Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree covering the event described use of the tune as a protest song. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, Joyce Vincent Wilson and her sister Pamela Vincent on backing vocals. It was a worldwide hit for the group in 1973. The single reached the top 10 in ten countries, in eight of which it topped the charts.
Tony Orlando possible conflict of interest with his April-Blackwood duties, Orlando sang under the condition that his name not be associated with the project, so it was released under the simple name of "Dawn", the middle name of the daughter of Bell records executive Steve Wax. The song became a hit, and Dawn, with Wine and November again singing backup, recorded another song, "Knock Three Times", which itself became a #1 hit. Orlando then wanted to go on tour, and asked two other session singers, Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson to join for the tour. Orlando then discovered that there were