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 whom he had hired to work as background vocalists while producing Barry Manilow in the late 1960s, to become Dawn. The threesome then went on the road in 1971, on the success of "Candida" and "Knock Three Times". After a tour of Europe, Hopkins and Vincent assumed background vocal duties in the studio, first recording on the late 1971 album "Dawn Featuring Tony Orlando". They were joined in the studio by Vincent's sister Pamela Vincent, who sang and arranged the backing vocals. Touring commitments with Aretha Franklin prevented Vincent from appearing with Dawn on tour. The first single with their