
Is Michael MacDonald still singing with the Doobies, I wonder?
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, I cannot apologize enough for what we aired on TV here in the 70’s – you know the Doobie Brothers are opening for Steely Dan and The Eagles tonight in Los Angeles! I believe it is Tom Johnston doing the singing – so more of their early rock material – i’m sure they play the 80’s Macdonald stuff too – and you know of course that Michael sang on many Steely Dan songs in the early days as well!
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It’s a great mix of talent to go and see, John. Have a great time!
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I think I had that pink pantsuit with the stripes. OH! What a fun post. I used to have a mad crush for Donny and cut out all his pictures from Tiger Beat and plastered them on my purple painted bedroom walls (It was his favorite color.) This is a crazy version of Reelin in the Years. No wonder they sued. I recently saw Steely Dan was playing in Vegas in April. ARG! I would have driven over to catch their show had I known.
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Cindy, here is the lineup tonight in LA at Dodger Stadium: The Doobie Brothers open up, then Steely Dan, then The Eagles, with Vince Gill and Glenn Frey’s son taking Glenn’s place!
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OOOMMMMGGGGG!!!!!!!
I assume you will be there. Damn, I’m jealous!
Clap for me.
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Cindy, I can’t go! And tomorrow night the lineup is Earth Wind & Fire, then Journey and the headliner is Fleetwood Mac – not a bad weekend of classic music!
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Sigh. I love Journey and Fleetwood Mac.
I’m hoping to see U2 in PHX in September.
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My eyes! Oh, lordy. 🙂
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I really doubt they knew that the band’s name was taken from “Naked Lunch” – and that it was the nickname for a dildo!
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Shades of Pat Boone cover songs. 😉
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Yes indeed! What 70’s variety shows did to classic rock can never be undone!
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