The country music stars talk about their collaboration; how John Osborne overcame a crippling anxiety that caused the duo to cancel shows; and the effects of TJ Osborne coming out as gay, on the family and their fan base.
If we hadn’t hit the brakes, we’d have no idea Paradise was hidin’ right here Dippin’ our toes in the water I don’t care if it gets any hotter Deale, Maryland is a blue-collar fishing town along the Chesapeake Bay – a paradise that’s also hometown to one of country music’s hottest duos, Brothers Osborne. « It’s a little town, as people like to say, there’s more boats than people here, » said TJ Osborne. He and his older brother, John, used to catch crabs off the pier. « Five to seven days a week we’d be in this water running around, swimming, playing, » added John. « CBS This Morning » co-host Anthony Mason asked, « Where did you love of music come from? » « When we first started wanting to learn how to play and sing, it was really so we could just join in with the family, » TJ replied. Their parents put them in music classes early: « And surprisingly, had you heard us play a violin at that age you’d think, ‘Yeah, music was never gonna happen for these kids, they were terrible!' » John laughed. They practiced in a shed out back of their house, which they showed Mason. « Does it look pretty much the same? » he asked. « It looks way, way better, » John laughed. « There’s no beer cans laying around everywhere. » When their dad, « Big John » Osborne, a plumber and part-time songwriter, formed a band called Deuce and a Quarter, the brothers joined – John on guitar and TJ on bass. Some of their earliest gigs were at the Happy Harbor Bar in Deale. That’s when Big John saw something in his boys: « I kinda noticed, ‘These are guys are pretty good.’ And I tried not to be The Dad – they’re my kids! – but I could see it. » The brothers both went off to Nashville – John first, to make his name as a guitar player. TJ followed, starting out as a solo act. Sometimes he’d book his brother to play behind him: « People kept mentioning it, ‘T two of you guys together is something special.’ Which basically equated to, ‘You singing by yourself is not as interesting!' » TJ laughed.
