Jeffrey Osborne began his professional singing career in
1969 with a popular funk and soul group called Love Men Ltd. The band moved to
Los Angeles in 1970 and changed its name to L.T.D. Osborne was originally
brought on as the drummer and eventually became the lead vocalist. After more
than ten years with the band, he decided to pursue a solo career, which
produced such Top 40 hits as “Don’t You Get So Mad,” “Stay With
Me Tonight,” and a duet with Dionne Warwick, “Love Power.” He
continued to tour and record through the 2010s.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Jeffrey Osborne was the youngest of 12
children and was surrounded by music as he was growing up. He had five brothers
and six sisters, some of whom went on to have music careers. His father, Clarence
“Legs” Osborne, was a popular trumpeter who played with Lionel
Hampton, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington, and died when Jeffrey was only 13.
His mother, Wanita, is ancestored by a Pequot Indian sachem. His oldest
brother, Clay Osborne, is a singer and pianist, and Billy, another brother, is
a songwriter and producer in Los Angeles.
But Osborne’s father had the greatest influence on his musical career; Clarence
“Legs” Osborne turned down many top band offers during his career to
be with his family. It was only after receiving his mother’s encouragement that
Jeffrey left for Los Angeles to play with L.T.D. At the age of 15, he sat in
with the O’Jays when the drummer was too tired to play, and went on to play
with them for two weeks. It was at a Providence nightclub that fate brought him
together with the band Love Men Ltd. in 1969.
Osborne’s solo career has brought him five gold and platinum albums, including
Stay with Me Tonight and Only Human. He also recorded an album of duets with
popular singer James Ingram, and scored an international hit with “On the
Wings of Love” in 1982. After his six albums released on A&M during
the ’80s, he moved to Arista for Only Human (1990), then switched to a series
of independent labels. His releases during the 2000s and 2010s included That’s
for Sure (2000) and Music Is Life (2003), as well as the covers albums From the
Soul (2005) and A Time for Love (2013), which features songs with Rick Braun,
Chaka Khan, and the late great George Duke, who also produced and arranged the
album.