Tony Orlando and Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent), Mohegan Sun Arena, March 22, 2024
Tony Orlando, the singer who scored five top 10 hits in the 1970s, including the chart-toppers “Knock Three Times,” “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” and “He Don’t Love You (Like I Love You),” has completed his farewell tour, with a final performance at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on March 22. Orlando turned 80 on April 3, 2024.
At the final show, Orlando was joined on stage by the singers billed as Dawn for many of his big singles. “I’m a cry baby,” he said as he regained his composure, “But these two women lifted me up to my dream come true. Without Telma Hopkins, without Joyce Vincent, there’d be no me.”
Watch them perform several songs, including “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” and “Candida”
Orlando will continue hosting his radio program Saturday Nights with Tony Orlando on 77 WABC Music Radio, which airs in New York, as well as reaching New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and streams live. He will continue engaging in a multitude of ongoing projects, including a new film and multimedia company, Tony Orlando Productions, according to an announcement from his publicist.
Orlando, born Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis, in New York City, is a Grammy-nominated artist with 15 Top 40 hits, two platinum albums, three gold albums and millions of copies sold. He started out as a member of a doo-wop group called the Five Gents at age 15, then wrote songs for entrepreneur Don Kirshner at the storied Brill Building in New York. His first chart hit under his own name was “Halfway to Paradise” in 1961 but true stardom didn’t hit until 1970 when, accompanied by the two-women backup singers called Dawn, he hit #3 with “Candida” and #1 with “Knock Three Times.”
This ad appeared in the January 20, 1973, edition of Record World magazine
“Tie A Yellow Ribbon” was the #1 Billboard Song of the Year for 1973 and, according to his official bio, “went on to become the theme song for Tony Orlando and an anthem for hope, reunion and renewal in America.”
Related: The #1 singles of 1971
Orlando earned two American Music Awards and a People’s Choice Award for Best Male Entertainer. He is the 2016 recipient of the Casino Entertainer of the Year award and the Bob Hope Award for Excellence in Entertainment from the Congressional Medal Of Honor Society, honoring his efforts on behalf of our nation’s veterans.
In 1990, Orlando was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to commemorate his achievements in the entertainment industry. He was also inducted into Mohegan Sun’s Walk of Fame in 2010. His various recordings are available to purchase here.
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Jump into a conversationIt wasn’t until I read this article that I found out that 77 WABC in NYC (otherwise all-talk) was broadcasting music again (since 2020), and in particular the return of Bruce Morrow (“Cousin Brucie”) to the WABC airwaves (in his mid-eighties, yet). This, folks, is how rock radio should sound. Brings back lots of memories of the late Sixties and early 70s. Thanks for the tip.
Following his work with Kirshner, Tony was hired by Clive Davis as general manager of April-Blackwood Music, which was the publishing subsidiary of Columbia Records. Later, he became vice-president of CBS Music and signed Barry Manilow to his first recording contract, under the group name of “Featherbed” which included several studio musicians. During this time, in addition to Manilow, Tony also oversaw other artists such as James Taylor, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Laura Nyro, and Grateful Dead.
We should also add to this birthday salute that Tony headlined the very popular “Tony Orlando and Dawn” variety show on CBS for three seasons from 1974 to 1976. It began as a summer replacement for the “Sonny & Cher” show, and was the first variety show of its kind to have a completely non-white multi-member leading cast (made up of a Puerto-Rican male and two Black women).