Product Description
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TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE NEW DVD!
They sold millions of records between 1970 - 1977, with three #1
hits and 2 American Music Awards. Their signature song - "Tie a
Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" has become an anthem in not
only welcoming soldiers home from war, but also as a symbol of
hope for the return of missing persons. In 1974, Tony Orlando &
Dawns already huge career morphed into a hit weekly
CBS-TV variety show. Originating as "The Tony Orlando & Dawn
Show" and ending as "The TO&D Rainbow Hour," the show was hugely
popular and further endeared Tony Orlando, Telma Hopkins and
Joyce Vincent in the hearts of America. Never before available on
any home video format, this is first and only Tony Orlando & Dawn
video collection of any kind! You're gonna Knock Three Times for
this one!
FEATURED TONY ORLANDO & DAWN MUSIC PERFORMANCES:
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
Knock Three Times
He Dont Love You (Like I Love You)
Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose
Whos In the Strawberry Patch With Sally
Steppin Out (Gonna Boogie Tonight)
Look In My Eyes Pretty Woman
Cupid
and many more
EXTRAS:
Tony Orlando on The Tonight Show with guest host Freddie Prinze
Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent on "Fridays" with Don Novello as
"her Guido Sarducci & Dawn"
A hilarious TO&D parody from the Carol Burnett Show
.com
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If American television watchers craved intellectual
stimulation, then Nova would top the Nielsen ratings and C-SPAN2
would enjoy boffo viewership. Since that's obviously not the
case, what we end up with is decidedly middlebrow fare like Tony
Orlando & Dawn. This mid-'70s variety show is neither very bad
nor especially good; instead, these three discs (a total of
eleven shows) are a thoroughly undemanding way to kill a few
hours (nine, to be exact, including extras).
When the CBS network scheduled their show as a mid-summer
replacement in 1974, Orlando and Dawn (Joyce Vincent and Telma
Hopkins) were enjoying a string of kitschy but catchy hits like
"Knock Three Times," "Candida," and, of course, "Tie a Yellow
Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree." Like those songs, the TV show
offers light, often corny entertainment with nary an edge to be
found. The format is similar to that of The Sonny & Cher Show,
which preceded it by a few years (and which was released in a
three-DVD set by the same studio, R2 Entertainment, in 2004),
combining comedy sketches, appearances by a variety of guest
stars, and plenty of music, including the trio's own material and
various popular songs of the day. Orlando plays the Sonny role to
the hilt, wearing a succession of ridiculous outfits (cowboy,
kung fu fighter, vaudeville entertainer, etc.) and standing by
good-naturedly as the girls take caustic pots at him. An
average vocalist at best, he readily hands over the spotlight to
Vincent and Hopkins, superior singers who perform both solo and
together and whose weekly appearances as soul sisters Moreen and
Lou Effy are among the better comedy bits. Indeed, Orlando's easy
charm and lack of pretense (not to mention his big hair) are
probably the show's strongest suits; here's a guy who was on a
roll, happy just to be there and loving every minute of it. So
what if their versions of Bob Marley's "I the Sheriff" and
Isaac Hayes' "Theme from 'Shaft'," to name just two, are
cringe-inducing? The latter, at least, is played for laughs, and
the studio audience (consisting largely of the kind of folks who
clap on the one-beat), especially the older ladies, can't get
enough of this stuff.
The guests are fairly predictable, ranging from old pros (an
ebullient Jackie Gleason, a sentimental Danny Thomas, a zany
Phyllis Diller) to stars of then-current TV shows (Freddie
Prinze, Ted Knight, Loretta Swit), with a few oddball choices
(Alice Cooper, George Carlin, homerun king Hank Aaron--who
sings!) as well. Among the bonus features are Orlando's
appearance on "The Tonight Show" (with Prinze subbing for Johnny
Carson), a mildly amusing bit with Dawn and Don "her Guido
Sarducci" Novello on "Fridays," and Carol Burnett's take-off on
Orlando's TV show. --Sam Graham