Tony Orlando | |
|---|---|
 Orlando in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis |
| Born | (1944-04-03)April 3, 1944 (age 80) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop/Rock |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1958–present |
| Website | tonyorlando |
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis (born April 3, 1944), known professionally asTony Orlando, is an Americanpop/rock[1] singer, songwriter, and music executive whose career spans nearly seven decades. He is best known for his work as part ofTony Orlando and Dawn.
In 1993, he opened the Tony Orlando Yellow Ribbon Music Theatre inBranson, Missouri. He ended his act there in 2013 and has since continued to perform many live shows as a headliner, mostly inLas Vegas, Nevada.[2] When his song "Candida" became an international number-one song, he began to use his name in the group becoming "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando" and then "Tony Orlando and Dawn". The group had 19 other top 40 tracks, including "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", the top-selling hit of 1973 and one of the biggest selling singles of all time. The group also had a hit variety program,The Tony Orlando and Dawn Show on CBS from 1974 to 1976.[3] They then broke-up in 1977, after which he has performed as Tony Orlando.
Orlando retired from performing on the road, in concert in 2024, after sixty-four years. He shifted his focus to movies, Broadway, streaming new product, and writing his next book.[4]
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis was born on April 3, 1944, the son of a Greek father and a Puerto Rican mother. He spent his earliest years in Chelsea, Manhattan on West 21st Street, New York City.[5] In his teenage years, the family moved toUnion City, New Jersey, and laterHasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.[6]
Orlando's musical career started with The Five Gents, adoo-wop group he formed in 1959 at age 15, with whom he recorded demo tapes. He got the attention of music publisher and producerDon Kirshner, who hired him to write songs in an office across from New York'sBrill Building, along withCarole King,Neil Sedaka,Toni Wine,Barry Mann,Bobby Darin,Connie Francis, andTom and Jerry, who didn't make it in the office until they changed their name toSimon and Garfunkel.[7]
Kirshner also hired Orlando to record songwriter demos as a solo artist, and his first success came at the age of 16 when he charted in North America and UK with the hits "Bless You" and "Halfway To Paradise".[7] He also appeared at theBrooklyn Paramount Theater with DJMurray the K.[8] Orlando also had four records that "Bubbled Under" the Hot 100: "Chills" in 1962, "Shirley" and "I'll Be There" in 1963, and "I Was A Boy (When You Needed A Man)" as by Billy Shields in April 1969.[9]Gerry Goffin andJack Keller wrote adoo-wop version ofStephen Foster's song "Beautiful Dreamer" for Orlando. Released as a single in 1962,[10] the song was picked up bythe Beatles who included it in their set lists onthe Beatles Winter 1963 Helen Shapiro Tour;[11] a recorded version was released on their 2013 albumOn Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2.
Orlando continued as a solo artist and also became a producer himself, as well as a successful music executive in the late 1960s. Orlando was associated withColumbia Records publishing subsidiary April-Blackwood Music.
By the late 1960s, Orlando had worked his way up to vice president of a larger publishing company, CBS Music, where he signed, co-wrote with, and produced Barry Manilow (under the name "Featherbed"). He also worked with other artists, such asThe Yardbirds;James Taylor;Grateful Dead;Blood, Sweat & Tears;Barry Manilow, andLaura Nyro.[7][12][13] In the summer of 1969, he recorded with the studio group Wind and had a number 28 hit that year with "Make Believe" on producerBo Gentry's Life Records. Columbia presidentClive Davis did nothing to stop Orlando from singing lead on "Candida" after his friends Hank Medress and Dave Appel asked him for a favor. The stage name they chose—Dawn—was the middle name of the daughter of label executive Steve Wax.[14][15]
Orlando recorded "Candida" with backup singers includingToni Wine (who wrote the song) andLinda November. Concerned about a possible conflict of interest with his April-Blackwood duties, Orlando sang under the condition that his name not be associated with the project, so it was released under the simple name of "Dawn", the middle name of the daughter of Bell records executive Steve Wax.[16]
"Candida" became a worldwide hit in 1970, reaching number one in five countries, and the top ten in many others, including number three in the United States.[17] Dawn, with Wine and November again singing backup, recorded another song, "Knock Three Times", which itself became a #1 hit. Orlando then wanted to go on tour, and asked two other session singers,Telma Hopkins andJoyce Vincent Wilson to join for the tour. Orlando then discovered that there were six touring groups using that name, so Dawn became "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando", which changed toTony Orlando and Dawn in 1973.
