Irwin Levine Irwin Levine Irwin Jesse Levine (March 23, 1938 – January 21, 1997) was an American songwriter, who co-wrote the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" with L. Russell Brown. The song was a worldwide hit for Tony Orlando and Dawn as it reached number one on both the US and UK charts for four weeks in April 1973 and number one on the Australian charts for seven weeks from May to July 1973. It was the top-selling single in 1973 in both the US and UK. In 2008, "Billboard" ranked the song as the 37th biggest
Tony Orlando that followed Watergate. He represented simple, traditional values, a conservative return to pure entertainment. He drew a happy face in the "O" of his autograph. It was not terribly cool, but America loved him." The "Tony Orlando and Dawn" Show on CBS became a hit, a summer replacement for the "Sonny & Cher" show, and ran for four seasons from 1973 to 1976. It welcomed the biggest names in show business each week as Orlando's guests, including his boyhood idols, Jackie Gleason and Jerry Lewis. At the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, Orlando danced to the tune