There have always been teen singing sensations. People who grew up in the 1980s remember Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. There was also Britney Spears, the late Aaliyah, and now we have Justin Bieber, who turned 23 in 2017 despite being on the music scene for roughly a billion years.
Before that, though, was Marie Osmond, who was coming out from the shadows of her musically-talented brothers. Here’s a video of her on the “Bob Hope Show.” 14-year-old Marie stands under a garden arch and sings her hit song, “Paper Roses.”
Since this is the early ‘70’s, she’s wearing the hip outfit of bell-bottoms and a sweater vest over a long-sleeved collared shirt. Hey, it was the fashion of the times and best relegated to the trash heap, along with disco. Although I’m sure she was lip-syncing the song, as was custom on shows like that, her singing voice is great.
After her singing, she does a little stand-up interview with Hope. I do mean “stand-up” because he’s trying to come up with line after line after each answer. She’s clearly comfortable in front of the camera, especially at the end when she hits Hope with a zinger. Hope does a classic double-take as Marie just stands there, grinning as the video ends.
