Singer Merrill Osmond said of the song, "Before that, my brothers and I had been what's now called a
boy band: all our songs were chosen for us by the record company. But now, having been successful, we wanted to freak out and make our own music. We were rehearsing in a basement one day when Wayne started playing this heavy rock riff. I came up with a melody and Alan got the chords. Within an hour, we had the song. I had always been the lead singer, but I sang Crazy Horses with
Jay. The line "What a show, there they go, smoking up the sky" had to be sung higher, so I did that and Jay did the verses because his voice was growlier, and this track was heavier than anything we'd ever done." Merrill Osmond also added that the record company initially was skeptical the song would be successful but relented when it performed well in the charts (particularly in the
United Kingdom, where the song proved to be a breakthrough for the quintet, as well as much of the rest of Europe). "Crazy Horses" also helped open up the band to a male audience that had largely ignored the group until then; Alan once recalled touring to promote the song and, instead of being greeted by screaming girls hoping to hear Donny's
teen idol songs, found themselves in front of a raucous crowd of boys and young men, prompting Alan to turn to the rest of the band and tell them, "Cut
'Puppy Love!'" Donny, the usual co-lead, had no vocal parts because his voice was changing, due to puberty. The record was co-produced by Alan Osmond and
Michael Lloyd, who had previously been in the
psychedelic rock group
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Jay Osmond said, "'Crazy Horses' was way ahead of its time. It's a song about ecology and the environment: those 'crazy horses, smoking up the sky' are gas-guzzling cars, destroying the planet with their fumes. We shot the record sleeve in a junkyard, surrounded by big old cars." During some of the live performances, as Jay stepped out front to sing lead, Merrill played the drums while Alan played bass guitar.
Censorship Sales of the song were prohibited in
South Africa, where government censors interpreted the word 'horses' as referring to
heroin. The song was also initially banned in France when authorities believed the lyric "smoking up the sky" was about drugs.
Appreciation According to Donny,
Ozzy Osbourne once told him that "Crazy Horses" was "one of his favorite rock and roll songs." as did Merrill.
Tracklist ;
Dave Aude Remixes • "Crazy Horses" (Dave Aude Future Rave Remix) - 2:31 • "Crazy Horses" (Dave Aude Remix) - 3:12 • "Crazy Horses" (Dave Aude Future Rave Extended Remix) - 3:48 • "Crazy Horses" (Dave Aude Extended Remix) - 4:11 == Chart performance ==