Singer-Songwriter Tony Orlando Looks Back on His Remarkable Career and Looks Forward to What's Next
He's a legend, a gentleman, and loved by all who know him in the entertainment industry. After six decades of wowing fans around the globe, singer, songwriter, and master entertainer Tony Orlando has recently hung up his live performance hat. A retirement? Heck no. The icon is just putting the brakes on touring but has big plans in the works to exercise his impeccable writing chops. And you can still hear him on Saturday nights as he currently hosts his own radio show on 77 WABC. The Grammy nominee has sold millions of records, including five that hit #1: 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Ole Oak Tree,' a timeless anthem for our soldiers, veterans, and any loved one coming home; 'Knock Three Times,' 'Candida,' 'My Sweet Gypsy Rose,' and 'He Don't Love You (Like I Love You).' He has two Platinum and three Gold albums and 15 Top 40 Hits. He was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center last year and was the first vocal pop artist to sign with Epic Records and hit the national music charts in 1961. He's an author, has acted in movies (was hysterical in Adam Sandler's That's My Boy ) and on Broadway, and was a music exec for Clive Davis repping everyone from James Taylor, Laura Nyro, and Blood Sweat & Tears to signing and producing Barry Manilow's first recording. Of course, he also hosted the hugely popular variety show Tony Orlando and Dawn in the 70s. He has been honored several times with lifetime achievement awards for his contributions to the industry, his enormous charitable efforts to support our veterans, and for 33 years served as cohost of the muscular dystrophy telethon helping to raise millions of dollars to find a cure for muscular dystrophy. We were so fortunate to have him grace the LifeMinute Studios last month, just before his 80th birthday, to celebrate a remarkable career, but even more, celebrate a remarkable human being. This is a LifeMinute with the incomparable Tony Orlando.