Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and BMI calculated that radio stations had played it 3 million times from seventeen continuous years of airplay. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1973. It also reached No. 1 in the UK and Australia, and has sold 1 million copies in the UK. In New Zealand, the song spent 10 weeks at number one. In the Philippines, the song was best known for its use in the return of exiled politician Benigno Aquino, Jr. to the country in 1983, during which Aquino supporters tied yellow ribbons on trees in anticipation
Tony Orlando and Dawn (TV series) former Motown/Stax backing vocalists Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson to become Dawn. The threesome then went on the road after "Candida" and "Knock Three Times". After a tour of Europe, Hopkins and Vincent assumed background vocal duties in the studio as well. They were joined in the studio by Vincent's sister Pamela Vincent, who in addition to singing, arranged all the backing vocals. Prior touring commitments with Aretha Franklin prevented Vincent 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