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Knock Three Times

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For other uses, see Knock three times (disambiguation).
"Knock Three Times"
The persons appearing on this sleeve are not the actual group who recorded the record.
Single by Tony Orlando and Dawn
from the album Candida
B-side"Home"
ReleasedNovember 1970
Recorded1970
GenrePop
Length2:57
LabelBell
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Hank Medress
  • Dave Appel
Tony Orlando and Dawn singles chronology
"Candida"
(1970) 		"Knock Three Times"
(1970) 		"What Are You Doing Sunday"
(1971)

"Knock Three Times" is a popular song credited simply to "Dawn". Tony Orlando was not named on the record. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine, and Linda November, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson.[citation needed] 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. The song registered well at Adult Contemporary stations, reaching No. 2 on 'Billboard's "Easy Listening" survey.[1] Outside the US, "Knock Three Times" also claimed the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart.[2][3]

The composers of this song, L. Russell Brown and Irwin Levine, were thinking of the song "Up on the Roof" and they wanted to write a song with that kind of lyrical flavor, about tenement living. In the song, the singer has fallen in love with a woman who lives in the apartment directly below his but has no clue as to her interest, so he asks her to respond by either knocking three times on the ceiling (yes) or banging twice on the pipe (no), and the chorus includes sound effects of the two choices.

Orlando was, at the time of the recording, working as a producer/singer for a rival record label, and first heard the tune recorded by another artist and immediately knew the song could be a hit if produced as he envisioned. Orlando cut the track discreetly under the name "Dawn", hoping that his current record label would not find out. Upon release, the song became a great success.[4]

"Knock Three Times" appears in several motion pictures including Now and Then.

The song was covered by Billy "Crash" Craddock in 1971 and became a No. 3 country hit.[5]

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.[6][7][8][9]

Chart performance

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 73.
  2. ^ Warner, Jay (May 31, 2006). American singing groups: a history from 1940 to today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 734. ISBN 9780634099786. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  3. ^ "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "Behind The Music | Season 1 Episodes (TV Series)". VH1.com. April 20, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 91.
  6. ^ "Larry Craig: Tap 3 Times (Parody)". YouTube. October 16, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  7. ^ "Sen. Larry Craig "TapThree Times"". YouTube. August 29, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Tap Three Times". Paul and Storm. June 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Tap Three Times: Capitol Steps: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  10. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 27 March 1971. p. 46.
  11. ^ Billboard. June 15, 1985. p. 83. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Dawn – Knock Three Times" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  13. ^ "knock three times - dawn". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 1
  14. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 42, No. 22, August 10, 1979". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Dawn – Knock Three Times" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 February 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Dawn"
  16. ^ "Chart Track: Week 9, 1971". Irish Singles Chart.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dawn" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  18. ^ "Dawn – Knock Three Times". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  19. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  20. ^ "Dawn – Knock Three Times". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 143. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  22. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 67.
  23. ^ David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992" Archived March 5, 2016, at archive.today
  24. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  25. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1973". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  26. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1971
  27. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1971/Top 100 Songs of 1971". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  28. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
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