L. Russell Brown L. Russell Brown Lawrence "Larry" Russell Brown (born June 29, 1940), known as L. Russell Brown, is an American lyricist and composer. He is most noted for his songs, co-written with Irwin Levine, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" and "Knock Three Times"—international hits for the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn. He also co-wrote "C'mon Marianne" for The Four Seasons, and The Partridge Family 1971 song, "I Woke Up In Love This Morning". Born in Newark, New Jersey, Brown began his songwriting career when he was sixteen with the R&B label Fury Records. Co-writing
Tony Orlando and Dawn (TV series) with recording credit "Tony Orlando & Dawn") (#27), "Steppin' Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)" (#7), and, with some disco influence, "Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman" (#11), from their 1974 album "Prime Time". CBS gave the group a television variety show (entitled "Tony Orlando and Dawn") from the summer of 1974, after "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" ended its run, until December 1976. The show was in the same vein as its predecessor (with sketches featuring sarcastic back-and-forth banter between Orlando, Hopkins and Vincent, similar to the sarcastic dialogue between Sonny and Cher) and became a Top 20 hit. With