Tony Orlando and when the song became an international number-one hit, he began to use his name in the group becoming "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando" and then "Tony Orlando and Dawn". The group had 19 other top 40 hits, including "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", the top-selling hit of 1973 and one of the biggest selling singles of all time. The group also had a hit variety program, "The Tony Orlando and Dawn Show" on CBS from 1973 to 1977. They then broke up in 1978. In 1993 he opened the Tony Orlando Yellow Ribbon Music Theatre in
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree four weeks in April 1973, number one on the Australian charts for seven weeks from May to July 1973 and number one on the New Zealand charts for ten weeks from June to August 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 song of all time in its issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hot 100. The song is told from the point of view of someone who has "done his time" but is uncertain if he will be welcomed home. He writes