Post by Rob Durkee on Apr 20, 2013 19:56:16 GMT -5
When Irving Levine and I. Russell Brown were co-writing this song, they wanted to call it "Tie A Yellow Handkerchief Round The Ole Oak Tree." They were basing the title on a story entitled "Going Home" that appeared in the New York Post in 1972. The writer of the story, Pete Hamill, was retelling the 1959 story of an ex-convict taking a bus trip to Fort Lauderdale. The ex-con had earlier written his girlfriend about his being freed from prison...and if she was still interested in him to tie a yellow handkerchief on a roadside oak tree.
Eventually, "handkerchief" became "yellow ribbon"...and would become the #1 song in the USA 40 years ago Sunday....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TSq-XvpVaE
"Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree' by Tony Orlando and Dawn became the biggest single of 1973. Plus, it became the inspirational song for the hostages who'd be freed from Iran eight years later. Ten years later in 1991 after Kuwait was freed via the Gulf War, Tony Orlando released a single entitled "With Every Yellow Ribbon (That's Why We Tie 'Em)." That's when I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Tony Orlando when I was working for ABC-Watermark and "American Top 40."
According to Wikipedia, "Yellow Ribbon" would sell three million copies in the USA plus hit #1 in at least three other countries (England, New Zealand and Australia). It would inspire an answer record by Connie Francis. "The Answer (Should I Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Old Oak Tree)" barely cracked the Cash Box pop chart in the summer of 1973, peaking at #99.
The tradition of expressing one's self via a yellow ribbon goes back to the 19th century, when women used yellow ribbons to express their love and devotion to U.S. Cavalry members. That was illustrated in the 1949 John Wayne movie, "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon."
Here's a TV version of "Tie A Yellow Ribbon"...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-i74QMn2GA
Eventually, "handkerchief" became "yellow ribbon"...and would become the #1 song in the USA 40 years ago Sunday....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TSq-XvpVaE
"Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree' by Tony Orlando and Dawn became the biggest single of 1973. Plus, it became the inspirational song for the hostages who'd be freed from Iran eight years later. Ten years later in 1991 after Kuwait was freed via the Gulf War, Tony Orlando released a single entitled "With Every Yellow Ribbon (That's Why We Tie 'Em)." That's when I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Tony Orlando when I was working for ABC-Watermark and "American Top 40."
According to Wikipedia, "Yellow Ribbon" would sell three million copies in the USA plus hit #1 in at least three other countries (England, New Zealand and Australia). It would inspire an answer record by Connie Francis. "The Answer (Should I Tie A Yellow Ribbon Around The Old Oak Tree)" barely cracked the Cash Box pop chart in the summer of 1973, peaking at #99.
The tradition of expressing one's self via a yellow ribbon goes back to the 19th century, when women used yellow ribbons to express their love and devotion to U.S. Cavalry members. That was illustrated in the 1949 John Wayne movie, "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon."
Here's a TV version of "Tie A Yellow Ribbon"...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-i74QMn2GA
We even sang this one back in grammar school.