"Knock Three Times" is a popular song credited to Tony Orlando and Dawn

Tony Orlando and Dawn

Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...

. The actual singers were Tony Orlando, Toni Wine

Toni Wine

Toni Wine is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders , Tony Orlando and Dawn , Elvis Presley, and Checkmates Ltd. in the late 1960s and 1970s...

, and Linda November

Linda November

Linda Ellen November is an American singer who sang 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 The Incredible Shrinking Woman, the "Coke and a Smile" jingle in the classic Mean Joe Greene...

, prior to the creation of "Dawn" with Telma Hopkins

Telma Hopkins

Telma Louise Hopkins is an American singer and television actress. A member of the 1970s pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn, she later starred in several television sitcoms, including Bosom Buddies, Gimme a Break!, Family Matters, Getting By, and Half & Half...

 and Joyce Vincent Wilson

Joyce Vincent Wilson

Joyce Vincent Wilson is an American singer, most famous for being one-third of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn...

. The song was released as a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in November 1970

1970 in music

- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....

, paired with Orlando's other hit song, "Candida

Candida (song)

"Candida" was the first single released under the name Dawn, later to become Tony Orlando and Dawn, in August 1970. It was written by Toni Wine and Irwin Levine, produced by Dave Appell with Hank Medress, Phil Margo, Mitch Margo and Jay Siegel of The Tokens, and arranged by Norman Bergen. The...

" (also written by Toni Wine). The single hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in January 1971

1971 in music

-Events:*February 1 – after months of feuding in the press, Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones hold a "drum battle" at The Lyceum.*February 8 – Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, is premièred at New York's Academy of Music...

 and eventually sold nine million copies, also claiming the number-one spot on the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

.

The composers of this song, L. Russell Brown

L. Russell Brown

L. Russell Brown is an American lyricist and composer most noted for his song, co-written with Irwin Levine, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" for the 1970s pop music group Tony Orlando and Dawn. He also wrote The Partridge Family 1971 song, I Woke Up In Love This Morning.-External...

 and Irwin Levine, were thinking of the song Up on the Roof

Up on the Roof (song)

"Up on the Roof" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters. Released at the tail end of that year, the song became a big hit in early 1963, reaching number five on the U.S. pop singles chart and number 4 on the U.S...

and they wanted to write a song with that kind of lyrical flavor, tenement living. Knock Three Times actually sold more than 100,000 records a day in New York City alone for ten straight days. The motion picture Now and Then also contains this song, as do some other feature films..

The song was was covered by Billy "Crash" Craddock in 1971 and became a number three country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

hit.