Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer

Tony Orlando Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

and the backing vocal group Dawn (

Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety ...

and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Three Times", "

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...

", " Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose", and " He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)".

Early history

was born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis on April 3, 1944. Orlando recorded through the 1960s with only moderate chart success. He had three

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hits, two in 1961 and another in 1969 as the lead singer for the studio group Wind. While recording through the 1960s, he also became a producer and a successful music executive with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

and April/Blackwood music. While working as a music executive, Orlando received " Candida", a song other producers and singers had turned down. Originally, Orlando could not lend his name to the song, as he was working for April-Blackwood and recording under his name would be a professional

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

. After producer Hank Medress insisted Orlando dub his voice over the male vocals on the original track, Bell Records released the single as being performed by the band "Dawn" to protect Orlando's position. On the

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Sea ...

radio episode for the week ending October 3, 1970, host

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

stated that the lead singer of Dawn was Frankie Spinelli; obviously this alias was used to further obscure Tony Orlando's true identity as the lead singer on Candida. The background singers on the track were

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Weil ...

, Linda November, Jay Siegel, and

Toni Wine Toni Wine (born June 4, 1947 in Washington Heights, New York City, United States) is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders (" A Groovy Kind of Love"), Tony Orlando and Dawn (" Candida"), and Checkm ...

, who co-wrote the song.

Phil Margo Philip Frederick Margo (April 1, 1942 – November 13, 2021) was an American musician and author who was a longtime member of The Tokens, along with his brother Mitch. They are best known for their hit recording of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" wh ...

played drums on the original session, and the arranger was Norman Bergen. After the single hit No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (No.1 on the Cashbox Top 100), Orlando wanted to perform again. The ensemble recorded the 1970 album '' Candida'', which included the namesake song and the No. 1 hit song " Knock Three Times". Bell Records was desperate to have a real-life act to promote Dawn's records. Orlando asked former Motown/Stax backing vocalists

and Joyce Vincent Wilson, whom he had hired to work as background vocalists while producing

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include " Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", " I Write the Songs", " C ...

in the late 1960s, to become Dawn. The threesome then went on the road in 1971, on the success of "Candida" and "Knock Three Times". After a tour of Europe, Hopkins and Vincent assumed background vocal duties in the studio, first recording on the late 1971 album ''Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando''. The first single with their voices in the background was "Runaway/Happy Together" in 1972. The group (now billed as 'Dawn featuring Tony Orlando') released another single in 1973, and it became their next No. 1 single — "

Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/ Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, J ...

." In terms of sales, this single was the most successful in the group's career, starting a string of eleven consecutive Hot 100 appearances by the group. On ''The Carol Burnett Show'' in 1975, Harvey Korman, Carol Burnett, and Vicki Lawrence did a spoof of Tony Orlando and Dawn, as Tony Tallahassee and Dusk, singing "Wrap Your Jammies Round the Old White Pine". At the end of the number, they were kicked off the stage by the real Tony Orlando and Dawn. Earlier, Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" had immediately preceded Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" at the top position of the Hot 100 in April 1973.

Period of group's variety show

The group's next single, " Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose" (from their concept album '' Dawn's New Ragtime Follies''), went to No. 3 on the Hot 100, followed by Top 40 hits "Who's In The Strawberry Patch With Sally" (the first single with recording credit "Tony Orlando & Dawn") (No. 27), " Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)" (No.7), and, with some disco influence,

Dennis Lambert Dennis Earle Lambert (born 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Lambert began his music career in 1960 when he signed to Capitol Records as a recording artist. By the mid-1960s, he was w ...

and Brian Potter's "Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman" (from the trio's 1974 album ''Prime Time'') (No.11). CBS gave the group a television variety show (entitled ''Tony Orlando and Dawn'') from the summer of 1974, after ''

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...

'' ended its run, until December 1976. The show was in the same vein as its predecessor (with sketches featuring sarcastic back-and-forth banter between Orlando, Hopkins and Vincent, similar to the sarcastic dialogue between

Sonny and Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

) and became a Top 20 hit. With a new record label ( Elektra), the group continued their string of hit singles during the show's run, hitting #1 on both the Hot 100 and the

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts with " He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" (a reworking of

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

's "He Will Break Your Heart"), from the album of the same name, and "Mornin' Beautiful" (#14). In 1975 "You're All I Need to Get By", followed in 1976 by "Cupid", both from their final original album ''To Be with You'', became the group's last two Top 40 singles on the Hot 100. "Sing" reached No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1977. The group went their separate ways later that year and would have only one more single, 1991's "With Ev'ry Yellow Ribbon (That's Why We Tie 'Em)".

Later career

They re-formed in 1988 for a five-week tour that wound up lasting into 1993, with Pamela Vincent stepping in whenever Hopkins was fulfilling her acting/television obligations. Orlando is still a popular appearance performer on tour regularly with the Lefty Brothers and

. Hopkins made a very successful acting career for herself in series such as '' Bosom Buddies'', '' Gimme a Break'', ''

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on ABC on September 22, 1989, and ended on May 9, 1997. However it moved to CBS, where it was shown from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-off of '' Perfect Strangers, ...

'', '' Half and Half'', and ''

Are We There Yet Are We There Yet? may refer to: Film and television * ''Are We There Yet?'' (film), a 2005 American/Canadian family comedy film ** ''Are We There Yet?'' (TV series), an American sitcom based on the film * '' Are We There Yet?: World Adventure'' ...

''. The Vincent Sisters continue a prolific career as session singers. A DVD compilation from the variety series was released in 2005 along with the group's catalog of albums on CD. Tony Orlando & Dawn released ''A Christmas Reunion'' that same year. Publicity events for those releases marked the first time Hopkins, and both Vincent Sisters appeared onstage together. Toni Wine also participated in those shows. The group was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2008. Tony Orlando and Dawn occasionally reunites for television and benefit performances. In 2009, Joyce Vincent joined

Scherrie Payne Scherrie Ann Payne (born November 4, 1944) is an American singer. Payne is best known as a member of the R&B/Soul vocal group The Supremes from 1973 until 1977. Because of her powerful voice and petite stature (5'2"), Payne is sometimes referred ...

and Lynda Laurence's Former Ladies of the Supremes' group. She continues to tour and perform to audiences all over the world. Tony Orlando, Telma Hopkins, and Joyce Vincent reunited again in 2015 for the sold-out "Tony Orlando and Dawn: To Be with You Again" tour and appeared at Chiller Theatre in Parsippany, NJ, and again for a successful Christmas tour in late-2018.

Discography

* '' Candida'' (1970) * ''Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando'' (1971) * '' Tuneweaving'' (1973) * '' Dawn's New Ragtime Follies'' (1973) * ''Prime Time'' (1974) * ''He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)'' (1975) * ''Skybird'' (1975) * ''To Be With You'' (1976) * ''Christmas Reunion'' (2005)

References

External links