TONY ORLANDO AND DAWN – This musical variety series filled a real need for CBS after Sonny and Cher’s show went off the air in May of 1974 due to their divorce. The network couldn’t believe their luck when Tony Orlando and Dawn, riding near the top of the charts and possessing a non-threatening charm, were then available.
Songs, comedy and celebrity guests filled the hour-long program just like on Sonny & Cher. Again like Sonny & Cher, Tony Orlando and his backup singers Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent – collectively called Dawn – could exchange comical insults to liven things up.
Obviously, the trio’s singing act is still fairly well known, but I’m often surprised that many people have forgotten about their 56-episode television show. If you’ve never heard of this act, the name “Dawn” was originally the entire group name as a means for Tony Orlando to do a single outside of his current recording contract.
Orlando used an assumed name at first, with varying numbers of all-male performers credited as the other members of Dawn. In fact, so many names were used that there is probably an early incarnation of Dawn that lists ME as a member.
At any rate, the truth needed told when eventually a tour for Dawn was put together with Tony Orlando finessing the use of his own name and with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent singing with him. The deceptive phone book sized credits for Dawn became a thing of the past. Continue reading
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