History
Tony Orlando was born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis in April 1944. After almost a decade of singing and with only three Top 40 hits, two in 1961 and another in 1969 as the lead singer for the studio group Wind, he had not had any further successes. He stopped singing entirely, and by 1970 he was a retired cover singer. He began publishing music for April-Blackwood Music, a division of Columbia Records, instead.
A song was given to Orlando titled "Candida," and was brought to him after being turned down by other producers and singers. Orlando was not able to originally lend his name to the song as he was working for April-Blackwood, and recording under his own name would be a professional conflict of interest. After an insistence by producer Hank Medress that he dub his voice over the male vocals on the original track, the single was released on Bell Records as being performed by the band "Dawn" in order to protect his position.
The background singers on the track were Sharon Greane, Linda November, Jay Siegel, and Toni Wine, who co-wrote the song. Phil Margo played drums on the original session and the arranger was Norman Bergen. After the single hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (#1 on the Cashbox Top 100), Orlando wanted to start performing again. Together as the new band they then recorded the follow-up song "Knock Three Times" which also became to a major hit.
Bell Records, who distributed the single, was desperate to have a real-life act to promote "Dawn"'s records. Tony asked former Motown/Stax backing vocalists Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson to become Dawn. They then went on the road after "Candida" climbed the charts and "Knock Three Times" followed, eventually hitting #1 in early 1971. After a tour of Europe, Telma and Joyce assumed background vocal duties in the studio as well. They were joined in the studio by Joyce's sister Pamela Vincent who in addition to singing arranged all the backing vocals. Prior touring commitments with Aretha Franklin prevented Pamela from appearing with Dawn on tour. 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 almost immediately became their next #1 single - "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree." In terms of sales, this single was the most successful in the group's career.
Read more about this topic: Tony Orlando And Dawn
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