Knock Three Times
{{Short description|1970 single by Tony Orlando and Dawn}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{other uses|Knock three times (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Knock Three Times
| cover = Knock_Three_Times_-_Tony_Orlando_&_Dawn.jpg
| alt =
| caption = 1970 artwork showing a fictional group, not the performers
| type = single
| artist = Dawn
| album = Candida
| B-side = Home
| released = November 1970
| recorded = 1970
| studio =
| genre = Pop
| length = 2:57
| label = Bell
| writer = {{hlist|Irwin Levine|L. Russell Brown}}
| producer = {{hlist|Hank Medress|Dave Appell}}
| prev_title = Candida
| prev_year = 1970
| next_title = What Are You Doing Sunday
| next_year = 1971
}}
"Knock Three Times"
is a popular song credited simply to "Dawn", obscuring the actual performers. The song was released as a single which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1971 and eventually sold six million copies. It reached No. 2 on 'Billboard{{'}}s "Easy Listening" survey.{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=73}} Outside the US, "Knock Three Times" also claimed the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/dawn%20featuring%20tony%20orlando/ |title=Dawn featuring Tony Orlando|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=May 29, 2013}}
Background
"Knock Three Times" has roots in the Tokens. The first Dawn song "Candida" was produced by Tokens member Hank Medress and his business partner Dave Appell in May 1970 with session musicians and some Tokens members. Medress did not like the sound of the lead singer and replaced him with his friend Tony Orlando who had already enjoyed limited success singing "Bless You" and "Halfway to Paradise" in 1961. By 1970, Orlando had abandoned his singing career and was working as an executive at April-Blackwood Music, a subsidiary of Columbia Records, where he was hoping for a promotion. He worried about the conflict of interest inherent in his recording vocals for a competitor Bell Records, so he only agreed to sing anonymously. "Candida" turned out to be a hit song, and Bell asked Orlando to sing another tune anonymously. Dawn was not an actual musical group at the time; the name was chosen because Bell Records executive Steve Wax had a daughter named Lisa Dawn Wax.{{cite book |title=American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today |page=484 |last=Warner |first=Jay |date=2006 |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=9780634099786}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/shows/behind_the_music/episode.jhtml?episodeID=51315 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141124233730/http://www.vh1.com/shows/behind_the_music/episode.jhtml?episodeID=51315 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 24, 2014 |title=Behind The Music | Season 1 Episodes (TV Series) |website=VH1.com |date=April 20, 2015 |access-date=October 3, 2016}}
Recording and release
"Candida" co-writer Irwin Levine joined with Larry Brown to write "Knock Three Times". As "Candida" was peaking on the US pop chart in October 1970, Medress brought Orlando back to the studio with backing singers Jay Siegel of the Tokens, Robin Grean, and Toni Wine. Wine remembers Linda November singing on this session.{{cite book |first=Rich |last=Podolsky |date=2012 |title=Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |page=313 |isbn=9781458471550}} The singers were veterans of the "Candida" recording session, and Wine was co-writer of "Candida" with Levine. They recorded "Knock Three Times" together. This was the first time Orlando met any of the musicians involved with "Candida".
"Knock Three Times" hit No. 1 in January 1971. Bell Records promised Orlando royalties from the song, and he confessed his outside involvement to his employer, who told him it was fine as long as he did not tour, and instructed him to put some April-Blackwood Music songs on the associated album, Candida. Orlando agreed at first, but soon quit his job to begin touring. To promote the song, a touring version of Dawn was needed. Producer Tony Camillo recommended the duo of cousins Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent, who expected only a short employment contract as Dawn. The women liked working with Orlando, and after the tour was finished, the three recorded more hit songs as Tony Orlando and Dawn, starting with 1973's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree".
Personnel
;Studio session 1970 as Dawn
- Tony Orlando – lead vocals
- Toni Wine – backing vocals
- Jay Siegel – backing vocals
- Robin Grean – backing vocals
- Linda November – backing vocals
;Touring group from 1971 billed as Tony Orlando and Dawn
- Tony Orlando – lead vocals
- Telma Hopkins – backing vocals
- Joyce Vincent – backing vocals
Cover versions
{{Infobox song
| name = Knock Three Times
| cover =
| alt =
| caption =
| type = single
| artist = Billy "Crash" Craddock
| album = Knock Three Times
| B-side = The Best I Ever Had
| released = January 1971
| recorded = November 1970
| studio = Woodland (Nashville, Tennessee){{cite web|last=McNutt|first=Randy|title=Ghosts of Nashville's Recording Studios, Part 1|url=http://homeofthehits.blogspot.com/2011/08/ghosts-of-nashvilles-recording-studios.html|website=Home of the Hits|date=August 7, 2011|access-date=August 8, 2024}}
| genre = Country
| length = 2:57
| label = Cartwheel
| writer = {{hlist|Irwin Levine|L. Russell Brown}}
| producer = {{hlist|Ron Chancey}}
| prev_title = Your Love Is What Is
| prev_year = 1968
| next_title = Dream Lover
| next_year = 1971
}}
The song was covered by Billy "Crash" Craddock in 1971 and became a No. 3 country hit.{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=91}} Craddock's version had a faster tempo and included Cajun fiddles.{{cite news |url=http://gotriad.news-record.com/content/2011/06/08/article/billy_crash_craddock |title=Billy 'Crash' Craddock |last=Puterbaugh |first=Parke |work=News & Record |date=2011-06-09 |access-date=2011-06-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617050613/http://gotriad.news-record.com/content/2011/06/08/article/billy_crash_craddock |archive-date=2011-06-17 }} The song largely introduced Craddock and his country rock-styled sound to a wider country audience, and began a string of hits that continued into the early 1980s.
Popular culture
"Knock Three Times" appears in several motion pictures, including Now and Then.
Several Larry Craig–themed parodies (all titled "Tap Three Times") were recorded by various artists, such as Paul and Storm and the Capitol Steps in 2007, following the senator's sex scandal in which he was arrested for tapping his foot (to allegedly solicit sex) in a public airport restroom.{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2007/09/larry-craig-the-irrational-member-who-goes-on-forever-with-no-solution.html |last=Reed |first=Bruce |date=October 5, 2007 |title=Word Problem: Larry Craig, the irrational member who goes on forever with no solution |website=Slate |access-date=January 3, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5IcTs3kWL0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/s5IcTs3kWL0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Larry Craig: Tap 3 Times (Parody) |publisher=YouTube |date=October 16, 2007 |access-date=October 3, 2016}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvxHCeo-8EU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/CvxHCeo-8EU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Sen. Larry Craig "TapThree Times" |publisher=YouTube |date=August 29, 2007 |access-date=October 3, 2016}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |url=http://www.paulandstorm.com/lyrics/tap-three-times/ |title=Tap Three Times |publisher=Paul and Storm |date=June 20, 2014 |access-date=October 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005100458/http://www.paulandstorm.com/lyrics/tap-three-times/ |archive-date=October 5, 2016 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tap-Three-Times/dp/B001DT4RIS |title=Tap Three Times: Capitol Steps: MP3 Downloads |website=Amazon.com |access-date=October 3, 2016}}
Chart performance
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
=All-time charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (1958-2018)
! Position |
|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary|title=Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 10, 2018}}
| style="text-align:center;"|230 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Dawn|title=Knock Three Times|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1970|certyear=1970|accessdate=August 14, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Tony Orlando and Dawn}}
{{Billy "Crash" Craddock}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Billy "Crash" Craddock songs
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand
Category:Number-one singles in South Africa
Category:Songs written by L. Russell Brown