Don Kirshner, the owner of Aldon Music, hired Tony in 1960 to sing some demos for then unknown song writer, Carole King. The two worked together for seven months, turning out many cuts, one of which, "Halfway To Paradise" was released as a single and became Tony's first hit record, reaching #39 in 1961. The follow up, called "Bless You", did even better when it went to #15, and Tony was suddenly a teen pop star who even appeared on American Bandstand. But a third hit was harder to come by and he faded from the pop scene just as quickly as he had arrived.

In the fall of 1963, Tony landed a job at April-Blackwood Music and by 1970, had risen to general manager. It was then that Dave Appell and Hank Medress (of The Tokens) presented a demo to Tony called "Candida". He was impressed enough to forward the song to Bell Records, but they rejected it, saying that the vocal was too weak. Dave and Hank asked Tony to record the demo again and sing the lead himself. Tony told them that his demo making days were behind him, but they persisted and he finally gave in, as long as his name wasn't used. After the recording, Hank attached the name of the daughter of record company executive Steve Wax - "Dawn", and hired two session vocalists, Thelma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson to fill in some background.

The song was released just the way the demo was recorded, and just eight weeks later, had begun to climb the charts. Calls began to come in from promoters wanting to book the group that recorded "Candida", but no actual group existed. Tony had never even met Thelma or Joyce and even forgot the name of the song he had so casually recorded.

Fake groups calling themselves Dawn" began to spring up and Bell records pleaded with Tony to sign with them, finally convincing him with a cheque for $100,000. That money was eventually spent suing phoney groups over the use of the name.

Tony went back into the studio in New York and the girls added their parts in Los Angeles and churned out an album which also contained their second hit, "Knock Three Times". Released in November, 1970, the tune sold one million copies in it's first month.

The trio known as "Dawn" had sold millions of records before they actually met!

By 1973, the group had come a long way. They had become the second biggest seller of singles in America, without ever having made a major concert tour or appearing on a television show. They were voted the Number One Vocal Group in Europe and Most Popular Group in England, Italy, France, Germany, Australia, South America and Japan. Their very first live performance was at Carnegie Hall.

Although their first two recordings were smash hits, the biggest was yet to come. Early in 1973 , Tony Orlando and Dawn cut a song called "Tie A Yellow Ribbon".

The song was based on an actual incident that occurred aboard a Miami bound bus. One of the passengers told the driver that he had just gotten out of prison, after serving three years for passing bad cheques. In a letter to his wife, he told her that he would understand if she was no longer interested, but if she did want him back, she should tie a yellow ribbon around the only oak tree in the city square. To the man's tearful relief, the ribbon was there and the driver was so moved, he called the wire services with the tale. The song writing team of Irwin Levine and Leon Russell read the story in the newspaper and put together a million selling ballad.

"Tie A Yellow Ribbon" was released by Bell Records in February, 1973, and by April it was the number one record in the United States. In all, it spent more than five months on the charts and sold more than seven million copies. The song proved so popular that over one-hundred cover versions were cut by other artists around the world. Although the song sounds simple, it contains many chord changes.

Tony Orlando and Dawn followed "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" with "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose". After that, CBS offered them their own four-week summer show, which aired in July, 1974.

In the fall of the same year, "Steppin' Out" became a top ten record for the group, and in December, they returned to TV with a comedy-variety series that lasted two years.

In 1975, three more singles cracked the U.S. Top 40, "Look Into My Eyes, Pretty Woman", "He Don't Love You", and "Mornin' Beautiful".

When the "Tony Orlando and Dawn Rainbow Hour" was cancelled on December 28, 1976, the group lasted only seven more months. While playing at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, Massachusetts, Tony shocked the crowd and his partners by announcing his retirement from show business. He suffered a breakdown on stage and spent two days at Paine Whitney Hospital in New York. When he was released he recovered at home, attended to by a private physician. Tony was back at work two months later, but could never find the chart success he once enjoyed.

Thelma Hopkins went on to enjoy a career in film and television, co-starring in "Bosom Buddies" in 1980 , "Gimme A Break" from 1984 to 1987, "Family Matters" from 1989 to 1993 and "Getting By" in 1993. She also made several guest appearances, including, "Women of the House" in 1995, "The Nanny" in 1997, "E.R." in 1998, "The Hughleys" in 1999 and "Half and Half" in 2003. Thelma also appeared in the film, "Rain" for the Showtime cable network as well as the Mike Myers 2008 movie, "The Love Guru".

In 1993, Tony became a resident of Branson, Missouri, where he has performed more than 2,000 shows and was named Branson's Entertainer and Vocalist of the Year. In addition to Branson, Tony has written and produced critically acclaimed musical productions. In 1998 he created and starred in the show Jukebox Dreams, where he took the audience on a doo-wop serenade showing the power of one man's dreams. The show premiered at Harrah's in Atlantic City and later toured to some of the top venues in the country.

In June, 2005, Tony Orlando & Dawn were back recording together for the first time in 28 years. Orlando, Thelma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson reunited to make a Christmas album. That project went hand in hand with the release of a three-disc DVD set featuring highlights from the group's variety show and the trio's musical catalog, available for the first time on CD.

In late 2008, Tony was a featured guest on comedian Larry The Cable Guy's Christmas show, in which he was continuously promised a singing spot that never materialized.

Thanks to Elaine Orlando for her help with the accuracy of this bio.

For more, be sure to read Gary James Interview With Thelma Hopkins