Everyone of a certain age will remember this chart-topper from 1971. Not necessarily a favourite of mine, but it’s part of our lives – especially mine.

The story of Dawn is a curious one. Tony Orlando had already had hit records in the Sixties: two in 1961 (when he was 17; with Carole King) and one in 1969 as lead singer of a group called Wind.

By them he was also a record producer (he produced a Barry Manilow album) and record exec with Columbia/CBS. He rose to become manager of their publishing division, where he came across a song called Candida that had been turned down by other producers and singers. There was just one snag – the lead vocalist wasn’t up to scratch.

Orlando was persuaded to take the original track and dub his own voice over the male vocalist, keeping the music and the girl singers (Linda November and Toni Wine, who wrote the song).

For the single’s release, on a different label, this not-really-a-group-at-all was named Dawn (after the producer’s daughter) to disguise his identity and prevent a conflict of interest with his day job.

But when it was a hit, the label needed a real-life act to appear live so Orlando ditched Linda and Toni and hired two session vocalists from Detroit whom he had previously used on that old Manilow album.

Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson had sung on numerous old Stax and Motown hits (Hopkins memorably sang the “Shut your mouth” bit on Isaac Hayes’s Shaft). Now they became a new Dawn (“Dawn featuring Tony Orlando”) and went on to enjoy a string of hits of which their biggest was Tie A Yellow Ribbon (Round The Old Oak Tree).

This one – Dawn’s first No.1 in April 1971 – was recorded before they arrived and features Linda and Toni on the song, as well as this rather splendid video.