Connie Francis picture work, and travelling. From 1970 until 1973, Francis lived in semiretirement, appearing only occasionally as a special guest on TV shows. In 1973, Francis returned to the recording studio, cutting "(Should I) Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree?", b/w "Paint the Rain" on GSF Records. This answer song to "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" by Tony Orlando & Dawn bubbled under the charts. The project of recording a German version, though, remained unfinished. Another 1971 single, "I Don't Want to Walk Without You", b/w "Don't Turn Around", on Ivanhoe Records, failed to
Tony Orlando and Dawn similarly flavored 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 and Brian Potter's "Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman" (from the trio's 1974 album "Prime Time") (No.11), which Mike Kennedy recorded several years before. CBS gave the group a television variety show (entitled "Tony Orlando and Dawn") from the summer of 1974, after "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" ended its run, until December 1976. The show was in the same vein as