Tony Orlando and Dawn kicked off the stage by the real Tony Orlando and Dawn. Curiously, Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" immediately preceded Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" at the pole position of the Hot 100 in April 1973. They re-formed in 1988 for a five-week tour that wound up lasting into 1993, with Pamela Vincent finally becoming a visible Dawn member, 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 Toni Wine. Hopkins made a very successful acting career
Tony Orlando year with "Make Believe" on producer Bo Gentry's Life Records. Orlando was experiencing success, primarily as a music executive, and Davis pretended not to notice when Orlando accepted a $3,000 advance and sang lead vocals on a song called "Candida" as a favor for two producer friends. If the record failed, Orlando didn't want it to affect his reputation, so he used a pseudonym: Dawn. Orlando was tempted back to a recording career when he was asked to record a demo record of "Candida", with backup singers including Toni Wine (who wrote the song) and Linda November. Concerned about a