The new group recorded more hits, including "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" (1973) and "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)" (1975), a cover of theJerry Butler hit, "He Will Break Your Heart". With a successful recording career, Orlando then set his sights on television. As described in theSan Francisco Chronicle, "Tony Orlando and Dawn burst out of television sets during theFord administration, a sunny antidote to the dark cynicism that followedWatergate. He represented simple, traditional values, a conservative return to pure entertainment. He drew ahappy face in the "O" of his autograph. It was not terribly cool, but America loved him."[8] TheTony Orlando and Dawn show onCBS became a hit, a summer replacement for theSonny & Cher show, and ran for three seasons from 1974 to 1976.[18] It welcomed the biggest names in show business each week as Orlando's guests, including his boyhood idols,Jackie Gleason andJerry Lewis.
On October 12, 2015, with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson present, Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters honored Orlando with their Art Gilmore Career Achievement Award at a celebrity luncheon.
Along with the fame, Orlando had personal battles in the 1970s. He was briefly addicted tococaine, and battled both weight gain anddepression. In 1977, due to the death of his sister and the suicide of Orlando's close friend, comedianFreddie Prinze, Orlando had a breakdown and retired from singing.[19][20] He was briefly institutionalized, but returned to television with an NBC comeback special. From then, he continued as a solo artist, charting with two singles – the dance hit "Don't Let Go" in 1978 and "Sweets for My Sweet" in 1979. In the 1980s, he was a dominant force in Las Vegas, headlining various hotels with sold-out audiences.[21]
Tony Orlando was the subject of a song by the American indie rock bandYo La Tengo, titled "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House."[22]
Orlando continued primarily as a solo singer, performing on tour and regularly inLas Vegas andBranson, Missouri.[23] He hosted the New York City portions of theMDA Labor Day Telethon on WNEW/WNYW andWWOR-TV from the 1980s to 2011, leaving in response toJerry Lewis' firing from theMuscular Dystrophy Association.
In 2020, Orlando began hosting a Saturday night oldies program forWABC Radio as the New York City station partially restored its music format.[24] Orlando retired from performing on the road, in concert in 2024, after sixty-four years. Hopkins and Wilson joined him on stage. He shifted his focus to movies, Broadway, streaming new product, and writing his next book.[4]
Orlando's first TV appearance was in 1976 on the seriesChico and the Man as "Tomas Garcia".
Orlando starred in the 1981 TV movie300 Miles For Stephanie, playing a police officer who promises to walk over 300 miles to a sanctuary in order to obtain God's help to cure Stephanie, his gravely ill daughter. Others in the cast includedEdward James Olmos,Pepe Serna andJulie Carmen.[citation needed]
In May 1981, Orlando appeared on Broadway in the title role ofBarnum, replacingJim Dale, who was on a three-week vacation.
In 2003, Orlando had a recurring role in the children's animated seriesOswald, in which he did the voice of "Sammy Starfish".
Orlando appeared in an episode ofMADtv doing a sketch involving a court case, where the defense sings to persuade the jury about their side. He sang for the prosecution, thereby persuading the judge to give the defense jail for life. In another television program, Orlando was featured in "Larry the Cable Guy's Star Studded Christmas Extravaganza".[25] He appeared inThat's My Boy as Steve Spirou, aHappy Madison production starringAdam Sandler in 2012.
Orlando is a longtime advocate for U.S. militaryveterans and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" has become an anthem for service members.[26][27][28]
Orlando serves on the board of directors for theEisenhower Foundation, as well as honorary chairman of Snowball Express, an organization that serves the children of fallen military heroes.[5]
He hosts the annual Congressional Medal of Honor dinner inDallas. He has served as the master of ceremonies at the Secretary of Defense Freedom Awards at the Pentagon inWashington, D.C.[18][29]
Orlando was introduced byJerry Lee Lewis to his future wife, Elaine, who had previously datedBuddy Holly. Tony and Elaine married in 1965, and had one child, Jon; they divorced in 1984. Five years later, Orlando was engaged to Francine Amormino, whom he married on April 29, 1990.[5][20] The couple remained married as of 2021;[update] they have one child.[8][30]
On February 27, 2013, his mother, Ruth Schroeder ofHollister, Missouri, died inBranson, Missouri[31] of a diabetic stroke.[32]
In 2002, he wrote a memoir,Halfway to Paradise with Patsi Bale Cox.[33][34]
Orlando was interviewed onThe 700 Club explaining that he was raisedCatholic and was "brought up with the Lord as my Savior"; but after a self-destructive period following his professional success with Dawn, he became aborn-again Christian in 1978.[35]
In 1990, Orlando received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6385 Hollywood Blvd.[36]
He has won the Casino Entertainer of the Year Award, the Best All Around Entertainer – Las Vegas four times, and, prior to that, three times in Atlantic City, the Jukebox Artist of the Year Award from the Amusement and Music Owners Association of New York, The Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and has also been bestowed with The Bob Hope Award for excellence in entertainment from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in honor of his efforts on behalf of United States veterans. His work on behalf of American veterans led to his being named Honorary Chairman at the 40th Anniversary at the NAM-POW's Homecoming Celebration at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in 2014.[5]
Albums
Solo singles
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