"Knock Three Times" is a popular song credited simply to "

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

". Tony Orlando was not named on the record. The actual singers were

Tony Orlando Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

Toni Wine Toni Wine (born June 4, 1947 in Washington Heights, New York City, United States) is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders ("A Groovy Kind of Love"), Tony Orlando and Dawn (" Candida"), and Checkma ...

, and

Linda November Linda Ellen November (born October 16, 1944) is an American singer who has sung tens of thousands of commercial jingles. She was the voice of the singing cat in the Meow Mix commercials, sang the jingle "Galaxy Glue" in the 1981 film ' ...

, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with

Telma Hopkins Telma Louise Hopkins (born October 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer. Hopkins rose to prominence as a member of the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn, which had several number-one songs. She also performed on the CBS variety ...

and

Joyce Vincent Wilson Joyce Vincent Wilson (born December 14, 1946 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American singer, best known as part of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn. Wilson began her career in Detroit providing background vocals on Motown and Golden World recording ...

. The song was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, 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. Outside the US, "Knock Three Times" also claimed the No. 1 spot on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The composers of this song, L. Russell Brown and

Irwin Levine Irwin Jesse Levine (March 23, 1938 – January 21, 1997)
- accessed April 11, 2012 was an American songwriter, who co-wrote ...

, 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. "Knock Three Times" appears in several motion pictures including '' Now and Then''. The song was covered by

Billy "Crash" Craddock Billy Wayne "Crash" Craddock (born June 16, 1939) is an American country and rockabilly singer. He first gained popularity in Australia in the 1950s with a string of rockabilly hits, including the Australian number one hits " Boom Boom Baby" an ...

in 1971 and became a No. 3

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

hit. Several

Larry Craig Lawrence Edwin Craig (born July 20, 1945) is an American retired politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, he served 18 years in the United States Senate (1991–2009), preceded by 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, repres ...

-themed parodies (all titled "Tap Three Times") were recorded by various artists such as

Paul and Storm Paul and Storm are an American, Arlington, Virginia-based comedic musical duo, consisting of Paul Sabourin and Greg "Storm" DiCostanzo. They are best known for their humorous songs about geek culture and for amassing an internet fan base. They ...

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.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

References

{{authority control 1970 singles 1971 singles Tony Orlando songs Billy "Crash" Craddock songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Songs written by L. Russell Brown Songs written by Irwin Levine Bell Records singles 1970 songs