Early life and family Osborne was born in
Providence, Rhode Island.
L.T.D. Osborne began his music career in 1970 becoming a member of the American soul band "Love Men Ltd.", who would later become known as L.T.D. The band recorded
hit singles such as "
(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again" (1977), "Concentrate on You," "
Love Ballad" (1976) and "
Holding On (When Love Is Gone)" (1978). At first, Osborne served as only a drummer, sharing lead vocal duties with his brother Billy Osborne but, by 1976, he became the group's primary lead vocalist. Osborne and his brother both left the band in late 1980 to start solo careers. Osborne sang lead vocals on L.T.D.'s three No. 1 songs on the U.S. R&B Chart and for the band's three gold and platinum albums.
Solo career In 1982, Osborne sang the opening song "I Just Want to Be Your Friend" for the comedy film
The Toy. Osborne later released his
self-titled debut album in 1982, which featured two hit singles, "
On the Wings of Love" and "I Really Don't Need No Light" (1982), peaking at No. 29 and No. 39, respectively, on the
pop chart. It was followed the next year by
Stay with Me Tonight, his first solo gold album, which spawned four more hits, "Don't You Get So Mad" (No. 25), the title track (No. 30), "Plane Love" (No. 10 R&B, No. 6 dance), and "We're Going All the Way (No. 48). "Stay with Me Tonight" (May 1984, No. 18) and "On the Wings of Love" (August 1984, No. 11) would belatedly reach the
UK Singles Chart. In 1985, Osborne wrote the
lyrics to the
Whitney Houston hit "
All at Once" (music by
Michael Masser). He appeared on
USA for Africa's fundraising single, "
We Are the World" in 1985. Osborne sang the unreleased single "Everything Good Takes Time" which was part of a video tribute to
Julius Erving ('Dr. J') in 1987. He would later appear on
Celebrity Duets in 2006, performing "On the Wings of Love" with
Alfonso Ribeiro. Osborne lent his vocals to the theme song of the soap opera,
Loving, from 1992 to 1995 as well as the first-season theme song for the
Kirstie Alley comedy ''
Veronica's Closet''. Osborne had two more gold albums, ''Don't Stop
and Emotional
, the latter of which had his highest-charting solo pop hit, "You Should Be Mine", which peaked at No. 13 in 1986. The following year, Osborne had the highest-charting hit of his career duetting with Dionne Warwick on "Love Power", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard'' Hot 100 and also topped the
Adult Contemporary singles chart. It was a turning point in his pop success, as his albums and singles began charting lower and lower. Osborne's 1988 single "
She's on the Left" would be his final Hot 100 entry, as well as his only No. 1 R&B hit.
Later career In the new millennium, he returned with a series of albums that, while far from the success he enjoyed in the 1980s, returned him to Adult R&B radio, scoring modest chart singles such as "Rest of Our Lives" (No. 75, 2003) and his cover of
Barbara Mason's classic "
Yes, I'm Ready" (No. 64, 2005). In 2008, Osborne sang the
national anthem before game 4 of the
NBA Finals at
Staples Center in Los Angeles, a feat which he repeated in 2009 before game 1 of the
2009 NBA Finals, and also again in 2010 before game 1 of the
NBA Finals, all at Staples Center. He also performed the national anthem prior to game 3 of the
1988 World Series, a feat he repeated two years later at game 3 of the
1990 World Series, both at the
Oakland Alameda County Coliseum in
Oakland, California. He also regularly sang the national anthem before
Hartford Whalers games. On March 1, 2010, Osborne appeared on
The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love season finale, "After the Final Rose", singing his hit "On the Wings of Love" while Bachelor
Jake Pavelka took to the dance floor with his newly announced fiancée, Vienna Girardi. In 2024, Osborne was selected for induction into the
National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame ==Personal life==