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Knock Three Times

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For other uses, see Knock three times (disambiguation).
"Knock Three Times"
1970 artwork showing a fictional group, not the performers
Single by Dawn
from the album Candida
B-side"Home"
ReleasedNovember 1970
Recorded1970
GenrePop
Length2:57
LabelBell
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Hank Medress
  • Dave Appell
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", 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.[1] Outside the US, "Knock Three Times" also claimed the No. 1 spot on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

Background

[edit]

"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. Session musicians and some Tokens members sang and played drums on the track. 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. He was hoping for a promotion which made him worried about the conflict of interest inherent in his recording vocals for 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.[3][4]

Recording and release

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"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.[3] Wine remembers Linda November singing on this session.[5] The singers were veterans of the "Candida" recording session, and Wine was co-writer of "Candida" with Levine. They recorded "Knock Three Times" together.[3] This was the first time Orlando met any of the musicians involved with "Candida".[5]

"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".[3]

Personnel

[edit]
Studio session 1970 as Dawn
Touring group from 1971 billed as Tony Orlando and Dawn

Cover versions

[edit]
"Knock Three Times"
Single by Billy "Crash" Craddock
from the album Knock Three Times
B-side"The Best I Ever Had"
ReleasedJanuary 1971
RecordedNovember 1970
StudioWoodland (Nashville, Tennessee)[6]
GenreCountry
Length2:57
LabelCartwheel
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Billy "Crash" Craddock singles chronology
"Your Love Is What Is"
(1968) 		"Knock Three Times"
(1971) 		"Dream Lover"
(1971)

The song was covered by Billy "Crash" Craddock in 1971 and became a No. 3 country hit.[7] Craddock's version had a faster tempo and included Cajun fiddles.[8] 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.

[edit]

"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.[9][10][11][12][13]

Chart performance

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 73.
  2. ^ "Dawn featuring Tony Orlando". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 484. ISBN 9780634099786.
  4. ^ "Behind The Music | Season 1 Episodes (TV Series)". VH1.com. April 20, 2015. Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Podolsky, Rich (2012). Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 313. ISBN 9781458471550.
  6. ^ McNutt, Randy (August 7, 2011). "Ghosts of Nashville's Recording Studios, Part 1". Home of the Hits. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 91.
  8. ^ Puterbaugh, Parke (June 9, 2011). "Billy 'Crash' Craddock". News & Record. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
  9. ^ Reed, Bruce (October 5, 2007). "Word Problem: Larry Craig, the irrational member who goes on forever with no solution". Slate. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  10. ^ "Larry Craig: Tap 3 Times (Parody)". YouTube. October 16, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  11. ^ "Sen. Larry Craig "TapThree Times"". YouTube. August 29, 2007. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  12. ^ "Tap Three Times". Paul and Storm. June 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  13. ^ "Tap Three Times: Capitol Steps: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  14. ^ "Cash Box - International Best Sellers" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 27 March 1971. p. 46.
  15. ^ Billboard. June 15, 1985. p. 83. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  16. ^ "Dawn – Knock Three Times" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  17. ^ "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
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Dawn – Knock Three Times" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 February 2019. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Dawn"
  20. ^ "Chart Track: Week 9, 1971". Irish Singles Chart.
  21. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dawn" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  22. ^ "Dawn – Knock Three Times". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  23. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  24. ^ "Dawn – Knock Three Times". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 143. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  26. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 67.
  27. ^ David Kent's "Australian Chart Book 1970-1992" Archived March 5, 2016, at archive.today
  28. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  29. ^ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1973". Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  30. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1971
  31. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1971/Top 100 Songs of 1971". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  32. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  33. ^ "American single certifications – Dawn – Knock Three Times". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
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