Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree turned up archival versions of the story that had been collected before "Going Home" had been written. Levine and Brown first offered the song to Ringo Starr, but Al Steckler of Apple Records told them that they should be ashamed of the song and described it as "ridiculous". In April 1973, the recording by Dawn featuring Tony Orlando reached No. 1 in the "Billboard" Hot 100 (chart date 21 April 1973) in the US, and stayed at No. 1 for four weeks. "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" sold 3 million records in the US in three weeks. It also reached No.
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